Water heater apparatus and associated manufacturing and insulation methods

Insulated tank apparatus comprising:

• a tank;
• a jacket extending outwardly around said tank and defining a cavity between said jacket and said tank;
• a flexible bag disposed in a first portion of said cavity in sealing engagement with facing portions of said tank and said jacket, said bag having wall openings therein that face a second portion of said cavity;
• a first quantity of hardened insulation material disposed in said bag, a small portion of said hardened insulation material projecting outwardly through said wall openings defining spaced apart locking protrusions on the external surface of said bag;
• and
• a second quantity of hardened insulation material placed in a second portion of said cavity after the hardening of said first insulation quantity and mechanically interlocked with said locking protrusions.

A water heater comprising:

• a tank adapted to hold a quantity of water and having a vertically extending side wall portion;
• heating apparatus for heating water disposed in said tank;
• a jacket extending outwardly around said side wall portion and defining a cavity between said jacket and said tank, said jacket having an opening therein;
• a water heater component extending outwardly from said tank toward said access opening;
• a foam dam disposed within a first portion of said cavity and sealingly circumscribing said component, said foam dam including:
• an apertured flexible bag in expanded, sealing engagement with facing portions of said tank and said jacket circumscribing said component, said bag having wall openings therein that face a second portion of said cavity;
• and
• a first quantity of hardened liquid foam insulation material disposed in said bag, a small portion of said hardened insulation material projecting outwardly through said wall openings and defining spaced apart locking protrusions on the external surface of said bag;
• and
• a second quantity of hardened liquid foam insulation material placed in a second portion of said cavity after the hardening of said first insulation quantity and mechanically interlocked with said locking protrusions.

A method of insulating a tank, comprising the steps of:

• placing an outer jacket on the tank to define a cavity extending outwardly around a portion of the tank;
• positioning a flexible bag in a first portion of said cavity, said flexible bag having a substantially closed upper end portion with a relatively small injection opening and associated vent opening area therein;
• forcing a first quantity of flowable, hardenable insulation into said bag through said injection opening in a manner expanding said bag into sealing engagement with said tank and said outer jacket and causing said first quantity of insulation to be packed under pressure within said bag and thus enhance the top-to-bottom insulation density uniformity in said bag subsequent to said forcing step;
• and
• flowing a second quantity of flowable, hardenable insulation into a second portion of said cavity and into contact with said bag.