Storage type hot water heating system

Claim 1

In a hot water heating system having: a. a steam heating means for water, b. a valve for the steam supply to the heating means, c. a blending valve constructed to blend hot and cold water in any desired predetermined proportions, d. a water storage tank, e. a cold water connection for supplying cold water both to the blending valve and to the inlet of said tank, f. a blending control element connected to the blending valve for controlling the rate of flow of hot and cold water through the blending valve, g. a fluid connection between one side of said control element and the cold water inlet to the blending valve, h. a fluid connection between the opposite side of the blending control element and the outlet side of the blending valve, i. a control element for the steam valve, j. a fluid connection between the cold water inlet side of the blending valve and one side of the steam control element, k. a pressure reducing valve in said last fluid connection, l. a control connection between the blending valve control element and said pressure reducing valve, and m. a fluid connection between the outlet side of the steam valve and the opposite side of the steam control element, the improvement in combination therewith which comprises: n. said hot water storage tank having a cold water inlet close to the bottom thereof and a hot water outlet near the top thereof, and o. said steam heating means for the water having a restricted upright dimension within the water storage tank adjacent the bottom thereof and leaving an extensive body of hot water between said heating means and said hot water outlet so that a demand for blended water causes the instantaneous activation of the steam valve to supply steam to said water heating means before any material temperature change takes place in the water in the storage tank withdrawn through the blending valve.