Plastic secondary heat exchanger apparatus for a high efficiency condensing furnace

A fuel-fired condensing furnace comprising:

• a housing having an inlet opening and an outlet opening;
• blower means operable to flow air sequentially into said inlet opening, through a vertical flow path within said housing, and then outwardly through said outlet opening;
• burner means for receiving a fuel-air mixture and discharging flames and hot products of combustion;
• draft inducer fan means having an inlet and being operative to receive and discharge combustion gases generated during operation of said furnace;
• and
• a recuperative heat exchanger structure operatively interposed in said vertical flow path and including:
• (a) a primary heat exchanger defined by a horizontally spaced series of vertically serpentined metal combustor tubes having inlet ends positioned to receive flames and hot products of combustion discharged from said burner means, and outlet ends for discharging combustion gases, and
• (b) a secondary heat exchanger disposed beneath said primary heat exchanger and including:
• (1) a plastic inlet collector box connected to said outlet ends of said metal combustor tubes to receive combustion gases discharged therefrom,
• (2) a plastic outlet collector box horizontally spaced apart from said inlet collector box and connected to said draft inducer fan means inlet, and
• (3) a horizontally spaced series of elongated, extruded plastic heat transfer members having hollow, generally plate-like configurations with the side edge-to-side edge widths of said heat transfer members being generally vertically oriented, and first and second end portions respectively and sealingly connected to said horizontally spaced apart inlet and outlet collector boxes, said heat transfer members being operative to internally flow, in single passes from their first end portions to their second end portions, combustion gases from the interior of said inlet collector box to the interior of said outlet collector box for passage therefrom into the inlet of said draft inducer fan means,
• the cross-section of each of said heat transfer members being defined along its length by a vertically spaced series of horizontally indented first portions interdigitated with a vertically spaced series of horizontally enlarged, convexly curved second portions, each vertically adjacent pair of said convexly curved second portions having one of said horizontally indented first portions positioned therebetween and each of said horizontally indented first portions being defined by a horizontally spaced apart pair of parallel, flat facing wall sections of the heat transfer member extending from its first end to its second end and between which hot combustion products may flow horizontally along the entire length of the heat transfer member, said pairs of parallel, facing flat wall sections serving to materially enhance the convective heat transfer capacity of the heat transfer member.

A fuel-fired condensing furnace comprising:

• a housing having an inlet opening and an outlet opening;
• blower means operable to flow air sequentially into said inlet opening, through a vertical flow path within said housing, and then outwardly through said outlet opening;
• burner means for receiving a fuel-air mixture and discharging flames and hot products of combustion;
• draft inducer fan means having an inlet and being operative to receive and discharge combustion gases generated during operation of said furnace;
• and
• a recuperative heat exchanger structure operatively interposed in said vertical flow path and including:
• (a) a primary heat exchanger defined by a horizontally spaced series of vertically serpentined metal combustor tubes having inlet ends positioned to receive flames and hot products of combustion discharged from said burner means, and outlet ends for discharging combustion gases, and
• (b) a secondary heat exchanger disposed beneath said primary heat exchanger and including:
• (1) a plastic inlet collector box connected to said outlet ends of said metal combustor tubes to receive combustion gases discharged therefrom,
• (2) a plastic outlet collector box horizontally spaced apart from said inlet collector box and connected to said draft inducer fan means inlet, and
• (3) a horizontally spaced series of elongated, extruded plastic heat transfer members having hollow, generally plate-like configurations with the side edge-to-side edge widths of said heat transfer members being generally vertically oriented, and first and second end portions respectively and sealingly connected to said horizontally spaced apart inlet and outlet collector boxes, said heat transfer members being operative to internally flow, in single passes from their first end portions to their second end portions, combustion gases from the interior of said inlet collector box to the interior of said outlet collector box for passage therefrom into the inlet of said draft inducer fan means,
• the cross-section of each of said heat transfer members being defined along its length by a vertically spaced series of horizontally indented first portions interdigitated with a vertically spaced series of horizontally enlarged, convexly curved second portions, each vertically adjacent pair of said convexly curved second portions having one of said horizontally indented first portions positioned therebetween and each of said horizontally indented first portions being defined by a horizontally spaced apart pair of parallel, flat facing wall sections of the heat transfer member extending from its first end to its second end and between which hot combustion products may flow horizontally along the entire length of the heat transfer member, said pairs of parallel, facing flat wall sections serving to materially enhance the convective heat transfer capacity of the heat transfer member, each of said heat transfer members having a longitudinally spaced series of inwardly projecting internal peripheral ribs thereon.

