Edwin Ruud

Edwin Ruud (9 June 1854 – 9 December 1932) was a Norwegian-American mechanical engineer and inventor who immigrated to the United States where he designed, sold, and popularized the tankless water heater. He was the founder and President of Ruud Manufacturing Company, now a division of Rheem Manufacturing Company.

Biography

Early life Edwin Ruud was born in the parish of Askim in Østfold, Norway. He was educated in engineering at the Horten Technical School (Horten tekniske skole) in Vestfold, Norway.

Fuel Gas and Manufacturing Company In the 1880s, Ruud began working for George Westinghouse at the Fuel Gas and Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In 1889, Ruud engineered a design for an automatic storage tank-type gas water heater that used a bottom gas heater and temperature controlled gas-valve. The object of the design improvement was, "to maintain the supply of water at the desired temperature at all times."

With this new design, Ruud left the Fuel Gas and Manufacturing Company to start Ruud Manufacturing, his own engineering and manufacturing shop where he began to manufacture and popularize in home, as well as commercial and industrial water heaters. Ruud was issued his patent for the coiled tube Automatic Water Heater on September 6, 1898. and J.H. Folsom of Folsom-Webster Co., heating and plumbing contracting firm, dissolved his partnership in Folsom-Webster Company in 1908 to serve as chief of the Cincinnati branch of the Ruud Manufacturing Company. By 1915, the Ruud Manufacturing Company had offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Toronto, Canada; and Hamburg, Germany. 1929 - Appointed Knight of the Order of St Olav

Patents Balanced Slid-Valve: July 4, 1882 - US260612 Stuffing Box: August 5, 1890 - US433824 Water Heater: December 30, 1890 - US443797 Fluid Meter: May 5, 1891 - US451881 Water Heater: September 29, 1891 - US460513 Automatic Steam Regulator for Gas Producers: September 6, 1892 - US482320 Automatic Water-Heater: September 6, 1898 - US610281 Automatic Cut-off For Gas-Service Pipes: September 10, 1901 - US682345 Storage Water-Heater: May 14, 1907 - US853738 Thermostatic-Valve-Operating Mechanism: December 31, 1907 - US875217 Automatic Temperature Control for Self-heating Flat Irons: September 30, 1913 - US1074467 Water Valve for Instantaneous Water Heaters: February 26, 1918 - US1257932 Fluid-Mixing Apparatus: April 6, 1920 - USRE14836