Patent ID: 8490580

Claim:
A water heater comprising: a water tank for storing water to be heated; a combustion chamber adjacent to the water tank and defined at least in part by a side wall that include an access opening; a burner positioned in the combustion chamber, the burner combusting fuel to create products of combustion for heating the stored water; a door removably sealed to the side wall to close the access opening, the door including a door opening; a fuel line extending through the door opening and being connected to the burner for the delivery of fuel to the burner; a flexible gasket positioned in the door opening around the fuel line to create a gasket seal between the fuel line and the door, to seal against ingress and egress of air between an exterior and interior of the combustion chamber; and a radiation shield disposed around the fuel line within the combustion chamber between the burner and the gasket to substantially block radiant heat emanating from the burner from directly impacting on the gasket.