A fuel-fired condensing furnace comprising:

• a housing having an inlet opening and an outlet opening;
• blower means operable to flow air sequentially into said inlet opening, through a vertical flow path within said housing, and then outwardly through said outlet opening;
• burner means for receiving a fuel-air mixture and discharging flames and hot products of combustion;
• draft inducer fan means having an inlet and being operative to receive and discharge combustion gases generated during operation of said furnace;
• and
• a recuperative heat exchanger structure operatively interposed in said vertical flow path and including:
• (a) a primary heat exchanger defined by a horizontally spaced series of vertically serpentined metal combustor tubes having inlet ends positioned to receive flames and hot products of combustion discharged from said burner means, and outlet ends for discharging combustion gases, and
• (b) a secondary heat exchanger disposed beneath said primary heat exchanger and including:
• (1) a plastic inlet collector box connected to said outlet ends of said metal combustor tubes to receive combustion gases discharged therefrom,
• (2) a plastic outlet collector box horizontally spaced apart from said inlet collector box and connected to said draft inducer fan means inlet, and
• (3) a horizontally spaced series of elongated, extruded plastic heat transfer members having hollow, generally plate-like configurations with the side edge-to-side edge widths of said heat transfer members being generally vertically oriented, and first and second end portions respectively and sealingly connected to said horizontally spaced apart inlet and outlet collector boxes, said heat transfer members being operative to internally flow, in single passes from their first end portions to their second end portions, combustion gases from the interior of said inlet collector box to the interior of said outlet collector box for passage therefrom into the inlet of said draft inducer fan means,
• the cross-section of each of said heat transfer members being defined along its length by a vertically spaced series of horizontally indented first portions interdigitated with a vertically spaced series of horizontally enlarged, convexly curved second portions, each vertically adjacent pair of said convexly curved second portions having one of said horizontally indented first portions positioned therebetween and each of said horizontally indented first portions being defined by a horizontally spaced apart pair of parallel, flat facing wall sections of the heat transfer member extending from its first end to its second end and between which hot combustion products may flow horizontally along the entire length of the heat transfer member, said pairs of parallel, facing flat wall sections serving to materially enhance the convective heat transfer capacity of the heat transfer member,
• each of said pairs of parallel, facing wall sections of said heat transfer members are joined by an internal stiffening rib section extending interiorly along the length of the heat transfer member.

A fuel-fired condensing furnace comprising:

• a housing having an inlet opening and an outlet opening;
• blower means operable to flow air sequentially into said inlet opening, through a vertical flow path within said housing, and then outwardly through said outlet opening;
• burner means for receiving a fuel-air mixture and discharging flames and hot products of combustion;
• draft inducer fan means having an inlet and being operative to receive and discharge combustion gases generated during operation of said furnace;
• and
• a recuperative heat exchanger structure operatively interposed in said vertical flow path and including:
• (a) a primary heat exchanger defined by a horizontally spaced series of vertically serpentined metal combustor tubes having inlet ends positioned to receive flames and hot products of combustion discharged from said burner means, and outlet ends for discharging combustion gases, and
• (b) a secondary heat exchanger disposed beneath said primary heat exchanger and including:
• (1) a plastic inlet collector box connected to said outlet ends of said metal combustor tubes to receive combustion gases discharged therefrom,
• (2) a plastic outlet collector box horizontally spaced apart from said inlet collector box and connected to said draft inducer fan means inlet, and
• (3) a horizontally spaced series of elongated, extruded plastic heat transfer members having hollow, generally plate-like configurations with the side edge-to-side edge widths of said heat transfer members being generally vertically oriented, and first and second end portions respectively and sealingly connected to said horizontally spaced apart inlet and outlet collector boxes, said heat transfer members being operative to internally flow, in single passes from their first end portions to their second end portions, combustion gases from the interior of said inlet collector box to the interior of said outlet collector box for passage therefrom into the inlet of said draft inducer fan means,
• the cross-section of each of said heat transfer members being defined along its length by a vertically spaced series of horizontally indented first portions interdigitated with a vertically spaced series of horizontally enlarged, convexly curved second portions, each vertically adjacent pair of said convexly curved second portions having one of said horizontally indented first portions positioned therebetween and each of said horizontally indented first portions being defined by a horizontally spaced apart pair of parallel, flat facing wall sections of the heat transfer member extending from its first end to its second end and between which hot combustion products may flow horizontally along the entire length of the heat transfer member, said pairs of parallel, facing flat wall sections serving to materially enhance the convective heat transfer capacity of the heat transfer member,
• the horizontal width of said second portions of each of said heat transfer members progressively decreasing from the uppermost one to the lowermost one of the second portions in a manner such that nonparallel reference planes on opposite sides of the heat transfer members are generally tangent to the second portions thereof, and the facing reference planes on each adjacent pair of said heat transfer members are generally parallel to one another, whereby said heat transfer members are collectively positioned in a generally fan-like orientation as viewed along their lengths.

