US-12624863-B2 - Pool heater bypass systems and methods

US12624863B2US 12624863 B2US12624863 B2US 12624863B2US-12624863-B2

Abstract

A bypass system is provided for use with a pool water heater having a pool water heater input port configured to receive a portion of pool water, a heating system configured to heat water received by the pool water heater input port, and a pool water heater output port configured to output heated water from the heating system. The bypass system includes a pool water receiving port configured to receive pool water, a bypass line configured to divert a portion of the water from the pool, an output port configured to output the portion of pool water from the pool, a pool water heater receiving port configured to receive the heated water from the heating system, and a pool output port configured to output, to the pool, a combination of the heated water from the heating system and the portion of the water from the pool.

Inventors

Ryan Joseph VALENCIA
Juan Carlos Montanez
Alexander Stephen Chow
Satya Kiran GULLAPALLI

Assignees

RHEEM MANUFACTURING COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240212

Claims (20)

1 . A bypass system for use with a pool water heater having a pool water heater input port configured to receive a portion of pool water, a heating system configured to heat water received by the pool water heater input port, and a pool water heater output port configured to output heated water from the heating system, the bypass system comprising: a pool water receiving port configured to receive water from a pool; a bypass line configured to divert a portion of the water from the pool; an output port configured to output a second portion of the water from the pool to the pool water heater input port of the heating system; a pool water heater receiving port configured to receive the heated water from the pool water heater output port of the heating system; a pool output port configured to output, to the pool, a combination of the heated water from the heating system and the diverted portion of the water from the pool; and a sacrificial anode in fluid communication with the pool water receiving port, the output port, and the bypass line, such that the second portion of water flows in contact with the sacrificial anode, wherein the bypass system is disposed about an exterior of the pool water heater, and wherein the pool water heater comprises metal.
2 . The bypass system of claim 1 , further comprising a flow switch disposed about the pool water receiving port and configured to display a speed of flow of the water from the pool.
3 . The bypass system of claim 1 , the bypass system further comprising: a ground wire connected to the sacrificial anode to ground the sacrificial anode and promote oxidation of the sacrificial anode prior to oxidation of the pool water heater.
4 . The bypass system of claim 1 , further comprising a unitherm governor configured to regulate a temperature of heated water from the heating system as received from the pool water heater receiving port.
5 . The bypass system of claim 1 , further comprising: a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the combination of the heated water from the heating system and the diverted portion of the water from the pool; and a pressure sensor configured to detect a pressure of the combination of the heated water from the heating system and the diverted portion of the water from the pool.
6 . The bypass system of claim 1 , further comprising a pH detector configured to detect a pH level of the water from the pool.
7 . The bypass system of claim 1 , further comprising a drain plug configured to drain water from the heating system.
8 . The bypass system of claim 1 , wherein the pool heater comprises metal, wherein each of the pool water receiving port, the bypass line, the output port, and the pool water heater receiving port comprise a non-metal.
9 . The bypass system of claim 1 , further comprising: a first buttress threaded collar configured to provide a sealed connection of the output port and the pool water heater input port; and a second buttress threaded collar configured to provide a sealed connection of the pool water heater output port and the pool water heater receiving port.
10 . The bypass system of claim 1 , wherein the sacrificial anode is disposed in a vertically aligned position relative to the bypass line.
11 . A pool water heating system comprising: a pool water heater comprising: a pool water heater input port configured to receive a portion of pool water, a heating system configured to heat water received by the pool water heater input port, and a pool water heater output port configured to output heated water from the heating system, wherein the pool water heater comprises metal; and a bypass system comprising: a pool water receiving port configured to receive water from a pool, a bypass line configured to divert a portion of the water from the pool, an output port configured to output a second portion of the water from the pool to the pool water heater input port of the heating system, a pool water heater receiving port configured to receive the heated water from pool water heater output port, a sacrificial anode in fluid communication with the pool water receiving port, the output port, and the bypass line, wherein the sacrificial anode is disposed in a vertically aligned position relative to the bypass line, and a pool output port configured to output, to the pool, a combination of the heated water from the heating system and the diverted portion of the water from the pool.
12 . The pool water heating system of claim 11 , wherein the bypass system further comprises a flow switch disposed about the pool water receiving port and configured to display a speed of flow of the water from the pool.
13 . The pool water heating system of claim 11 , wherein the bypass system further comprises: a ground wire connected to the sacrificial anode to ground the sacrificial anode and promote oxidation of the sacrificial anode prior to oxidation of the pool water heater.
14 . The pool water heating system of claim 11 , wherein the bypass system further comprises a unitherm governor configured to regulate a temperature of heated water from the heating system as received from the pool water heater receiving port.
15 . The pool water heating system of claim 11 , wherein the bypass system further comprises: a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the combination of the heated water from the heating system and the diverted portion of the water from the pool; and a pressure sensor configured to detect a pressure of combination of the heated water from the heating system and the diverted portion of the water from the pool.
