Cleaning Assembly Kit for a Heat Exchanger

The present application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/640,998, titled “CLEANING ASSEMBLY KIT FOR A HEAT EXCHANGER, AND A METHOD OF USING THEREOF”, filed on May 1, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure generally relates to cleaning of heat exchangers, and more particularly, to a cleaning assembly kit for a heat exchanger and a method of using thereof. In at least one example, the cleaning assembly kit is used with a heat exchanger for water boiler systems, such as a condensing heat exchanger.

Heat exchangers (e.g., condensing heat exchangers and atmospheric vent boiler tube exchangers) are important components of many water boiler systems. Over extended use periods, heat exchangers may experience fouling. Fouling can result, for example, from dirty or malfunctioning burners. Existing processes for cleaning the inside of condensing heater exchangers are tedious, and do not always result in the fouling being completely removed. In turn, this degrades the performance of the heat exchangers, including degrading their heat transfer efficiency. Other causes of fouling can also include foreign airborne materials (e.g., dust and bugs).

In at least one broad aspect, there is provided a cleaning kit for cleaning an inner volume of a heat exchanger comprising: a cover lid couplable to an opening of a body of the heat exchanger; and a manifold assembly comprising, a main fluid conduit including (i) a fluid inlet couplable to a cleaning fluid source, and (ii) a fluid outlet couplable to the inner volume of the heat exchanger; a drainage conduit fluidically coupled to the main conduit at a coupling juncture, and comprising a drainage outlet; and valve system including, an inlet valve located inside the main conduit and disposed between the inlet opening and the coupling juncture; and a drainage valve located inside the drainage conduit, between the drainage outlet and the coupling juncture.

In some examples, the kit is operable in one of a filling mode and a drainage mode, wherein, in the filling mode, the valve system is adjusted to a filling configuration to fill the inner volume of the heat exchanger with cleaning fluid; and in the drainage mode, the valve system is adjusted to a drainage configuration to drain the inner volume from the cleaning fluid.

In some examples, each of the filling and drainage modes, the cover lid is coupled to the opening of the body of the heat exchanger.

In some examples, in the filling configuration, the inlet valve is opened to fluidically couple the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet, thereby permitting cleaning fluid to flow through the manifold assembly from the cleaning fluid source into the inner volume of the heat exchanger, and the drainage valve is closed to fluidically decouple the fluid inlet from the drainage outlet.

In some examples, in the drainage configuration, the drainage valve is opened to fluidically couple the fluid outlet to the drainage outlet, thereby permitting cleaning fluid to drain from the inner volume of the heat exchanger; and the inlet valve is closed to fluidically de-couple the fluid inlet from the fluid outlet.

In some examples, the main conduit further comprises an auxiliary outlet couplable to an auxiliary tool, and the valve system further comprises an auxiliary valve located inside the main conduit between the fluid inlet and the auxiliary outlet.

In some examples, wherein in each of the filling and drainage configurations, the auxiliary valve is closed.

In some examples, the assembly is further operable in an auxiliary tool mode where the valve system is adjusted to an auxiliary tool configuration whereby, the auxiliary valve is opened to fluidically couple the fluid inlet to the auxiliary outlet, thereby allowing fluid to flow through the manifold assembly from the cleaning fluid source to the auxiliary tool; and the inlet valve is closed and the drainage valve is either opened or closed.

In some examples, in the auxiliary tool mode, the cover lid is removed from the opening of the body of the heat exchanger.

In some examples, the cover lid includes an external surface and an internal surface, and in a coupled position to the heat exchanger, the external surface is directed away from the inner volume, and the cover lid further comprises, a fluid flow meter extending from the external surface and, in the coupled position, fluidically couples to the inner volume of the heat exchanger through an outlet opening extending through the cover lid, and wherein, in the filling and drainage modes, the fluid flow meter indicates a level of cleaning fluid inside the inner volume of the heat exchanger.

In some examples, the heat exchanger is for use with water boilers.

In some examples, the heat exchanger is a condensing heat exchanger.

