System and method for predicting tank failure of a water heater

Abstract

A storage-type water heater including a tank configured to contain a fluid, a powered anode at least partially disposed in the fluid, and an electronic processor. The electronic processor is configured to receive a current measurement of the powered anode, determine whether the current measurement exceeds a maximum threshold, record, when the current measurement exceeds the maximum threshold, a plurality of tank potential measurements over a duration of time, determine, based on the recorded tank potential measurements, a predicted time to tank failure, and output an alert corresponding to the predicted time to tank failure.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A storage-type water heater comprising:
 a tank configured to contain a fluid;   a powered anode at least partially disposed in the fluid; and   an electronic processor configured to
 receive a current measurement of the powered anode, 
 determine whether the current measurement exceeds a maximum threshold, 
 record, when the current measurement exceeds the maximum threshold, a plurality of tank potential measurements over a duration of time, 
 determine, based on the recorded tank potential measurements, a predicted time to tank failure, and 
 output an alert corresponding to the predicted time to tank failure. 
   
     
     
         2 . The water heater of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic processor is further configured to determine the predicted time to tank failure based on at least one characteristic of the water heater. 
     
     
         3 . The water heater of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one characteristic affects a rate of degradation of the metal, the lining, or both. 
     
     
         4 . The water heater of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one characteristic includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a tank temperature setpoint, a differential temperature setpoint, an incoming water temperature, and a duty cycle of the water heater. 
     
     
         5 . The water heater of  claim 2 , wherein the electronic processor is further configured to determine the predicted time to tank failure based on a calculation of when a trendline of the plurality of tank potential measurements is projected to fall below a tank potential threshold. 
     
     
         6 . The water heater of  claim 5 , wherein the tank potential threshold is determined based on at least one selected from the group consisting of a duty cycle of the water heater, a tank temperature setpoint, a slope of the trendline, and a conductivity of water in the water storage tank. 
     
     
         7 . The water heater of  claim 5 , wherein the tank potential threshold is adjusted based on at least one selected from a group consisting of a duty cycle, a total dissolved solids level, a tank temperature setpoint, a slope of the trendline, and a conductivity of water in the storage tank. 
     
     
         8 . The water heater of  claim 1 , wherein the predicted time to tank failure is less than one year. 
     
     
         9 . The water heater of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic processor determines the predicted time to tank failure based on a trendline of the recorded tank potential measurements. 
     
     
         10 . A storage-type water heater comprising:
 a tank configured to contain a fluid;   a powered anode at least partially disposed in the fluid; and   an electronic processor configured to
 receive a current measurement of the powered anode, 
 determine whether the current measurement exceeds a maximum threshold, 
 determine, based on the maximum threshold and an adjustment factor, a predicted time to tank failure, and 
 output an alert corresponding to the predicted time to tank failure. 
   
     
     
         11 . The water heater of  claim 10 , wherein the electronic processor is further configured to determine the adjustment factor based on at least one characteristic of the water heater. 
     
     
         12 . The water heater of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one characteristic affects a rate of degradation of the metal, the lining, or both. 
     
     
         13 . The water heater of  claim 12 , wherein the at least one characteristic includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a tank temperature setpoint, a differential temperature setpoint, an incoming water temperature, and a duty cycle of the water heater. 
     
     
         14 . The water heater of  claim 11 , wherein the electronic processor is further configured to adjust the adjustment factor based on at least one selected from a group consisting of a duty cycle, a total dissolved solids level, a tank temperature setpoint, a slope of a trendline of a plurality of tank potential measurements, and a conductivity of water in the storage tank. 
     
     
         15 . The water heater of  claim 10 , wherein the predicted time to tank failure is less than one year.