What is Proper Water Heater Ventilation?

Ventilation is always important for any water heater out there. There are a lot of problems that can appear and they need to be dealt with as fast as possible. For instance, one common fact stands in soot accumulation on top of the water heater. This is a signal that the burner is not working properly and there is a need to call a professional. You could also check to see if you have proper ventilation of your water heater by holding an open flame from a match or lighter near the draft hood. If you see that the flame is drawn towards the hood we are noticing proper water heater ventilation.

Keep in mind that venting for any type of fuel burning equipment is very important. All vents need to be checked when dealing with new water heaters. Building codes usually ask for specific sizes when talking about all fuel burning appliances. If you do not have such documentation on hand you should schedule an appointment with the local building inspector. You will thus see if there is a proper connection between the chimney and the hot water heater and if ventilation is proper.

We are dealing with different systems based on the building type and its age. This is because traditional masonry chimneys were designed in the past to meet with the needs of hot flue gases coming from wood burning, coal or low efficiency gas furnaces. When installing water heaters in the place of an older piece of equipment there is an immediate need to see whether ventilation is proper to handle the new system. Keep in mind that just because all was build to handle larger volumes it does not mean that it is good to cope with the needs of the new water heater. For instance, when faced with such a situation you might get to the point where exhaust gases simply would not rise and problems can appear. Eventually this will translate in gas spilling in your basement. As you can imagine this is a very problematic case that needs to be handled as soon as possible. To keep it all simple, proper water heater ventilation is a tricky subject and needs to be handled by a professional because of the high risks involved. In fact, this goes for any major modification you do to your house and not only with water heater ventilation.