Water heater blower assembly having a low exhaust port
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing draft inducer blower assemblies for gas-fueled water heaters require adjustments to accommodate either vertical or horizontal vent lines, leading to increased installation costs and complexity due to space constraints and alignment needs.
Innovation Solution
A draft inducer blower assembly with a non-adjustable housing and fan configuration, featuring an exhaust volute with a cut-off angle no more than twenty degrees positive from horizontal, allowing connection to both vertical and horizontal vent lines without modifying the blower assembly, utilizing elbow and cross-over pipe fittings for flexible installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the blower assembly is configured to accommodate both vertical and horizontal vent lines through adjustments, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity and installation cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The exhaust volute is designed with a universal low exhaust port location that can accommodate both vertical and horizontal vent line configurations without requiring adjustments to the blower assembly. The volute's internal geometry and the port's positioning enable the same device to serve multiple installation scenarios, eliminating the need for different assembly configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of making the blower assembly adjustable to fit different vent line configurations, the invention inverts the approach by making the vent line connections adaptable to the fixed blower assembly through specially designed elbow and cross-over pipe fittings. The flexibility is moved from the blower assembly to the connection pipes.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the exhaust port is positioned at a low angle relative to horizontal, then adaptability to different vent line configurations is improved, but exhaust gas flow efficiency may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The exhaust volute incorporates curved transition passages that smoothly guide exhaust gas from the low-angle exhaust port to the vertical or horizontal vent line connections. The curved geometry of the volute minimizes flow separation and turbulence, maintaining efficient gas flow despite the low port angle.
Solution Approach 2:
The volute design changes the flow parameters of exhaust gas through its internal geometry, transforming the low-angle inlet flow into optimized flow patterns suitable for both vertical and horizontal discharge. The volute's cross-sectional area and angle variations along its length adjust the gas flow characteristics to maintain efficiency.
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
Enables cost-effective and skill-reduced installations by allowing seamless transition between vertical and horizontal vent line configurations without altering the blower assembly, reducing installation complexity and costs while maintaining efficient operation.
Implementation Method 1
a draft inducer blower assembly that provides combustion air to the burner
Data Source
AI summary
A draft inducer blower assembly for use with a water heater has a housing, a motor, and a fan. The housing has an exhaust volute surrounding the fan and a base adapted to be mounted atop a water heater. The base has an inlet port adapted to receive exhaust gas from the water heater. The fan is connected to the motor for rotation about a rotation axis. The exhaust volute and the base are non-adjustably fixed relative to each other. The exhaust volute has a cut-off at a cut-off angle relative to the rotation axis. The cut-off angle extends at an angle that is no more than twenty degrees positive from horizontal. The exhaust volute has an exhaust outlet passageway that extends to an exhaust port. The exhaust outlet passageway extends beneath the cut-off before reaching the exhaust port.