Insulation blankets are available to the general public for external use on gas water heaters but are not necessary with Reliance products. The purpose of an insulation blanket is to reduce the standby heat loss encountered with storage tank heaters. Your Reliance water heater meets or exceeds the EPACT standards with respect to insulation and standby loss requirements, making an insulation blanket unnecessary.
Should you choose to apply an insulation blanket to this heater, you should follow these instructions (For identification of components mentioned below, see Figure 1). Failure to follow these instructions can restrict the air flow required for proper combustion, potentially resulting in fire, asphyxiation, serious personal injury or death.
•Do not apply insulation to the top of the water heater, as this will interfere with safe operation of the draft hood.
•Do not cover the outer door, thermostat or temperature & pressure relief valve.
•Do not allow insulation to come within 2" of the floor to prevent blockage of combustion air flow to the burner.
•Do not cover the instruction manual. Keep it on the side of the water heater or nearby for future reference.
•Do obtain new warning and instruction labels from Reliance for placement on the blanket directly over the existing labels.
•Do inspect the insulation blanket frequently to make certain it does not sag, thereby obstructing combustion air flow.
COMBUSTION AIR AND VENTILATION FOR APPLIANCES LOCATED IN UNCONFINED SPACES
UNCONFINED SPACE is space whose volume is not less than 50 cubic feet per 1,000 Btu per hour (4.8 m3 per kW) of the aggregate input rating of all appliances installed in that space. Rooms communicating directly with the space in which the appliances are installed, through openings not furnished with doors, are considered a part of the unconfined space.
In unconfined spaces in buildings, infiltration may be adequate to provide air for combustion, ventilation and dilution of flue gases. However, in buildings of tight construction (for example, weather stripping, heavily insulated, caulked, vapor barrier, etc.), additional air may need to be provided using the methods described in “Combustion Air and Ventilation for Appliances Located in Confined Spaces.”
COMBUSTION AIR AND VENTILATION FOR APPLIANCES LOCATED IN CONFINED SPACES
CONFINED SPACE is a space whose volume is less than 50 cubic feet per 1,000 Btu per hour (4.8 m3 per kW) of the aggregate input rating of all appliances installed in that space.
A.ALL AIR FROM INSIDE BUILDINGS: (See Figures 10 and 11)
The confined space shall be provided with two permanent openings communicating directly with an additional room(s) of sufficient volume so that the combined volume of all spaces meets the criteria for an unconfined space. The total input of all gas utilization equipment installed in the combined space shall be considered in making this determination. Each opening shall have a minimum free area of one square inch
per 1,000 Btu per hour (22cm2/kW) of the total input rating of all gas utilization equipment in the confined space, but not less than 100 square inches (645cm2). One opening shall commence within 12” (30 cm) of the top and one commencing within 12” (30 cm) of the bottom of the enclosures.
FIGURE 11.
B. ALL AIR FROM OUTDOORS: (See Figures 12, 13 and 14)
The confined space shall be provided with two permanent openings, one commencing within 12” (30 cm) of the top and one commencing within 12” (30 cm) from the bottom of the enclosure. The openings shall communicate directly, or by ducts, with the outdoors or spaces (crawl or attic) that freely communicate with the outdoors.
FIGURE 12.
1.When directly communicating with the outdoors, each opening shall have a minimum free area of 1 square inch per 4,000 Btu per hour (5.5 cm2/kW) of total input rating of all equipment in the enclosure, see Figure 12.
2.When communicating with the outdoors through vertical ducts, each opening must have a minimum free area of 1 square inch per 4,000 Btu per hour (5.5 cm2/kW) of total input rating of all equipment in the enclosure, see Figure 13.
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