Patent ID: 8157560

Claim:
A heater for heating a fluid comprising: a housing having: a) a top, b) a side, c) a hollow interior defined at least in part by the top and the side, d) an inlet having a cross-sectional area smaller than the hollow interior permitting fluid to enter the interior, e) an outlet having a cross-sectional area smaller than the hollow interior permitting fluid to exit the interior, and f) a heat dump opening formed in the housing upstream from the outlet and dowstream from the inlet selectively permitting fluid to exit the hollow interior; a fire box positioned in the hollow interior of the housing for burning a thermal source to heat fluid inside the hollow interior of the housing; a heat dump cover selectively blocking the heat dump opening and moveable between a closed position in which the heat dump opening is blocked to prevent fluid from exiting the interior through the heat dump opening and an open position in which the heat dump opening is unblocked to permit fluid to exit the interior through the heat dump opening; and a latch operatively connected to the heat dump cover, said latch including a thermal sensor positioned within the hollow interior of the housing upstream from the outlet for sensing temperature above the fire box, said latch permitting the heat dump cover to move toward its open position when a temperature inside the hollow interior sensed by the thermal sensor exceeds a preselected limit temperature, permitting fluid to exit the hollow interior of the housing through the heat dump opening to reduce temperature increase in the interior.