The Armor Commercial Water Heater was one of three finalists in the plumbing category in the Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2008 Product of the Year competition. A fully modulating 5:1 turndown burner enables the unit to fire as low as 20% of maximum input and smoothly modulate up to 100% to meet demand, designed to be a significant operational advantage over units that are only capable of firing at 100% input. The 5:1 turndown capability means the unit takes maximum advantage of its thermal efficiency and virtually eliminates wasted fuel, to reduce operating costs. The unit is designed to be installed with a separate storage tank and thus protect the user form the costly results of lime scale buildup, which can cause a traditional tank-type water heater to fail in as little as 2-5 years and substantially increase operating costs.
The Smart System control includes a built-in cascading sequencer for installations using up to eight water heaters, to maximize hot water delivery. This capability modulates firing rates, beginning with minimum-demand situations when only the lead water heater in the sequence operates. As demand increases, additional water heaters in the system fire and modulate in a cascading sequence until all units are operating and maximum input of up to four million Btu/hr is achieved. The sequencer automatically rotates the lead water heater function, so that all units handle an equal water heating load over the life of the system.
