|
Home
Search waterheatertimer.org / all results Search using
  
|
Install
and troubleshoot water heater vent Single wall vent pipe cannot be used for water heaters located in attics and may not pass through attic spaces, crawl spaces or anyconfined or inaccessible location. A single wall metal vent connector cannot pass through any interior wall. |
 
|
Back
to 14 things for troubleshooting water heater 13) Venting combustion byproduct Do not use aluminum vent pipe. Use 3"-4" steel galvanized, stainless or PVC pipe. During water heater combustion, hydrogen content of fuel is burned, resulting in hot gases that travel upward and out the vent pipe. Obstructed vent will slow or halt combustion, resulting in tripped ECO, yellow flame instead of blue. Adequate venting or air draw up vent is required so gases vent outside. Atmospheric vent has no blower or mechanism to assist upward flow of vent gasses. The venting action is a natural upward flow of hot air, plus the natural upward convection of air. Power vent and flue-damper water heaters push vent by-product up the vent pipe. If blower or pressure switch or firing sequence is not functioning, the vent gasses do not travel up vent pipe. Negative air pressure Wind Rusted flue pipe -or water dripping down from flue pipe: 1. Vent cover could be missing > rain water entering flue (replace cover) 2. Flue pipe clogged with bird nest or come apart or damp from improper venting: danger of odorless Carbon Monoxide poisoning Buy: Carbon monoxide detector Vent tape Water heater vent hood Simple test for proper venting: Check that pipes are not rusted or covered with white condensate. There is no water on top of tank. Burner inspection does not show excessive rusting. Steps: Turn off water heater and wait 1-2 hours for heat to stop rising from tank. Hold lit match within 1" of vent hood and see if smoke is drawn into vent. If smoke does not draw, then check for vent obstruction on roof, or call plumber. Resources: See image of test Vent draft test Gas venting specs Vent specification charts Square footage per BTU Ventilating tight-house/ pdf Pilot outage and negative pressure specs for venting-multiple-water-heaters specs for venting-multiple-appliances |
||
 |
Soot
on top of heater also
implies danger of improper vent and backdraft. Improper location of vent on roof, and incorrect clearances, or windy location can stop vent gas from leaving vent pipe. If vent gas cannot escape at top of pipe, it can be entering house at the vent hood. Soot on top of heater is evidence. If pilot goes out, the improper draft can be blowing out pilot light. Soot on top of heater can be caused by backdraft where vent gasses are being blown back onto water heater because of shared vent pipe with furnace or other gas appliance. Read next section. |
||
 Back venting or back drafting/
How to test water heater vent.When the heater is firing, light a match next to the vent hood and see if the smoke is sucked up the vent or not. Even if it is backdrafting, that doesn't mean you have to replace the water heater. There are other causes, including a blocked vent, or some another appliance, such as a range draft hood or clothes dryer that is pulling air down through the gas water heater vent. repeat draft test with other appliances, and vent fans operating. Another cause can be sooty heater how to clean combustion chamber How to clean soot from water heater It's best to find out the cause, as it could also affect a new heater. Water heater vent test/ pdf Checking the draft |
|||
 Water
heater giving off gas smell
when operating: Sooty water heater Check for gas leak. If no gas leak, clean the flue. Check for blockage of vent (snow over the roof vent). The flue is located in center of water heater. The flue baffle sits inside the flue and is a twisted piece of metal that can be pulled up out of water heater. This requires space above heater in order to lift flue baffle completely out. 'Flue cleaning is dirty. Use a shop vac. Turn gas control valve to pilot. Remove draft hood and vent pipe. Hose out the vent pipe outdoors. Pull baffle up and out. Rotate it in the flue, bang it around to help clean off soot which falls down onto the burner. Take baffel outside and hose it off. Water is good for removing soot. Vacuum out combustion chamber. Remove burner assembly and carefully hose out the burner assembly ABOVE the main orifice. This will clean soot out of the burner, while keeping the rest dry. Other option is to vacuum the burner in place. If things go a certain way, you'll look like a coal miner when finished, but heater will burn with a nice blue flame. If it does not, gas pressure is the next thing to check.' You can casually check gas pressure by observing other appliances when several appliances are in use. How to check gas pressure |
|||
| Negative
inside air pressure, Negative pressure Backdraft Is your furnace causing water heater to malfunction? Furnace, kitchen-bath bent fans etc can affect vent draft on water heater. Called negative pressure. Is there evidence of rusting etc on top of heater, next to the draft hood? Is the furnace room particularly cold or wet? This is evidence of backdraft. Here is a simple, but telling test. When the water heater first fires up, a little heat will spill from the draft hood. It should only spill for a second or two under normal circumstances. So, with the furnace off, turn the temperature on your heater up to cause it to fire up (you might make a mark on the thermostat dial so it can be put back to the same place). Quickly, put the back of your hand to the draft hood to feel any heat spilling out. Count the seconds. Return the heater to normal. Now wait a bit and fire up the furnace. Feel for any spillage at the water heater draft hood with the water heater off. Count seconds. Now fire up the water heater (furnace running) and check for spillage again. If furnace and water heater both vent into same chimney, the draft might not work properly. Water heater should have dedicated vent. For example the chimney vent pipe is is eight inch, but the two vents (from furnace and water heater) going to it are both four inch. That bigger vent might be oversized and hard to warm properly for good drafting. If the furnace is power vent, and fan or vent will overpower natural draft. Having the furnace and water heater vents combined will cause problems. Likely the right fix is to run two, separate three inch vents. |
