Water heater appliance with an angled anode
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing water heater appliances face challenges in accessing and removing anode rods due to difficult insulation removal and torque issues caused by scale buildup, which can damage components during the removal process.
Innovation Solution
The water heater appliance design features a boss mounted to the sidewall with an anode extending at an angle into the tank, avoiding internal components and reducing the risk of damaging the appliance during anode removal by allowing easier access and minimizing the need for elaborate rotation resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the anode rod is installed vertically from the top of the tank, then corrosion protection coverage is improved, but access and removal difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The anode rod is repositioned from a vertical top-mounted configuration to a horizontal side-mounted configuration. The boss is mounted on the sidewall of the tank, and the anode extends horizontally into the interior volume, changing the dimensional orientation from vertical to horizontal. This allows service technicians to access the anode rod from the side of the appliance rather than requiring access to the top, significantly improving ease of removal while maintaining corrosion protection coverage of holiday regions.
2Reliability
If the anode rod is threaded to the tank for leak tight joint, then sealing reliability is improved, but removal difficulty increases due to scale buildup
Solution Approach 1:
The threading connection is extracted from the traditional vertical top configuration and relocated to a horizontal sidewall mounting configuration. The boss is mounted on the sidewall with threads that receive the anode rod, separating the connection point from the top of the tank. This extraction allows the anode rod to be removed from the side rather than requiring rotation from the top, eliminating the problem of scale buildup on the threaded interface that causes binding and difficult removal.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the anode rod is positioned to avoid internal components, then risk of damage during removal is reduced, but installation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The boss is pre-mounted on the sidewall of the tank during manufacturing, with the anode rod already positioned in its final horizontal orientation. This preliminary positioning ensures that the anode rod extends horizontally into the interior volume, automatically avoiding vertical dip tubes and other internal components. The pre-positioning eliminates the need for complex alignment during installation, as the horizontal configuration naturally clears internal components while maintaining corrosion protection coverage.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design facilitates efficient access and removal of the anode rod, reducing the risk of damaging the appliance and simplifying the replacement process while minimizing the risk of damaging internal components.
Implementation Method 1
Carbon steel tanks are prone to galvanic corrosion when anodic and cathodic cells of the water heater appliance are electrically linked by an electrolyte, such as water within the tank. The anode rod may corrode and/or lose mass over time in lieu of the carbon steel tank.
Implementation Method 2
The anode extends through the tank into an interior volume of the tank at an angle such that the anode avoids internal tank components of the water heater appliance.
Implementation Method 3
calcium carbonate and other hard water components solidify upon the holiday regions and other exposed surfaces of the tank, including the threaded region around the anode rod and tank interface, during operation of the water heater appliance. Such scale buildup can increase the torque required to remove the anode rod.
Data Source
AI summary
A water heater appliance includes a tank with a sidewall. A boss is mounted to the sidewall of the tank, and an anode is mounted to the boss. The anode extends through the tank into an interior volume of the tank at an angle such that the anode avoids internal tank components of the water heater appliance. A related heat pump water heater appliance is also provided.