The heater's blowing cold, or the AC is blowing hot. I got another unit to replace this one and placed a 90 degree elbow and a "T" fitting on the end to block and wind from entering the exhaust. turn about 2 to another 90 deg turn about 2 out the wall . Have you ever felt air that's 66F? The simplest way to check for backdrafting is to put hands around the draft hood, mirror or glass. You can tell if it's time to replace batteries by referring to your thermostat's low battery notification. If cold air is seeping into your ductwork, it must blow out of the duct registers before the furnace's warm air canthus it feels like air-conditioned air is ventilated through your home despite the thermostat being set to heat at 72-degrees. Size wise, you should have a vent not less than 3 inches, but you need 1 square inch for every 1000 btu on the heater. First, verify the set temperature is higher than the room's temperature. The system works solely through natural convectionbased on the principle that hot air rises. There is cold air coming in from the vent falling on top of the heater and cooling the whole room. If cold air is seeping into your ductwork, it must blow out of the duct registers before the furnace's warm air canthus it feels like air-conditioned air is ventilated . Air return vents are necessary for the 'inhale' process. The difference is that a power vent water heater pulls in combustion air from the space around the appliance, then uses a fan to propel the exhaust through the vent. Tape all joints including the connections to the fan itself. You will feel the warm gases coming out while the moist inside the flue gases will make the mirror/glass fog up if used as the checking tool. As mentioned before, there are two types of venting systems used on tankless water heaters: power-vent and direct-vent. In many cases, this leaves a very fine white powder in the vents that are then carried into your home. 2) Clogged Air Filter. Simply put, a cold air vent returns cold air back into the furnace. The difference is that a power vent water heater pulls in combustion air from the space around the appliance, then uses a fan to propel the exhaust through the vent. Hot exhaust from the water heater naturally rises up through the vent and into the air outdoors, creating a draw that promotes this upward airflow. Thankfully, this is an easy fix. I got another unit to replace this one and placed a 90 degree elbow and a "T" fitting on the end to block and wind from entering the exhaust. It 'breaths out' hot and it 'inhales' cold air. So, if your home's temperature is 50F, the air temperature in your supply vent will be 66F. Generally, the temperature at the supply vent when cooling with an air conditioner should be 16F to 22F lower than the air temperature entering the air conditioning unit from your rooms. You can hear it blowing, but no heat is coming out. I double checked the saddle valve on the supply water line to the humidifier and it is also 'off'. The current vent leaves the heater going straight up a few inches, makes a right angle then another and heads straight up out the roof. I am having an issue with my water heater and would like some advice. Yes there is an older Aprilaire humidifier hooked up to the cold air return but it has been turned off and not in operation. If there is a blockage on the air vent outside, you will also run into this issue. First and most importantly, make sure your thermostat is set to Heating Mode. Hi. There is cold air coming in from the vent falling on top of the heater and cooling the whole room. Backdrafting at a water heater is a common defect identified during home inspections, and it's almost always a condition that the homeowner or occupant is not aware of. Basement is partially finished, can see the duct going straight from the blower to the vent in the basement and see a path of ducts going the other direction before disappearing under ceiling, but that seems to be the air return. 2 Atmospheric vent systems work well (and without electricity) if they are properly designed and the home does not have backdraft issues. There are two main functions for most fresh-air intakes in homes. A direct vent system pulls in. A direct vent system pulls in . If you find that this is the case, you will either need to reseal or replace the damper. A Fix to Cold Air Coming Out of Vents: Duct Insulation & Sealing Services. A draft hood is placed above the upper most part of the gas furnace to draw air into the chimney and makes it possible to draw more or less air through the chimney as necessary to create a constant flow. Standard water heatersthe most common typeoften use a method known as atmospheric venting. Just turn the fan setting from ON to AUTO. Next verify the thermostat's fan setting is set to AUTO, not ON. The minerals can precipitate from the heated air as it cools in the ductwork. The minerals in the water are also added. To properly heat your home, furnaces control their heating by maintaining a "delta T" of 16 to 22F. This is a more critical item if the units are enclosed in a small area with limited air available. The air blowing out of vent is that air, so when it starts to get cool it just means that that inside unit is cooling down and you just need to adjust something on the furnace that controls how long it runs after temperature . Butterfly dampers Any exhaust vent that rises up and out will have a tendency to let cold air fall back down that duct. If you have a house with 7 rooms, you need 7 cold air return vents. The first is to bring in sufficient combustion air for natural gas-burning appliances such as furnaces and water heaters. He