Patent ID: 7665426

Claim:
A gas burner for use in a water heater, said water heater including a wall at least partially defining a combustion chamber and an access opening in said wall, comprising: a) a burner body including a lower housing and an element defining a combustion surface that is attached to said lower housing; b) an inlet conduit communicating with said burner body through which a gas/air mixture is delivered to said burner body in a region located below said combustion surface defining element; c) a bulkhead/access door for closing off said access opening when said burner is in its installed position within said water heater; and, d) an air scoop located in said combustion chamber shrouding said inlet conduit and at least partially defining a flow path of primary air, substantially isolated from said combustion chamber and which extends from an inlet end of said inlet conduit to a primary air port that communicates with a source of primary air located outside said combustion chamber, said bulkhead/access door secured to said air scoop; e) said air scoop having a predetermined profile and being secured to said bulkhead/access door in a region defining a mounting location on said bulkhead/access door, said region having a profile that corresponds to said air scoop profile but that is unrelated to a radius of said access opening.