In order to properly vent a hot water heater through a wall, you must first understand the different kinds of venting that are available for you to use. You can use the following list of common water heaters including the type of venting they require. This article also contains information about installing water heaters in mobile homes, special consideration has to be taken in sensitive situations such as that.
Atmospheric Water Heater
The atmospheric water heater is very common. This water heater is found in different homes, including mobile homes that require it to be placed outside. Atmospheric venting operates by the difference between the pressure and temperature from the outside and inside of the house to migrate the exhaust gas upward and throughout the vertical pipe. Any common vent will normally work flawlessly with this type of water vent heater, however, it will be prone to getting back drafted. You would need to be alert of any signs of a gas leak, or if you conclude any kind of wrong venting. If you see any of these signs, you should call your gas company, if they are not available call a plumber as soon as possible to avoid any kind of illness or damage.
When it comes to mobile homes and atmospheric water venting it is not very complicated. If you own a portable home make sure to buy a portable water heater if you decide to install or replace a different water heater. The reason why you should make sure to do this is because companies will not provide warranty for water heaters if it was installed in a portable home that was not specified for type of use. You should also make certain that there is an outdoor panel that will be able to reach the distinct water heater, only if you will be utilizing the appropriate water heater.
Direct Vent Water Boiler
The direct vent water boiler is another type of water heater venting that you should know about. The air that is used for combustion will come from the water vent, this vent will either through the roof or from the outside of the wall. This vent also allows for off-gasses to be unleashed outside too. By bringing in clean air from the outside, you will be able to lower the chance of accidental fires that are created by flame creating vapors that may be surrounding your water heater. Although some water heater units can vent up to a certain amount of inches or horizontally until power vents become mandatory. One advantage of a direct vent model is that it will help eradicate any problems that was caused by improper inside ventilation. A direct vent system also has a double channel singular pipe system. This means that only one single pipe is required to go through the roof or wall where the clean air is moved and the off-gasses will be vented. However do not forget that there are other types of direct vents that may use air from a pipe that is operating underneath the house and to the exterior, and there is where they may ventilate the off-gasses throughout the roof.
The direct or combustion should definitely be sealed in your mobile home. You can determine if your water heater is a sealed combustion unit simply by observing that the vent for water heaters are located inside of the home without any outside openings. If you plan on getting a new type of water heater, you should want to switch it out with an identical unit, or else you risk the chance of having poor indoor ventilation, which will indefinitely lead to your water heater failing. The reason behind this is that mobile home seals combustion water heaters vent throughout the roof as if it were a standard atmosphere gas water heater. However, it gets its clean air from a bottom intake air vent that runs underneath the portable home to the exterior.
Ventilated Water Heater
Our last hot water heater vent that we will be talking about today is the power ventilated water heater. These power vent models come with a blower which is often extremely quiet. It is installed at the top of the water heater and can be utilized in both horizontal and vertical applications. It can be run horizontally because the vent does not need the buoyancy of hot air. The blower also makes the air cool so that the vent will be able to run in the PVC pipe, also it is very easy to put together. If you want to take this blower into consideration, please be mindful that you will need an outlet within 6 feet.
Choosing the proper venting for a hot water heater can be hard and stressful. You just need to remember that venting any water heater is very important and needed for comfortable living. Another thing that you should always need to consider is the permits and building code specifics for your area.
