Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates to a transportable
fluid heater which can be used, for example, as water heater
to heat water pumped from a water source and supplied to a
remote location in very cold weather conditions to prevent
this water from freezing,or as external block heater to pre-
heat the fluid of the motor of a cold vehicle to be s-tarted.
It is known that drilling wells with diamond
drill bits requires a large amount of water for satisfactory
operation. In rugged terrain,the water used in the drilling
operation is ofter. supplied, via a pump and hose, from a
water source which is a considerable distance from the drill.
In very cold weather however, the water often freezes in
the hose during breaks in the drilling operation. To prevent
freezing, it is necessary to continually pump the water but
this is usually not convenient. Even then, in very cold
weather, water can freeze in the hose. To ensure a proper
supply of water to the drill in very cold weather, it is
there for desirable to heat the water so it does not freeze
in the hose. However the known water heaters are not par-
ticularly suited for efficient operation in the bush. Indeed,these known heaters are often quite complicated in construc-
tion, and difficult to service. In addition, the known
water heaters are not easy to transport in the bush, since
they are often upright and thus unstable if transported
over rough, uneven ground~
It is known too that the block heaters mounted
on motorized vehicles to be operated in very cold weather
are not efficient enough to preheat the fluid circulating
through the motors of these vehicles to a temperature suf-
ficient to start them without any difficulty. Therefore,there is a need for an external block heater to preheat this
fluid to the desired temperature.
It is the purpose of the present invention to
provide a transportable heater which can be used as water
heater in a drilling system or as external block heater for
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a vehicle and which is well suitcd for heating water or -the
fluid of a motor even in remote areas wi-th rugged -terrains.
It is another purpose of this invention to
provide a transportable fluid heater which is very effi-
cient in operation, quite simple in construction and use,
and easy to service, and which,in addition, can be easily
and safely transported in rugged terrain.
In accordance with the present invention, there
is provided a fluid heater comprising a cylindrical fluid
tank mounted on its side, or horizontally, on a support.
Mounting the fluid tank horizontally on the support provides
stability to the heater which can be easily moved. A
cylindrical heating tank is mounted within the fluid tank
and a simple burner preferably using propane gas as a fuel,
is mounted in the heating tank to heat the fluid. The
burner is detachably mounted in the heating tank so that it
can be easily serviced or replaced in the field. The heating
tank has passage ways for conducting the fluid through it
in order to more eEficiently heat the fluid. The passage-
ways are preferably arranged in a specific manner to maxi-
mize efficiency.
More specificallyt the present invention proposes
a transportable heater for use in combination wi-th means for
circulating a fluid in view of heating this circulated fluid.
The heater comprises a support easily displaceable from one
place to another.
A cylindrical fluid tank provided with a fluid inlet
at one end and a fluid outlet at the other end is mounted
on the movable support with its longitudinal axis horizon-
tal, and a cylindrical heating tank is coaxially mounted
within the fluid tank. This-heating tank comprises a plu-
rality of passageways for pressing the fluid to be heated
through the heating tank from one side to the other.
These passageways are longitudinally spaced apart and
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each comprises a straight tube passing through the heating
tank, -transverse to, and through the longitudinal axis
thereoE, said straigh-t tube being positioned at an angle
relative to the adjacent one.
A burner unit is detachably mounted at one end
of the hea-ting tank. The burner unit passes through the
corresponding end wall of the fluid tank, and means are
provided at the end of the fluid tank which is opposite to
the one through which passes the burner unit, to allow ex-
haust of the combustion products from within the heating
tank when the burner unit is operated.
The invention will be better understood with
reference to the following non-restrictive description oE
two preferred embodiments thereof, taken in correction with
the accompanying drawings in which:
Fig. l is perspective view, in partial section,
of a fluid heater according to the invention;
Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing the fluid
heater of Fig. 1 in use in a drilling system; and
Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing the fluid
heater of Fig. l in use as external block heater for a
vehicle.
The fluid heater l shown in Fig. l has a cylin-
drical fluid tank 3 with end walls 5 and 6 and a round side
wall 7. The tank 3 is mounted on its side on a support 9
with its longitudinal axis ll horizontal. Rigid straps 13
hold the tank 3 firmly on the support 9 which may, as shown,
consist of a s]cid slidably displaceable over the ground.
A cylindrical heating tank 15 is centrally
mounted wi~hin the fluid tank 3 with its longi-tudinal axis
preferably superimposed on the longitudinal axis 11 of the
fluid tank 3. The heating tank 15 preferably has a diameter
of about halE the diameter o~ the fluid tank 3 and a length
slightly smaller than the length of the fluid tank 3. The
end walls of the heating tank 15 are preferably formed by
the central portion of the end wall 5 of the water tank 3
and by a closing wall 8 ex-tending -transversally to the tank.
