Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a vehicle water heating system, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on April 28th, 2021, published on November 3rd, 2022, and assigned serial number 0349619.
The Ford Authority Take
With off-roading arguably more popular than ever, Ford has begun making and selling more vehicles designed specifically for those types of activities, as well as parts and accessories that help make its vehicles more capable off the pavement and also able to serve as mobile living spaces. Over the past several months, the automaker has filed patents for things like an integrated roof rail power outlet system, a vehicular pest repellent system, and a liftgate curtain that provides a little privacy for campers. Now, this new Ford patent continues that trend by introducing an idea for a vehicle water heating system.
This Ford patent is aimed squarely at those that use their vehicles for camping or overlanding, or more specifically, those that need hot water for things like showering or washing dishes. Currently, many such vehicles utilize a water tank and propane to heat that water. However, the system depicted in this patent uses thermal energy to heat water in the tank instead, which moves water around in the tank to heat it up.
The advantages of such a system are many – thermal water heaters offer better temperature control, greater reliability, a broader temperature range, and are easier to maintain than other types of systems. As such, especially with Ford’s continued push into the world of off-roading, camping, and overlanding, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see such a system make it to the real world.
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Comments
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If you look at old photos you can find Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone sitting around a campfire in front of what one could consider the first ‘motor home’. I bet a nickel between those men there was a method to heat water for bathing/shower/etc using engine heat. My grandmother used to cook food on the engine block as they drove, so these guys likely were several steps ahead of her. There are multiple pictures of the ‘cook area’ built into the tailgate of their vehicles.