I'm sorry guys I'm not trying to be a whiner here but after this other plumber installed the 4 inch vent I am scared to death...

How hot should Type B pipe get??? All of a sudden after this plumber installed 4 inch pipe my Tee and chimney feed (Type becomes very hot to the touch! I don't recall that happening with the 3 inch pipe and in fact when I made the comment that it seemed cooler than the other pipes(when 3 inch was in) he said of course it would be because it is double lined pipe and doesn't get as hot as the single wall. Well take a look at these pics before and after it looks like he crimped the 4 inch pipe and put it OVER the Tee opening instead of in it like it was before and taped it up..to me that is forcing a lot of the exhaust out to the surface of the Tee and chimney

I don't think I am being an alarmist here am I???? I'm not trying to whine but I have 2 kids in the house and am afraid of what he has done.....he also spun the Tee out a bit to get it away from the wood and now that is loose at it's connection to the chimney

Please look at before and after and help me please

What is wrong with the plumbers I am getting from Sears??? They are independent plumbers/contractors for Sears

How do I find someone who can do it right? A big company????? I can't just open the phone book and guess

Please help with your expert knowledge.........I'm trying to learn


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Thank you so much...I don't want to burn my place down over a shower...this Tybe B gets so hot to touch and I have no idea how hot it gets once it goes beyond my line of sight

I would look under HVAC or sheet metal in the yellow pages. The second image does not look right at all.

What is the vent serving, a water heater? Was it replaced it with a larger one that required a larger vent? Why was anyone fooling with the vent?

Yes a Kenmore Powermiser 9 was having venting issues and when Sears sent another plumber out he said that would require 4 inch venting to be in code.


I did not expect such a slapchop job...that is awful and not to mention that T and chimney get freaking hot!! What reputable plumber would do that? Wouldn't a plumber here know that it would cause the T and chimney pipe to get hot with the seams going OVER the connection instead of in it?

Am I in danger of having a fire where I can't see it above where it goes into the house???



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It just occured to me that he turned a Type b pipe into a single wall as all exhaust is now traveling through both sections of pipe no??????


omg

If you were in Florida, then I could expect you to get these kinds of plumbers. I will have to go back to the original pictures, but I believe the heater had a 3" outlet, with a 4" optional, draft diverter in which case it ONLY needed a 3" vent. If that were not the case it would have had to have had a reducer between it and the first elbow, which was not the case. Now, it appears he used 4" single wall, but kept what appears to be a 3" tee, and you CANNOT reduce the size of a flue. Most double wall is sealed with a liner between the two walls so nothing can get between them,but yours may be different. YOU really need a competent plumber to check the water heater and find out what the REAL problem is, and it was not likely the size of the flue in the first place, and then fix THAT.

you chose Sears to save money....they use low end plumbers to save money

the price they pay isnt enough to survive as a business, so you get the most desperate plumber they could find to accept their low pay.

i looked into being a Home Depot installer...the price they paid is below my cost by $100

I would like it to be ABOVE my costs by $100

B-vent requires a 1" clearance between it and combustable surfaces. it appears as if you have that so don't be concerned about that part of the installation.
the single wall pipe requires 6" of space between it and combustable surfaces. you don't appear to have the proper clearance.
also, there needs to be some sort of fire stop and some sort of rigid spacer to keep the B-vent from shifting.
the installer did not have the proper transition piece to go from single wall to B-vent and made their own.
i would advise you to get the local gas inspector in there immediately.

You were told on the other forum that it made no sense to increase to 4". I did assume that you were going to increase the entire flu. To my knowledge, it is NEVER proper to reduce the size of a flue run.

You need some help right away, and you may have to pay for it. I would save all those before and after pictures in case you have to take sears to small claims court to recoup your expense.

You better call in your local Heating Inspector, DO NOT use the heating device until he o.k.'s it.

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the national fuel gas code does not allow going from 4" pipe to 3" pipe and it does not allow the vent to be taped

find another plumber

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

It does allow metallic tape, but not duct tape.

HOLD THE PHONE HJ, You would't be bad mouthing us plumbers here in Florida would YA?

What he did is wrong and not safe, my friend. You are correct to say it wasn't as hot before because the flue gases only traveled on the inner most pipe only. The setup now is causing the gases to travel in between the inner and outer pipe. This could result in carbon monoxide poisoning. You can use 3 inch single wall pipe and a new 90 to fix this, or replace it all to 4 inch, your choice. The single wall 3 inch will be easier and cheaper.

Oh and also, when it comes to plumbing and heating never be cheap, as it always comes back to bite you the ass....

I don't have to SUM does a good enough job of that.

As someone reminded me after looking at the picture, the clearances to combustible materials are too close for single wall.

First, the pipe that has all of the foil tape on it IS NOT Type B It is single wall pipe and SHOULD NOT be used in that location, It is too close to the wall and the paper on the insulation, You need to call sears back and tell them to send someone to replace the Single wall vent with TYPE B vent which is DOUBLE WALL. They will have to find the correct pipe to connect to the TEE.

PS. they need to reduce the pipe back down to 3" double wall Not 4" single wall. I woulde also call your city inspector as mentioned, It is time to get hacks like that where they belong back at a fast food joint.

PlumbCat TM 2003


Plumbermandan



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wow,i thought they brag that they use lic and insured contractors...call the city,see if a premit was ever pulled....i know there was no inspection .could go on and on .tell them you paid for a safe and proper install and you sure did'nt get one.last resort sue thier butts of(you still need to get it fixed NOW.

SOUTH FLORIDA LOL.

And it might be easier to list the plumbers who are not hacks, (or at least those SUM has not used yet), than those who are. At least it appears it would be a much shorter list.



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actually the international fuel gas code does not mention any type of tape at all so it is up to interpretation and i and all the inspectors around my area interpret that to mean that even "metal tape" is not allowed. i wouldnt use it anyway because as hot as single wall pipe gets it burns the adhesive off fairly quickly thus rendering the tape useless as a seal even if it is "metal tape". not to mention that if the venting is installed and supported properly there should be no need for extra sealing of connection points

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

The metal tape we used fuses to the single wall when it gets hot and is almost impossible to remove without cutting it off.

point taken but it still should not need to be used and is ugly to behold when it is used

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

Why ugly? When properly applied it looks just like the metal flue pipe, just shinier.



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i have never seen one that looked good after a year

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

I have never seen any that looked any different after 5 years.