Systems and Methods for Heating Water Using Electric Heating Assemblies

Abstract

Systems and methods for heating water using a water heater including one or more electric heating assemblies are provided. The water tank may retain a volume of water and have a tank body including at least one receiving portion, which may be a through hole with a threaded area. The electric heating assembly may include a base having a threaded portion, a rotator, an electric heater, and/or a guide. The base may mate with the tank body via the threaded area on the receiving portion and the threaded area of the base. The rotator may be rotatable, partially, within the base. The electric heater may extend through the rotator such that a distal end of the electric heater may extend into the water tank to heat at least a portion of the volume of water. The guide may guide the electric heater between horizontal and angled positions.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A water heating system, comprising:
 a water tank configured to retain a volume of water and having a tank body including at least one receiving portion defining a through hole having a first threaded engagement; and   an electric heating assembly comprising:
 a base comprising a second threaded engagement defining a channel and configured to mate with the first threaded engagement; 
 a rotator having a spherical shape and at least one through hole, the rotator sized and configured to be positioned partially within the channel of the base and having a diameter larger than an interior diameter of the channel; 
 an electric heater configured to extend through the at least one through hole of the rotator such that a distal end of the electric heater extends beyond the rotator, the distal end of the electric heater configured to extend into the water tank to heat at least a portion of the volume of water; and 
 a guide coupled to the base and comprising at least one guide channel configured to limit transition of the electric heater from a horizontal position to an angled position, 
   wherein the rotator is configured to rotate to transition the electric heater from the horizontal position to the angled position.   
     
     
         2 . The water heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the electric heating assembly further comprises a sealing ring disposed between the base and the rotator and configured to create a fluid-tight seal between the base and the rotator, and wherein the electric heater is configured to distribute heat to a larger volume of water in the angled position than in the horizontal position. 
     
     
         3 . The water heating system of  claim 2 , wherein the rotator is fixed with respect to the electric heater and configured to move with respect to the base. 
     
     
         4 . The water heating system of  claim 3 , wherein the electric heater in the horizontal position is positioned along a plane perpendicular to a primary axis of the water tank. 
     
     
         5 . The water heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the guide comprises a chamber configured to house one or more circuits in electrical communication with the electric heater, the one or more circuits comprising one or more wire leads configured to connect to one or more terminals of the electric heater. 
     
     
         6 . The water heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one guide channel is a linear channel. 
     
     
         7 . The water heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the electric heater is further configured to extend through the at least one through hole of the rotator such that a proximal end of the electric heater extends beyond the rotator, and wherein the at least one guide channel is further configured to receive at least a portion of the proximal end of the electric heater. 
     
     
         8 . The water heating system of  claim 7 , wherein the guide comprises a first guide channel and a second guide channel parallel to the first guide channel. 
     
     
         9 . The water heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the electric heating assembly is further configured to be coupled to the water tank by mating the first threaded engagement with the second threaded engagement when the electric heater is in the horizontal position. 
     
     
         10 . The water heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the angled position is from 5 to 50 degrees relative to the horizontal position. 
     
     
         11 . An electric heating assembly for use with a water tank having a guide for receiving the electric heating assembly, the electric heating assembly comprising:
 a base comprising a first threaded engagement defining a channel;   a rotator having a spherical shape and at least one through hole, the rotator sized and configured to be positioned partially within the channel of the base and having a diameter larger than an interior diameter of the channel;   an electric heater configured to extend through the at least one through hole of the rotator such that a distal end of the electric heater extends beyond the rotator, the distal end of the electric heater configured to extend into the guide of the water tank when the electric heating assembly is coupled to the water tank such that the guide limits transition of the electric heater from a horizontal position to an angled position; and   wherein the rotator is configured to rotate to transition the electric heater from the horizontal position to the angled position, and   wherein the water tank is configured to retain a volume of water and has a tank body including at least one receiving portion defining a through hole having a second threaded engagement, the first threaded engagement of the base of the electric heating assembly being configured to mate with the second threaded engagement, and the distal end of the electric heater of the electric heating assembly being configured to extend into the water tank to heat at least a portion of the volume of water.   
     
     
         12 . The electric heating assembly of  claim 11 , further comprising a sealing ring disposed between the base and the rotator and configured to create a fluid-tight seal between the base and the rotator, wherein the electric heater is configured to distribute heat to a larger volume of water in the angled position than in the horizontal position when the distal end of the electric heater is extended into the water tank. 
     
     
         13 . The electric heating assembly of  claim 12 , wherein the rotator is fixed with respect to the electric heater and configured to move with respect to the base. 
     
     
         14 . The electric heating assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the electric heater in the horizontal position is configured to be positioned along a plane perpendicular to a primary axis of the water tank, and wherein the angled position is from 5 to 50 degrees relative to the horizontal position. 
     
     
         15 . The electric heating assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the guide comprises a chamber configured to house one or more circuits in electrical communication with the electric heater, the one or more circuits comprising one or more wire leads configured to connect to one or more terminals of the electric heater. 
     
     
         16 . The electric heating assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the electric heater is further configured to extend through the at least one through hole of the rotator such that a proximal end of the electric heater extends beyond the rotator, and wherein the guide comprises at least one guide channel configured to receive at least a portion of the proximal end of the electric heater. 
     
     
         17 . The electric heating assembly of  claim 11 , further configured to be coupled to the water tank by mating the first threaded engagement with the second threaded engagement when the electric heater is in the horizontal position. 
     
     
         18 . A method for heating water, comprising:
 removing a fixed electric heating assembly from a water tank, the water tank comprising a tank body adapted to retain a volume of water and having at least one receiving portion defining a through hole having a first threaded engagement adapted to couple with a second threaded engagement of the fixed electric heating assembly, the fixed electric heating assembly oriented in a horizontal direction when the second threaded engagement is coupled with first threaded engagement;   mating a rotatable electric heating assembly to the at least one receiving portion of the water tank, the rotatable electric heating assembly comprising a base having a third threaded engagement defining a channel and configured to couple with the first threaded engagement, a rotator having a spherical shape and at least one through hole and adapted to be positioned partially within the channel, an electric heater adapted to extend through the at least one through hole such that a distal end of the electric heater extends beyond the rotator with the distal end extending into the water tank, and a guide coupled to the base and having at least one guide channel adapted to limit transition of the electric heater from a first position to a second position different from the first position; and   rotating the rotator of the rotatable electric heating assembly with respect to the base to cause the electric heater to transition from the first position to the second position.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the first position is oriented along a plane perpendicular to a primary axis of the water tank, wherein the second position is from 5 to 50 degrees relative to the first position, wherein the rotatable electric heating assembly is coupled to the receiving portion in the first position and caused to transition to the second position after the rotatable electric heating assembly is coupled to the receiving portion, and wherein the at least one guide channel maintains the electric heater in the second position. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the electric heater is further adapted to extend through the at least one through hole such that a proximal end of the electric heater extends beyond the rotator, the proximal end comprising a first end and a second end of a tube, and wherein the at least one guide channel comprises a first linear guide channel and a second linear guide channel parallel to the first linear guide channel, the first linear guide channel and the second linear guide channel configured to receive the first end and the second end, respectively.