Bradford White water heater baffle

The Bradford White water heater had a flat top and no “flange” at the exhaust on the top. I’ve searched their website in an effort to find a better term but none of their parts list and component drawings identify the name of this component. My concern is that there is always a ring at the top, surrounding the opening where the exhaust gasses are directed into the draft hood and there was no ring on this water heater. I also looked at countless images of Bradford White water heaters and I couldn’t find a single image that didn’t have the ring. For the report I used the term baffle flange and would appreciate it if someone could help me out with the correct term and ultimately, is it deficient if the ring is not present. Thanks.


Here is a picture of the top of the water heater

That is baffling.

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Flue reducer

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Flue reducer is probably lying on the ground behind the tank.

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Thanks Michael, I looked at a very similar image from a BW parts list and missed that. My client will also appreciate the help.

image004.jpg

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Good eye. Most inspectors would never notice that component was missing.

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Good catch on the flue reducer.

Now: is there a baffle or flap? Looks like there may be one in your picture. On some gas tank water heaters that’s to reduce standby stack losses when the gas is not flowing. If present it needs to operate cleanly.

Do you have a close up, and did you verify it works?
For commercial water heaters the flap is generally motorized (hopefully the heater will fail to start, if the flap does not open).