15 close to the end wall 6. The round side wall 17 o.f the
heating tank 15 extends between these end walls 5 and 6.
A central opening 19 is provided in the end wall
5 of the tank 3 and a burner 21 is mounted in this opening
19. The burner carries at its end 23 a burner nozzle 25
located within the heating tank 15. A fuel line 27 supplies
fuel to the burner 21 at its end 29 opposi-te nozzle end 23.
A cylindrical sleeve 31, mounted adjacent the end wall 5
of the fluid tank 3 by braces 33, supports the burner 21
in the opening 19. Suitable means detachably moun-t the
burner 21 within the sleeve 31 and opening 19 so that the
burner 21 can be easily removed for SerViCinCJ or replace-
ment. ~'he burner 21 is preferably a propane gas burner al-
though other types of fuel burners such as kerosen burners
can be used as well.
An exhaust vent 35 is provided at the end of
the heating tank 15 which is opposite to the burner end.
The vent 35 includes the space formed ~etween the closing
wall 8 and the end wall 6 of the fluid tank, and a flue ex-tending
vertically over the side wall 7 of the tank 3, to vent the
heating tank 15 to the atmosphere. Advantageously, the
end wall 6 may be provided with a closable opening (not
shown) to give access from the outside -to -the inside of the
heating tank through the space formed between the walls 6
and 8. This access permits to clean the heating tank wherever
necessary.
An inlet line 41 connects to the side wall 7 of
the water tank 3 adjacent the burner end, and an outlet
line 43 connects to the wall 7 adjacent its other end. The
fluid to be heated is brought to tank 3 by line 41 and re-
moved therefrom by line 43. However,it could be circulated
in the other way too.
3S Means are provided for passing the fluid in the
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tank 3 through the heating tank 15 to heat -the water more
quickly. These means comprise tubular passageways 45 which
extend through the heating tank 15 from one side oE its
side wall 17 to the other. Each passageway 45 extends
through the heating tan]~ 15 in a direction transverse to
the longitudinal axis of the tank while passing diame-trically
through the tank. The passageways 45 are equally spaced-
apart longitudinally of the tank 15. Each passageway 45
is also preferably offset angularly from the adjacent
passageways about the longitudinal axis of the tank 5.
Thus, as shown in Fig. 1, the first passageway 45a is ver-
tical, the second passageway 45b is at a forty-five degree
angle to the vertical, and the third passageway 45c extends
horizontally. Each succeeding passageway is offset forty-
five degrees from the preceding passageway. This arrange-
ment evenly distributes the openings 47 of the passageways
45 about the side wall 17 of the heating tank and provides
~or quicker heating of the fluid passing through fluid
tank 3.
In operation, the fluid to be heated is circulated
through the fluid tank 3 passing from the inlet line 41 at
one end, to the outlet line 43 at the opposite end. While
passing through the tank 3, the fluid also passes through
the heater tank 15 via passageways 45. The burner 21 operates
in heater tank 15 to heat both the fluid passing through the
passageways 45 and the fluid adjacent the tank side wall 17.
The products of combustion ~rom the burner 21 within the
tank 15 are vented through the vent 35~
The heater 1 is well suited, by virtue of its
simple, strong construction, for use in rugged locations.
One example of such use is in the system 51
shown in Fig. 2 for heating water applied to well drill 53
to prevent this water from freezing during its transporta-
tion in very cold weather. The heater 1 is positioned,
via its skid 9, between a source of water 55 and the well
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drill 53. A gasoline enyine driven compressor 57 pumps
water from the source to water tank 3 via the line 41.
From the water tank 3, the heated water is supplied to the
drill 53 via a line 43. Propane gas tanks 59 provide the
fuel for the burner 21 via the fuel line 27. A valve 61
in the line 27 controls the supply of fuel to the burner
21.
Another example of use of the heater is as ex-
ternal block heater for a motor vehicle 63 as shown in
Fig. 3 to preheat the cooling fluid of the mo-tor of this
vehicle to facilitate starting o:E the same in cold weather.
In this particular application, the heater 1 is positioned
onto the ground close to the vehicle 63. A manual pump 65
rigidly mounted onto the heater 1 or its support is used
for circulating the cooling fluid from a fluid outlet 67
standard to the vehicle via the line 41 to the tank 3 of
the heater, and then back to a fluid inlet 69 also standard
to the vehicle 63 via the line 43. ~ small portable pro-
pane or butane bo-ttle 71 provides the fuel for the burner
21 via the fuel line 27.
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