Water Heater Direct Vent

April 18, 2014

Tip of the week #11

If you have gas water heater with a direct vent or power vent, you'll appreciate this tip. 

To prevent gas fumes and exhaust from entering your home, gas water heaters use a vent.  There are generally two types, direct vent, and power vent.

Direct vent uses a simple pipe where a power vent system uses a fan.  The type used usually depends on the location of installation.

Recently we visited a home owner who was having trouble with their water heater.  It wouldn't lite up, and everything they had tried wouldn't work.  After some trouble shooting we realized that the unit was not getting enough air through the power vent pipe. 

It turned out the power vent pipe had become home to a humming bird family and the pipe was blocked.

To prevent this problem a vent screen must be properly installed and inspected periodically.

Once we removed the nest and installed the screen, the water heater fired right up and started working perfectly again.