MOISTURE DETECTING AIR CAP INDICATOR FOR EXPANSION TANK FAILURE

摘要

Disclosed is an expansion tank having an internal cavity separated by a flexible diaphragm to form an upper pressurized gas portion and a lower pressurized fluid portion, and an indicator positioned at an upper part of the expansion tank in communication with the contents of the upper pressurized gas portion. The indicator is configured so as to display a first color if the operating conditions are normal in the pressurized gas portion, and a second color if the amount of moisture detected in the pressurized gas portion greater than or equal to a predetermined amount. Further disclosed is a method for detecting whether there is an excessive amount of moisture in a pressurized gas portion of an expansion tank by allowing pressurized gas from the pressurized gas portion to come into contact with the indicator, and viewing the color displayed by the indicator. As such, the tank can be simply visually inspected to determine whether there is a potential failure in the tank.

主权项

1. A diaphragm expansion tank, comprising:
a housing comprising an upper end wall, a side wall, and a lower end wall, the upper end wall, side wall, and lower end wall defining a cavity; a flexible diaphragm positioned within the cavity and connected to the side wall, the diaphragm separating the cavity into an upper portion and a lower portion, wherein the upper portion of the cavity is sealed to contain a pressurized gas and the lower portion is sealed to contain a pressurized fluid; an indicator disposed on the upper end wall of the housing, the indicator in communication with the pressurized gas in the upper portion of the cavity, the indicator comprising an insert that displays a first color when in normal operating conditions and that displays a second color when in contact with pressurized gas containing a predetermined level of moisture or greater.