|||
| Water on top of heater. Rusted
vent pipe. White condensate on pipes. Inadequate draft, or improperly installed vent pipe can cause condensation inside pipe that will rust and cause white condensate. Missing roof cap will cause water on top of heater that will rust out the water heater. |
|||
 Never install more than 1 elbow on sidewall vents Straight shot is always best shot. Elbows slow venting and cause backdraft. Resources: Gas venting specs Direct vent clearances Conditions where outdoor vent is required |
  Vent Gas Odor Lack of air supply -Clean air intake screen, open window Ventilating tight-house/ pdf Improper vent -Read product manual for vent requirement Downdraft Poor combustion -Clean combustion parts, service unit |
CO poisoning If joints fall apart, or vent is improperly installed, hot gases enter home posing risk of odorless CO poisoning. Symptoms: headache that goes away when outside in fresh air. Unconsciousness. Remove affected people from home and lay on sides, not on back. Call emergency help. call plumber. Attach vent pipe sections with 3 screws and then cover joints with aluminum tape. Buy: Vent tape Carbon monoxide detector |
|
 |
Combined vent has rust and
condensate. Causes: Condensation is a mild acid – it will corrode steel, causing rust. Moisture comes from possible improper backdraft when either or both furnace and water heater operate. Not enough natural draft upwards. Blocked vent. Another vent or draft fan located inside home is pulling air down the vent. Contaminated air supply from trace amounts of bleach, pool chemicals, process waxes, etc. 1) Check for 'spillage' or backdraft: When the water heater fires up, a little heat will spill from the draft hood for a second or two. Check spillage with water heater ON and furnace OFF. Check spillage with water heater OFF and furnace ON. Check spillage with both ON. 2) Repeat tests with other vent fans or gas appliances operating at same time. 3) Remove all chemicals from rooms where air supply can become contaminated. 4) Reconfigure vent pipe so the 4" water heater vent entends higher into the furnace vent. 5) Sit and observe the entire cycle for several hours to help determine cause. 6) Replace galanized flue with PVC or stainless 7) Raise air temperature inside room 8) Make sure draft hood and flue pipe are same size. 9) Horizontal runs cannot exceed 75% of total height of vent termination. |
||
 Install vent hood pdf from AO Smith |
 |
Flue
Pipe Safety Read manual for flue pipe clearances so hot vent pipe does not touch or come near combustibles. Rusted flue pipe -or-water on top of gas water heater could indicate serious problem. Call a plumber if you are uncertain. Check pipes and flexible connectors for leaks. If water coming from flue pipe: 1. Vent cover could be missing > rain water entering flue (replace cover) 2. Flue pipe clogged with bird nest or come apart or damp from improper venting: danger of odorless Carbon Monoxide poisoning Serious danger from CO poisoning, a plumber should be called if you are uncertain about vent pipe water leak Read troubleshooting at forum |
 Larger image with more information |
Minimum
distance of vent pipe from window Side-wall vent pipe must be 4 feet away from windows and doors. And 3 feet away from inside corners. Power direct-vent clearances Venting a gas water heater Conditions where outdoor air supply is needed |
 |
Venting
for power vent models Read product manual for venting specifications Example power vent manual p17 Minimum vent distance from window Power vent tables Power vent troubleshoot Typical power vent manual Typical power vent manual2 Typical service manual Gas venting specs Conditions where outdoor air supply is needed |
| 14 things needed for gas water heater & .pdf resources | |
 |
What you need for
operation of gas water heater. General troubleshoot 1) Basic parts and operation 2) Adequate incoming air supply ... issues: closed doors, tightly insulated house, very hot attic. 3) Adequate air supply getting to burner... issues: dirty vent screen, dirty environment, maintenance. 4) Thermal cutoff ... TCO ... issues: failed part, maintenance, vent. 5) Flammable vapor lockout .... issues: exposure to vapors, bad FV sensor, failed FV system, 6) Fuel supply to gas valve thermostat ... natural gas and propane are different ... issues: wrong gas, low pressure, moisture in pipe, undersized gas meter, supply line too small for BTU rating. 7) Gas valve thermostat regulates fuel supply ... issues: not enough gas, failed thermostat, failed gas control valve. 8) Fuel supply from thermostat to burner ... issues: maintenance, thermocouple-thermopile, gas control valve. 9) Clean and replace burner ... issue: periodic maintenance requires burner inspection, cleaning, and possible replacement 10) Functioning thermopile-thermocouple-pilot light ... issues: misalignment, failure of part. 11) Ignition of fuel supply by pilot light or hot surface igniter ... issues: pilot light, piezo igniter, electrode. 12) Power vent water heater troubleshoot ... issues: pressure switch, blower, blower sequence from gas control, outlet polarity 13) Venting combustion byproduct .... issues: vent in disrepair, other vents in house drawing air 14) Misc troubleshoot manuals 15) How to install gas water heater 16) How to maintain water heater |
 |
Buy
from my affiliate links every time/ thanks: Amazon As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases Enter Amazon from any link on my site, fill cart with any item ... purchases pay small commission E-mail: geno03245w@gmail.com My response might end up in spam folder, check email folders Waterheatertimer on Twitter Message thru facebook |