A fuel-fired condensing furnace comprising:

• a housing having an inlet opening and an outlet opening;
• blower means operable to flow air sequentially into said inlet opening, through a vertical flow path within said housing, and then outwardly through said outlet opening;
• burner means for receiving a fuel-air mixture and discharging flames and hot products of combustion;
• draft inducer fan means having an inlet and being operative to receive and discharge combustion gases generated during operation of said furnace;
• and
• a recuperative heat exchanger structure operatively interposed in said vertical flow path within said housing and including:
• (a) a primary heat exchanger defined by a horizontally spaced series of vertically serpentined metal combustor tubes having inlet ends positioned to receive flames and hot products of combustion discharged from said burner means, and outlet ends for discharging combustion gases, and
• (b) a secondary heat exchanger disposed beneath said primary heat exchanger and including:
• (1) a plastic inlet collector box connected to said outlet ends of said metal combustor tubes to receive combustion gases discharged therefrom,
• (2) a plastic outlet collector box connected to said draft inducer fan means inlet, and
• (3) a horizontally spaced series of elongated plastic heat transfer members having hollow, generally plate-like configurations with the side edge-to-side edge widths of said heat transfer members being generally vertically oriented, and end portions sealingly connected to said inlet and outlet collector boxes, said heat transfer members being operative to internally flow combustion gases from the interior of said inlet collector box to the interior of said outlet collector box for passage therefrom into the inlet of said draft inducer fan means,
• said inlet collector box having a side wall with an interior surface in which a horizontally spaced series of downwardly sloping condensate drainage troughs are formed, each of said troughs having a lower end portion aligned with one of said end portions of said heat transfer members and positioned to direct combustion gas condensate from the interior of said inlet collector box into the heat transfer member end portion.

A fuel-fired condensing furnace comprising:

• a housing having an inlet opening and an outlet opening;
• blower means operable to flow air sequentially into said inlet opening, through a vertical flow path within said housing, and then outwardly through said outlet opening;
• burner means for receiving a fuel-air mixture and discharging flames and hot products of combustion;
• draft inducer fan means having an inlet and being operative to receive and discharge combustion gases generated during operation of said furnace;
• and
• a recuperative heat exchanger structure operatively interposed in said vertical flow path and including:
• (a) a primary heat exchanger defined by a horizontally spaced series of vertically serpentined metal combustor tubes having inlet ends positioned to receive flames and hot products of combustion discharged from said burner means, and outlet ends for discharging combustion gases, and
• (b) a secondary heat exchanger disposed beneath said primary heat exchanger and including:
• (1) a plastic inlet collector box connected to said outlet ends of said metal combustor tubes to receive combustion gases discharged therefrom,
• (2) a plastic outlet collector box horizontally spaced apart from said inlet collector box and connected to said draft inducer fan means inlet, and
• (3) a horizontally spaced series of elongated, extruded plastic heat transfer members having hollow, generally plate-like configurations with the side edge-to-side edge widths of said heat transfer members being generally vertically oriented, and first and second end portions respectively and sealingly connected to said horizontally spaced apart inlet and outlet collector boxes, said heat transfer members being operative to internally flow, in single passes from their first end portions to their second end portions, combustion gases from the interior of said inlet collector box to the interior of said outlet collector box for passage therefrom into the inlet of said draft inducer fan means,
• the cross-section of each of said heat transfer members being defined along its length by a vertically spaced series of horizontally indented first portions interdigitated with a vertically spaced series of horizontally enlarged, convexly curved second portions, each vertically adjacent pair of said convexly curved second portions having one of said horizontally indented first portions positioned therebetween and each of said horizontally indented first portions being defined by a horizontally spaced apart pair of parallel, flat facing wall sections of the heat transfer member extending from its first end to its second end and between which hot combustion products may flow horizontally along the entire length of the heat transfer member, said pairs of parallel, facing flat wall sections serving to materially enhance the convective heat transfer capacity of the heat transfer member,
• said inlet collector box having a spaced series of outwardly projecting tubular connection portions thereon, and
• said fuel-fired condensing furnace further comprising means for sealingly and resiliently joining said connections to said outlet ends of said combustor tubes.

