Patent ID: 8768154

Claim:
Fluid heating apparatus comprising: an instantaneous fluid heater; a fluid storage vessel; a heating structure selectively operable to add auxiliary heat to fluid in said fluid storage vessel; and flow circuitry, interconnected between said instantaneous fluid heater and said fluid storage vessel, via which an incoming fluid may be sequentially flowed through said instantaneous fluid heater and said fluid storage vessel for discharge from said apparatus as heated fluid, said flow circuitry including (1) an incoming fluid bypass pipe operable to cause a fixed portion of non-heated incoming fluid to bypass said instantaneous fluid heater, and (2) an orifice connected in series with said incoming fluid bypass pipe and operable to blend a fixed amount of bypassed non-heated fluid and heated fluid exiting said instantaneous fluid heater creating a blend of fluid which enters the fluid storage vessel wherein the blend maximizes the temperature of fluid entering the fluid storage vessel while minimizing the pressure loss through the entire system.