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Author:
waukeshaplumbing (WI)
I ran into a new one today i thought id share
i got a call for a leaky water heater, went to replace it....while replacing i noticed water on the 3" flue pipe..thought it was odd
after starting up the new heater i smelled burning ...odd....noticed some debris/dust came out when i redid a bit of venting, so i figured it was just the debris burning a bit....
came back down to do a final check and my helper asked 'whats burning'.....got me thinking....so i touched the flue...ice cold.....w/ tons of heat coming out around the funnel/collar......i knew right away...frozen b-vent....ive never heard or seen it before, but if i had walked away id be liable for hurting someone.....(there was a bedroom downstairs)
my guess----the water heater was leaking in such a way that it was throwing very humid exhaust....it gets below 0 here in WI every winter....and i doubt this house has this issue every year....the customer would have noticed burning in the basement
so i called my HVAC friend---simple fix....open the flue, run a blow dryer into it for a few hours....the homeowner called me a few hours later to tell me it was now open and he had his water heater lit...i wonder how much water ran back out?
ive seen 3" roof vents frozen over.....never a B-vent...this house is approx 11 years old
anyone ever seen this?
Edited 2 times.
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Author:
packy (MA)
i'm suprised the hair dryer had enough heat to melt the ice.
how high was the b-vent and how much was frozen?
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Author:
waukeshaplumbing (WI)
2 story house
have no idea how much is frozen....i just knew there was no draft and we just got done with 2 really cold days here
it was in the 30's today and everything outside was melting....a hair dryer on high running for hours pushing hot air up the flue....i think it was a perfect solution.....my hvac friend gave me the advice...he said its what they do
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Author:
m & m (MD)
That basement bedroom MUST have a CO monitor/alarm if doesn't already!
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Author:
waukeshaplumbing (WI)
told the homeowner to go out and buy one....he said he did......not sure how long the old heater was blowing out exhaust into the basement...but id assume 3-4 days since it got cold on Sunday and i replaced on Wednesday
had another that used cardboard flue pipe mixed with some steel flue pipe that was so rotten the top was completely gone...the thing flue pipe run was approx 15' across the whole basement....100% exiting into the basement....probably had been for years....yet the people survived
saw a power vent a while back that used steel flue pipe.....customer didnt want to fix!!!......
seen people use downspouts as b-vent
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