A secondary heat exchanger for a fuel-fired condensing furnace, comprising:

• a plastic inlet collector box having inlet openings thereon for receiving combustion gases discharged from a primary heat exchanger;
• a plastic outlet collector box spaced apart in a first direction from said inlet collector box and having an outlet for discharging combustion gases;
• and
• a series of elongated, extruded plastic heat transfer members laterally spaced apart in a second direction transverse to said first direction and having hollow, generally plate-like configurations with the side edge-to-side edge widths of said heat transfer members being generally oriented in a third direction transverse to said first and second directions, first end portions sealingly connected to said inlet collector box, and second end portions sealingly connected to said outlet collector box, said heat transfer members being operative to internally flow combustion gases, in single passes therethrough, from the interior of said inlet collector box to the interior of said outlet collector box,
• the cross-section of each of said heat transfer members being defined along its length by a series of indented first portions mutually spaced apart in said third direction and interdigitated with a series of convexly and outwardly curved second portions, each laterally adjacent pair of said convexly curved second portions having one of said indented first portions positioned therebetween and each of said indented first portions being defined by a spaced apart pair of a parallel, flat facing wall sections of the heat transfer member extending from its first end to its second end and between which hot combustion products may flow along the entire length of the heat transfer member, said pairs of parallel, facing flat wall sections serving to materially enhance the convective heat transfer capacity of the heat transfer member,
• each of said heat transfer members having a longitudinally spaced series of inwardly projecting internal peripheral ribs thereon.

A secondary heat exchanger for a fuel-fired condensing furnace, comprising:

• a plastic inlet collector box having inlet openings thereon for receiving combustion gases discharged from a primary heat exchanger;
• a plastic outlet collector box spaced apart in a first direction from said inlet collector box and having an outlet for discharging combustion gases;
• and
• a series of elongated, extruded plastic heat transfer members laterally spaced apart in a second direction transverse to said first direction and having hollow, generally plate-like configurations with the side edge-to-side edge widths of said heat transfer members being generally oriented in a third direction transverse to said first and second directions, first end portions sealingly connected to said inlet collector box, and second end portions sealingly connected to said outlet collector box, said heat transfer members being operative to internally flow combustion gases, in single passes therethrough, from the interior of said inlet collector box to the interior of said outlet collector box,
• the cross-section of each of said heat transfer members being defined along its length by a series of indented first portions mutually spaced apart in said third direction and interdigitated with a series of convexly and outwardly curved second portions, each laterally adjacent pair of said convexly curved second portions having one of said indented first portions positioned therebetween and each of said indented first portions being defined by a spaced apart pair of parallel, flat facing wall sections of the heat transfer member extending from its first end to its second end and between which hot combustion products may flow along the entire length of the heat transfer member, said pairs of parallel, facing flat wall sections serving to materially enhance the convective heat transfer capacity of the heat transfer member,
• each of said pairs of parallel, facing wall sections of said heat transfer members being joined by an internal stiffening rib section extending interiorly along the length of the heat transfer member.

