Water Heater Backdraft Preventer

Last week i blogged about how to determine if a water heater is backdrafting.

Water heater backdraft preventer.

How to prevent backdrafting. The main reasons for the backdrafting at the water heater are the poor vent installation and the obstructions found in the vent pipe. If a water heater backdrafts it means that potentially hazardous exhaust gases are coming back into the home. The simplest way to prevent backdrafting is to provide a source of replacement air also called combustion air for your furnace water heater and fireplace to replace the air that flows up the chimney with the exhaust fumes fig.

The chiller water makeup line shall be provided with a pressure reducing backflow preventer similar to the the maximum length of straight duct shall not exceed 25 feet and shall terminate with a wall cap containing a backdraft the condensing gas fired water heater shall be located in. That s the easy part the tough part is determining why it s happening and fixing it there are many potential causes for a water heater to backdraft so i ll cover as many as i can think of. Consumers have to be worried about fuel fired water heaters. In those cases even the slightest negative pressure in the home such as turning on a bathroom fan can potentially cause a backdraft.

A flue vent that is improperly sized either too large or too small or blocked by an animal nest will not draw the exhaust properly. Even in a home with a water heater that drafts very well just throw in a big 600 cfm kitchen hood fan and it s almost a guarantee that the water heater will backdraft with the fan running. There are a variety of ways to see if your water heater may be back drafting. This problem affects mainly the atmospheric gas type water heaters that use the natural convection for the removal of the products of combustion known as the exhaust gases.

In the backdrafting world gas water heaters are often suspect 1 warns gromicko. The problem is even bigger if the house is well insulated doors and windows sealed and. Turn down the heat at the furnace or boiler if there is a shared vent close all windows and doors close any fireplace dampers if present turn on any kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans turn on the clothes dryer run hot water at a bath tub or laundry sink long enough to get the water heater to kick.