16 . The pool water heating system of claim 11 , wherein the bypass system further comprises a pH detector configured to detect a pH level of the water from the pool.
17 . The pool water heating system of claim 11 , wherein the bypass system further comprises a drain plug configured to drain water from the heating system.
18 . The pool water heating system of claim 11 , wherein the pool heater comprises metal, and wherein each of the pool water receiving port, the bypass line, the output port, and the pool water heater receiving port comprise a non-metal.
19 . The pool water heating system of claim 11 , wherein the bypass system further comprises: a first buttress threaded collar configured to provide a sealed connection of the output port and the pool water heater input port; and a second buttress threaded collar configured to provide a sealed connection of the pool water heater output port and the pool water heater receiving port.
20 . A method of heating comprising: receiving, via a pool water receiving port of a bypass system, water from a pool; outputting, via an output port of the bypass system, a first portion of pool water from the pool; receiving, from the output port of the bypass system and via a pool water heater input port of a pool water heater, the first portion of pool water; heating, via a heating system of the pool water heater, the portion of water received by the pool water heater input port to generate heated water; outputting, via a pool water heater output port of the pool water heater, heated water from the heating system, diverting, via a bypass line of the bypass system, a second portion of water from the pool, wherein the second portion of water flows in contact with a sacrificial anode of the bypass system; receiving, from a pool water output port of the pool water heater and via a pool water heater receiving port of the bypass system, the heated water; and outputting, from a pool output port of the bypass system and to the pool, a combination of the heated water and the second portion of pool water of the water from the pool.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to and benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 63/484,566 filed Feb. 13, 2023, which is herein incorporated by reference. FIELD This disclosure relates generally to pool heating systems and methods and more particularly relates to pool heating bypass systems and methods. BACKGROUND FIG. 1 illustrates a pool heating system 100. The pool heating system 100 may include a pool 102, a filter 104, a heater 106, a bypass line 110, a return line 112, a heater input line 114, and a return line 116. In operation, water from the pool 102 may be continuously drawn to the filter 104 via a pump or the like through the return line 112. The filter 104 may be configured to filter the water from the pool 102 and then output the filtered water to the heater 106 via the heater input line 114. The heater 106 may include a heating mechanism and a header 108. The heating mechanism may be any type of heating mechanism, including, for example, a gas-fired heating mechanism, a heat pump heating mechanism, and/or an electrical heating mechanism to heat the water. In some instances, the header 108 may form a cap at the end of the heating mechanism, sometimes called a manifold, which is configured to exchange heat with the water before it is returned to the pool 102. In operation, water may be extracted from the pool 102 (e.g., through a pump or the like) through the return line 112 to the filter 104. The filter 104 may be configured to filter particulates in the water from the pool 102 and pass the filtered water to the heater 106 via the heater input line 114. The header 108 of the heater 106 may be configured to receive the water from the heater input line 114. At this point, some of the water from the heater input line 114 may be heated at the header 108. This heated water may be outputted to the pool 102 via the return line 116. However, a portion of the water from the heater input line 114 may be transferred to the return line 116, by way of the bypass line 110, without being heated by the heater 106. In particular, the bypass line 110 may enable the pool heating system 100 to control the flow of heated water into the pool 102 by mixing a portion of the heated water with water that is not heated, i.e., water that bypasses the heating mechanism of the heater 106. The pool system 100 is effective to maintain a predetermined temperature of water in the pool 102. However, if there are any problems with the bypass line 110, the issue may be costly, as maintenance person would need access the heater 106 to provide any maintenance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings. In some instances, the use of the same reference numerals may indicate similar or identical items. Various embodiments may utilize elements and/or components other than those illustrated in the drawings, and some elements and/or components may not be present in various embodiments. Throughout this disclosure, depending on the context, singular and plural terminology may be used interchangeably. FIG. 1 illustrates a pool heating system. FIG. 2 illustrates a pool heating system in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 illustrates an enlarged view of the heater and bypass system of the pool heating system of FIG. 2 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 illustrates a rear perspective view of the heater and bypass system of the pool heating system of FIG. 3 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 illustrates an exploded view of the bypass system of the pool heating system of FIG. 3 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 illustrates another exploded view of the bypass system of the pool heating system of FIG. 3 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 illustrates partially transparent view of the bypass system of the pool heating system of FIG. 3 as connected to the heater in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 illustrates a bypass system of the pool heating system of FIG. 3 with the addition of a water chemistry testing module in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 illustrates another bypass body that may be used with the pool heating system of FIG. 2 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 illustrates a perspective view of another bypass system of the pool heating system of FIG. 2 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 illustrates a side view of the bypass system of FIG. 10 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 illustrates an exploded view of the bypass system of FIG. 10 in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. DETA