A.O. Smith DRE 52, Installation, User And Service Manual

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5 Introduction
5.1 About the water heater
The DRE water heater is intended for heating water for sanitary purposes.
The DRE is an electric storage water heater. The electric heating elements transfer their
heat directly to the water.
5.2 Working principle
Cold water enters the bottom of the tank through the water inlet (1). The heating
elements (2) transfer their heat directly to the water and the hot water leaves the tank
through the water outlet (3) at the top of the tank. The tank of the water heater has to be
completely filled during operation. The tank at least must remain under mains water
supply pressure at any time. Fresh cold water is immediately added when hot water is
drawn from the water heater.
Depending on the model the water heater has 1, 2 or 3 rows of each 3 heating elements.
Each row has one control thermostat placed above the center heating element. This
thermostat measures the water temperature on the outside of the tank. When the water
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