A secondary heat exchanger for a fuel-fired condensing furnace, comprising:

• a plastic inlet collector box having inlet openings thereon for receiving combustion gases discharged from a primary heat exchanger;
• a plastic outlet collector box spaced apart in a first direction from said inlet collector box and having an outlet for discharging combustion gases;
• and
• a series of elongated, extruded plastic heat transfer members laterally spaced apart in a second direction transverse to said first direction and having hollow, generally plate-like configurations with the side edge-to-side edge widths of said heat transfer members being generally oriented in a third direction transverse to said first and second directions, first end portions sealingly connected to said inlet collector box, and second end portions sealingly connected to said outlet collector box, said heat transfer members being operative to internally flow combustion gases, in single passes therethrough, from the interior of said inlet collector box to the interior of said outlet collector box,
• the cross-section of each of said heat transfer members being defined along its length by a series of indented first portions mutually spaced apart in said third direction and interdigitated with a series of convexly and outwardly curved second portions, each laterally adjacent pair of said convexly curved second portions having one of said indented first portions positioned therebetween and each of said indented first portions being defined by a spaced apart pair of parallel, flat facing wall sections of the heat transfer member extending from its first end to its second end and between which hot combustion products may flow along the entire length of the heat transfer member, said pairs of parallel, facing flat wall sections serving to materially enhance the convective heat transfer capacity of the heat transfer member,
• the width, in said second direction, of said second portions of each of said heat transfer members progressively decreasing from the second portions adjacent one side edge of its heat transfer member to the opposite side edge of its heat transfer member in a manner such that nonparallel reference planes on the opposite sides of the heat transfer members are generally tangent of the second portions thereof, and the facing reference planes on each adjacent pair of said heat transfer members are generally parallel to one another, whereby said heat transfer members are collectively positioned in a generally fan-like orientation as viewed along their lengths.

A secondary heat exchanger for a fuel-fired condensing furnace, comprising:

• a plastic inlet collector box having inlet openings thereon for receiving combustion gases discharged from a primary heat exchanger;
• a plastic outlet collector box spaced apart in a first direction from said inlet collector box and having an outlet for discharging combustion gases;
• and
• a series of elongated plastic heat transfer members laterally spaced apart in a second direction transverse to said first direction and having hollow, generally plate-like configurations with the side edge-to-edge widths of said heat transfer members being generally oriented in a third direction transverse to said first and second directions, first end portions sealingly connected to said inlet collector box, and second end portions sealingly connected to said outlet collector box, said heat transfer members being operative to internally flow combustion gases from the interior of said inlet collector box to the interior of said outlet collector box, the cross-sections of said heat transfer members being defined along their lengths by a series of indented first portions interdigitated with a spaced series of outwardly enlarged, convexly curved second portions,
• said inlet collector box having a side wall with an interior surface in which a spaced series of sloping condensate drainage troughs are formed, each of said troughs having an end portion aligned with one of said end portions of said heat transfer members and positionable to drain combustion gas condensate from the interior of said inlet collector box into the heat transfer member end portion.

A secondary heat exchanger for a fuel-fired condensing furnace, comprising:

• a plastic inlet collector box having inlet openings thereon for receiving combustion gases discharged from a primary heat exchanger;
• a plastic outlet collector box generally aligned along a first direction with said inlet collector box and having an outlet for discharging combustion gases;
• and
• a series of elongated extruded plastic heat transfer members laterally spaced apart in a second direction transverse to said first direction and having hollow, generally plate-like configurations with the side edge-to-side edge widths of said heat transfer members being generally oriented in said first direction, the cross-sections of said heat transfer members being defined along their lengths by a series of indented first portions spaced apart in said first direction and interdigitated with a series of outwardly enlarged, convexly curved second portions, each laterally adjacent pair of said convexly curved second portions having one of said indented first portions positioned therebetween and each of said indented first portions being defined by a pair of parallel, spaced apart flat facing wall sections of the heat transfer member extending between its opposite ends and between which hot combustion products may flow along essentially the entire length of the heat transfer member, each of said heat transfer members having a closed outer end, a first widthwise section with an inner end portion sealingly connected to said inlet collector box, a second widthwise section with an inner end portion sealingly connected to said outlet collector box, and an elongated interior baffle portion longitudinally extending in said first direction and separating said first and second widthwise sections, along a major portion of their lengths, in a manner such that combustion gases operatively traversing said secondary heat exchanger sequentially enter said inlet collector box, flow through said first widthwise sections of said heat transfer members toward said closed outer ends thereof, pass into said second widthwise sections of said heat transfer members adjacent said closed outer ends thereof, and then flow through said second widthwise sections of said heat transfer members into said outlet collector box.