Accordingly, a method of using a cleaning kit assembly to clean an inner volume of a heat exchanger, the cleaning kit assembly comprising a modified cover lid and a manifold assembly, the method comprising: coupling each of the modified cover lid and the manifold assembly to a body of the heat exchanger; operating the cleaning kit in a filling mode by adjusting a valve system, of the manifold assembly, to be in a filling configuration; filling the inner volume of the heat exchanger with cleaning fluid; operating the cleaning kit in a drainage mode by adjusting the valve system, of the manifold assembly, to be in a drainage configuration; and draining the inner volume of the heat exchanger from cleaning fluid.

Other features and advantages of the present application will become apparent from the following detailed description taken together with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the application, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the application will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Examples herein generally relate to a cleaning assembly for a heat exchanger, and a method of using thereof. While disclosed examples relate primarily to a condensing heat exchanger, it will be understood that the same concepts and principles can be applied identically to any other heat exchanger, including various heat exchangers used with water boiler systems, including atmospheric vent boiler tube exchangers and the like.

illustrate an example design for a conventional condensing heat exchanger (). The exemplified design can be used, for instance, as part of a water heating system.

As shown, the heat exchanger () includes a body (). Body () extends between a front end () and a rear end (). Front end () includes an opening () () to access an inner volume thereof. A cover lid () is provided for opening and closing the opening (). In other examples, opening () is provided along any other portion of the heat exchanger body (), and the heat exchanger () can include more than one opening ().

As shown in, body () houses various components of the heat exchanger (). These components include a burner () for generating heating, as well as water coils () for carrying cold water that is heated by the burner ().

As is typical of condensing heat exchanger designs, body () also includes an insulated deflector () in between the condensing chamber () from the combustion chamber (). The water coil () typically surrounds each of the chambers () and () and thereby defines an inner volume () of the heat exchanger (). Various outlets are also provided, such as the cooled gas outlet () and the condensing outlet ().

It is appreciated thatillustrate only an exemplary design for a condensing heat exchanger (), and that the disclosed examples are not limited to any specific or particular heat exchanger design.

As stated in the background, in the course of extended use, the condensing heat exchanger () will require cleaning as a result of fouling. For instance, as shown in, fouling can affect the outer surface of the water heating coils () (e.g., surrounding the condensing chamber () and the combustion chamber ()).

In view of the foregoing, disclosed examples provide for a cleaning assembly kit for cleaning the inner volume () of a heat exchanger (), as well as a method of using the kit. As noted previously, the disclosed cleaning assembly kit can be used with any type of heat exchanger (), and is not so limited to condensing heat exchangers.shows an example inner volume of the heater exchanger after cleaning using the disclosed cleaning kit.

exemplifies a cleaning assembly kit () which can be coupled to a condensing heat exchanger ().

At a broad level, the cleaning assembly kit () includes two components: (i) a manifold assembly (), and (ii) a cover lid ().

In some examples, the manifold assembly () and cover lid () are two separate components (see e.g.,). In other examples, they may be coupled together (e.g., permanently or removably) to form a single component (see e.g.,).

Each of the manifold assembly () and cover lid () are explained herein in greater detail.

In use, the manifold assembly () routes cleaning solution (e.g., water and/or soap) into and out of the inner volume () of the heat exchanger ().

As shown in, the manifold assembly () includes one or more conduits (e.g., hollow pipes) ()-() that are fluidically coupled together. These include a main conduit (), an outlet conduit (), and an inlet conduit (). In at least one example, the conduits may also include an auxiliary attachment conduit () and a filling conduit (). In other cases, conduits (), () may simply form part of the main conduit ().

Main conduit (), outlet conduit () and filling conduit () are fluidically coupled together at a first coupling junction (). Further, main conduit (), inlet conduit () and auxiliary attachment conduit () are fluidically coupled together at a second coupling junction ().

In some cases, the main conduit () extends, in an elongated fashion, between the two coupling junctions (), (). The advantage of providing an elongated main conduit () is to allow the manifold assembly () to space out from the heat exchanger () when coupled thereto, which simplifies installation and use.

