About Your Water Heater - Rheem 325 Owne's Manual And Installation Instructions

ABOUT YOUR WATER HEATER

MODEL TYPE
®
Your Rheem air sourced heat pump water heater is designed for outdoor installation only. The model you
®
have chosen is a Rheemglas model.
The Rheem air sourced heat pump water heater has a vitreous enamel lined steel cylinder. The water
heater‟s evaporator absorbs heat from the surrounding air and transfers this heat into the water.
When hot water is drawn off and cold water enters the tank, the thermostat activates a fan, a compressor
and a circulator. The fan draws outside air in through the air inlet louvres at the side of the heat pump
module and the pump circulates water from the bottom of the storage tank through a heat exchanger. Heat is
absorbed from the air by an evaporator and transferred into the water through the heat exchanger. The
resulting cold air is then discharged through the air outlet grille back to atmosphere and the heated water is
circulated back into the storage tank. This process continues while ever heating is required until the water in
the storage tank reaches a temperature of 60°C.
Even on cloudy or cold days, heat is drawn from the surrounding air. The heat pump will operate when the
air temperature is between a minimum of 3°C to 5 C and maximum of 45 C to 55°C. The booster heating
unit will operate when the air temperature is below 3°C to 5°C or above 45°C to 55°C if heating is required.
The efficiency of the water heater increases as the surrounding air temperature increases.
Automatic safety controls are fitted to the water heater to provide safe and efficient operation.
ELECTRIC BOOSTING
Ice may begin to form on the evaporator when the air temperature falls
below 7 C, which will reduce the heat pump efficiency. At air temperatures
below 3°C to 5 C, the water heater deactivates the heat pump operation
and switches to the booster heating unit. The boost capacity in this mode is
100 litres.
The water inside the tank will be heated to a temperature of 70°C by the
electric booster heating unit if heating is required. During this period the
evaporator will defrost if necessary. The temperature setting of the
thermostat controlling the booster heating unit is not adjustable and is set
at 70°C.
MAINS PRESSURE
The water heater is designed to operate at mains pressure by connecting
directly to the mains water supply. If the mains supply pressure in your
area exceeds that shown on page 16, a pressure limiting valve must be
fitted. The supply pressure should be greater than 350 kPa for true mains
pressure operation to be achieved. A minimum water supply pressure of
200 kPa is required to enable the heat pump circulator and heat pump
system to operate effectively.
THERMAL CUT OUT
The refrigeration circuit is protected by thermal sensors. These will activate a thermal cut out in the event of
thermal surges or excessive heat in the refrigeration system.
If the thermal cut out has activated, the heat pump will not operate and the water heater will switch to booster
heating mode to ensure a supply of hot water. In booster heating mode, the booster heating unit will operate
regardless of the ambient air temperature, if heating of the water is required. The boost capacity of the
heating unit in booster heating mode is 100 litres and the water will be heated to 70°C.
The thermal cut out automatically resets when the refrigeration circuit cools down and the booster heating
unit has completed one heating cycle.
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