Water leakage detection and mitigation system and method
OwnerMichael Schultzinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An air inlet duct connected to an air inlet of a burner assembly of a water heater system includes an outlet connected to the air inlet of the burner assembly, a duct inlet for receiving air, a main conduit connecting the duct inlet and the outlet, a branch connected to the main conduit, and a pressure relief mechanism connected to the branch. The pressure relief mechanism opens when the main conduit reaches a predetermined pressure value. The air inlet duct is adapted to mitigate effects from leaks that develop in the water heater system.
Claims23
An assembly for use in heating water in a water heater system, the assembly comprising:
- a burner assembly, the burner assembly including a gas inlet, an air inlet, and a flue gas outlet, the burner assembly configured such that gas passing through the gas inlet and air passing through the air inlet are combusted before passing through the flue gas outlet, and
- an inlet air duct connected to the air inlet such that air passes through the inlet air duct prior to passing into the air inlet,
- wherein the inlet air duct includes an outlet connected to the air inlet, a duct inlet configured to receive air, and a main conduit connecting the duct inlet and the outlet, and
- wherein the main conduit includes a branch connected to a pressure relief mechanism, the pressure relief mechanism configured to open when the main conduit reaches a predetermined pressure value.
A water leakage detection system for a water heater system, comprising:
- a flue gas circuit extending through a tank of the water heater system, the flue gas circuit comprising:
- a burner;
- an inlet air duct arranged to provide combustion air to the burner;
- a heat exchanger arranged downstream of the burner;
- and
- a condensate trap arranged downstream of the heat exchanger;
- a condensate drain line coupled to the condensate trap;
- and
- a pressure relief opening configured to discharge water leaking from the tank of the water heater system into the flue gas circuit, the pressure relief opening being provided in one of the inlet air duct and the condensate drain line, wherein fluid flow through the pressure relief opening is prevented during normal operation of the water heater system.
An inlet air duct configured to connect to an air inlet of a burner assembly of a water heater system, the air inlet duct comprising:
- an outlet connected to the air inlet of the burner assembly,
- a duct inlet configured to receive air,
- a main conduit connecting the duct inlet and the outlet,
- a branch connected to the main conduit, and
- a pressure relief mechanism connected to the branch,
- wherein the pressure relief mechanism is configured to open when the main conduit reaches a predetermined pressure value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.