Boiler breaching &
venting
Boiler breeching is dependent on boiler type and building configuration. It is very important to fully understand the venting process and the type of combustion by-products that are being directed outdoors. GP Energy Products will get to know your particular system, discuss all possible solutions, and work with your team to provide the best products, sizing and installation to assure your system safe and in compliance.
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As for natural draft water heaters, it’s important to distinguish between the vent and the vent connector. The vent is the metal thing that goes from the room that the water heater is in and rises up through the roof. It’ll typically be a straight vertical run of UL-listed double-wall class-B vent. The vent connector is the thing that connects the water heater to the vent. It usually runs more horizontally than it does vertically. It’s important to know the difference between these two because the installation rules aren’t the same.
It used to be standard practice for water heaters to use a 3″ vent connector, but today all that’s allowed is a 4″ vent connector or larger. For residential installations, it’s very unusual to have anything other than a 4″ vent connector.
LENGTH AND WIDTH
As for vent connector length, this is a tough one to figure out. In general, the shorter the better. The longer the run on a vent connector, the greater the potential for backdrafting. The image above would depict a more ideal installation if the water heater were installed closer to the vent, but still, it’s not bad.
National fuel gas codes allow the vent connector to have 1-1/2′ of horizontal run for every inch of vent connector diameter. In other words, a 4-inch vent connector would be allowed to have a 6-foot horizontal run. There are exceptions that allow for longer runs, but this is a good guideline to follow.
When a water heater vent connector is over six feet long, it’s probably an improper installation that might not draft properly. Sometimes it’ll still work just fine, however, and that’s why testing for proper draft and looking for signs of previous backdrafting is important.
Water heater vent connectors need to pitch upward at a minimum of 1/4″ per foot. Ideally, much more than this. When water heater vents aren’t pitched properly, they have a greater potential to backdraft.
PITCH
Gas vents get hot, and they need to maintain enough clearance to combustible materials to help prevent damage. For the record, everything is combustible unless it’s defined as noncombustible. This includes items such as wood, as well as the paper face on drywall. For single-wall vent connectors, there needs to be 6″ of clearance to anything that’s combustible. These required clearances can be reduced by installing shields in accordance with section 308 of the Minnesota Fuel Gas Code.
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