In other examples, the first and second junctions (), () are merged together to form a single junction. In these cases, the manifold assembly () may not include a main conduit (), and the conduits ()-() may fluidically couple together at the single junction (e.g., in a star shape).

As further exemplified, a plurality of openings () are formed in the manifold conduits (). These openings () include a first fluid inlet (), a second fluid outlet () and a third drainage outlet ().

The fluid inlet () is fluidically couplable to a cleaning fluid source (). Cleaning fluid source () is, for example, a tank or other source of water or fluid (or solution) useful for soaking and/or cleaning the heat exchanger ().

In some examples, the fluid inlet () defines a distal end of the inlet conduit () (). In other examples, the fluid inlet () is formed directly along the main conduit () (), or otherwise at the location of the junction (). If the fluid inlet () is formed along the main conduit (), it can be disposed on a mid-portion thereof () or on a distal end thereof (). In these cases, and as best shown in, the manifold assembly () may not include the inlet conduit ().

Fluid outlet () is used for filling and/or draining the heat exchanger () from cleaning fluid. In some examples, fluid outlet () defines a distal end of the filling conduit (), and is fluidically couplable to the inner volume () of heat exchanger (). In the illustrated example, fluid outlet () is indirectly coupled to the heat exchanger () via a secondary fluid conduit ().

To that end, the fluid outlet () can be coupled to any portion of the heat exchanger body (). In the illustrated example, fluid outlet () is coupled to the condensing outlet (). This coupling provides direct access into the inner volume () of heat exchanger () ().

Drainage outlet () defines a distal end of the outlet conduit (). After soaking the inner volume () of the heat exchanger (), the cleaning fluid is drained out via the drainage outlet () to an external drainage location.

In some examples, manifold () also includes an additional auxiliary fluid outlet () (). As explained herein, fluid outlet () can couple to an auxiliary tool (), such as a spray gun (). In at least one example, fluid outlet () defines a distal end of the auxiliary conduit ().

Manifold assembly () further includes a valve system () disposed inside of the manifold conduits (). Valve system () includes one or more valves ()-() that are configurable between an “open” position (i.e., allowing fluid flow) and a “closed” position (i.e., blocking or minimizing fluid flow). The valves () can include exterior handles () () that enable manually manipulating the valves between the open and closed positions.

In the illustrated example, the valve system () includes at least two valves: (i) a fluid inlet valve (); and (ii) a drainage valve ().

Fluid inlet valve () may be disposed anywhere between the fluid inlet () and the first coupling junction (). For instance, the fluid inlet valve () may be disposed inside the main conduit (), and between the coupling junctions (), (). In other examples, it may be disposed inside of the inlet conduit (), between the inlet () and the second coupling junction (). In some cases, where the manifold assembly () only includes a single coupling junction (), it is possible that the valve () is located inside that junction.

Drainage valve () may be disposed anywhere between the drainage outlet () and the first coupling junction (). For instance, it may be disposed in the outlet conduit (), and between the drainage outlet () and the first coupling junction ().

In examples where an auxiliary opening () is provided (), the valve system () can also include an auxiliary valve () disposed between the second junction () and the auxiliary fluid outlet (). For instance, it may be disposed in the auxiliary conduit (). In other cases, the auxiliary valve () may not be present in the manifold assembly (). This may be because it is integrated directly into the auxiliary tool (), or otherwise is not required to control flow of liquid into the tool ().

Valves ()-() can be of any design configuration known in the art. For example, the valves can be any one of check, ball, butterfly, globe and/or gate valves.

During cleaning, cover lid () replaces the conventional lid () of the condensing heat exchanger () () and seals the heat exchanger's opening ().

In some examples, the cover lid () is sized and shaped to cover over the entirety of the heat exchanger opening () in a sealing manner. For instance, as exemplified in, the cover lid () can have a circular shape to mate and engage over a circular opening () of the heat exchanger. More generally, the cover lid () can have a size and shape that complements the size and shape of the heat exchanger opening ().

The cover lid () may also couple to the heat exchanger body () in any manner. In some examples, the cover lid () may include one or more fastening holes () that receive fasteners (e.g., nuts) ().