Home owner installed a nice richmond tankless WH but the vent installation has me scratching my head.
Installation instructions require 36" to the side of a door or operable window.
Does a service door into the garage count?
I’m going with yes and am writing it up as insufficent clearance from an operable door and from the surface materials, improper installation and missing end cap.
Welcome input from all. TIA
Good question, I would say yes. What if someone is inside the garage working and forgets to close or leaves the door open? Heck, even at 3 feet it’s kind of close.
Im thinking they didn’t give that much thought before they got started…
Is that a direct vent installation? If so, the manual I found online indicates 6 - 12" to an operable door or window. However it also indicates 36" to an inside corner. The manual did not have distances for a non-direct vent installation. The manual below is from Richmond’s website.
https://cdn.globalimageserver.com/FetchDocument.aspx?ID=B0E7F470-A620-46FC-B4F3-D63B312F61E7
This is a 7.0 GPM unit 160,000 BTUs
Also found this:
DO NOT terminate vent directly on brick or masonry surfaces. A rust-resistant, sheet metal backing plate is recommended behind the vent.
DVWH.pdf (438.7 KB)
096F44F9-63A3-4A90-9F71-1F34592D6DE8.pdf
You’re right on the door clearance Ryan, I was looking at the Canadian chart, but regardless, it’s still inaduquate.
kind of looks like something is missing with those tabs sticking out, of course they just might be trying to make sure you get cut as well as burn’t putting that so low in a walkway…
There is a protective screen that was missing, I called it an end cap in the report. Seller was there telling me how he spent as much on that vent duct as he did the water heater and that originally he was going to install it using the equivalent of dryer duct material but it kept setting a code and wouldn’t work, so he called the manufacturer and it seems they gave him some advice. He would have been better off relocating the WH and running a couple lines than punching a hole through a brick wall and trying to fix that FUBAR mess.
He would have been better off sealing it with flex seal rather than expanding foam insuation (great stuff), no? That great stuff sure has been popular stuff for sealing WH vents around here lately.
I would have written it up also Kevin. As Jim said, definitely an afterthought.
Kevin, do you happen to have a pic of the tag or the model of the termination cap?
Yeap, supposed to look like this. Talk about a homeowner special! The entire installation needs to be evaluated and corrected with a combustion test to verify proper firing.
No, I simply called out the missing end cap/screen which any rodent could easily crawl into.
I called out the whole installation as being improper while also mentioning the inadequate clearances and the missing cap.
I do a “be aware” in my reports with any water heater or furnace vent located so low, could be hot, odor in the area, and keep vegetation away. I’m old-fashioned, I like to see things vent through the roof.
Homeowners who do their own repair work or upgrades can make this job both interesting and frustrating. Like in this situation where you had to spend time doing extra research because the guy did something that “just didn’t look right”.
I’ve had many that followed me around bragging about their work but when I point out a few mistakes they made, they usually mumble something then leave me alone.
No question in my mind. It’s not only a deficiency but a safety hazard!