said that when your furnace is running (that you can hear it) it is heating up the air that is within the furnace. The current vent leaves the heater going straight up a few inches, makes a right angle then another and heads straight up out the roof. It didn't seem to matter as this Sunday night it was -25 and the new hot water heater froze. How to check is the water heater backdrafting. No furnace can adequately operate without sufficient return air supply. Step 3. Power-vent water heaters use indoor air for gas combustion, while direct-vent utilize outside air. Hot exhaust from the water heater naturally rises up . Mar 6, 2014. So in the winter we get short hot showers. Solutions that don't use electricity would be best for off-grid use. Often, these appliances can be cut off from sufficient . How can I fix this venting problem? Once you do that, your fan should only blow out air that is heated by your furnace. That's quite easy to understand. Check to see if your thermostat is set to ON or AUTO. RSES Certificate Member RSES-SWRA Past President If you have a battery-powered thermostat, ensure it has fresh batteries. The gap allows additional air to flow in and the combined air, if the ductwork is designed and installed properly, flows through the ductwork and out of the house. How can I fix this venting problem? The idea with this type of system is that it doesn't use inside air for combustion. There is a small plastic device called a damper flap that regulates the flow of air - in this case, it is supposed to keep cold drafts out and your heated air in. It is cooler in the basement but still not "air conditioner" feel. What is a cold air return vent? I even disconnected that water line from the humidifier to make absolutely sure that no water was going through it. Additionally, double-check that your thermostat is set to "HEAT.". But once the flue has been actively chilled below some point it creates an "anti" stack effect when there is no burner adding heat to the stack, and cold air will continue to come down the flue until the flue warms up again (from either the burner firing for some period, or more slowly from the heat of the house.) This will stop any back draft on the heater when other exhaust fansd are ran. This one comes from a company called Aeroflo at www.ContinentalFan.com. If the drain terminates under a bathroom sink, like most attic installed systems in my area do, capping the vent in the drain line can cause gurgling and knocking noises from the sink, and often a noticeable amount of air blowing up out of the sink drain, often with associated sink drain smells. The ON setting makes the furnace fan blow continuously, even when the heating cycle is not activated. You're standing there pushing buttons trying to heat up the house, but it's just not working. Here are some solutions. Quality butterfly dampers are available that have a little spring inside, two flappers and a weather-stripped rubber stopper. While the piping could be modified to use inside air and only exhaust outside, it would defeat the design. turn about 2 to another 90 deg turn about 2 out the wall and there is a 90Deg on the outside that points down and there is a bug screen (supplied with the heater) glued into that final 90. One night when it was -20 degrees outside the water heater froze and started leaking. One of them is the poor vent installation, such as horizontal or downward slope - the vent pipe has been installed with the improper pitch; too many turns (bends - especially with the sharp and right angles), sudden diameter reduction, sags, dips, long vents You can also use the lighter or matchstick beside the . Ducts should be tightly sealed and insulated to keep the air in them warm during the winter. If you have a house with 12 rooms, you need 12 return vents. I have a Reem hot water heater. Can not see anything else unfortunately. The vent consists of a vertical or upward-sloping vent duct that typically ties into a common vent. Like most commonly used mechanisms in your home, after time they can become loose or damaged. You should have 2 seperate outlets for air, 1 within 12 inches of the ceiling and 1 within 1 foot fo the floor. The OP said he has heat at passenger side wich means heater core is functioning properly, he also stated he checked one actuator, not all of them, just because he has air coming out the vent means nothing, seems as though some are not fully reading the original post he has heat on passenger but not drivers side yet has cold air blowing from . Sprayed down the outdoor unit with Frost King coil cleaner foam (I was able to turn the electricity off outside but did not take the unit apart, just went at the sides as much as possible). A properly working damper will close and open easily . If it is set to ON, that may be your problem- switch it immediately. Upvote # 7 Before taping the exhaust hood to the vent pipe, check the gravity operated back draft damper to see if it is working properly. It has 3" pipe. As the water in the humidifier is agitated, water particles enter the air. This happens when the exhaust gases from an atmospherically vented water heater spill out into the room, rather than safely leaving the house through the vent. Backdrafting at a water heater is a common defect identified during home inspections, and it's almost always a condition that the homeowner or occupant is not aware of. For a heat pump or heater to produce warm air, air must flow easily through the filter. I have a Reem hot water heater. Replaced filter in what I think of as the furnace. The vent goes straight up from the water heater about 2 then a 90Deg. However, if you feel slow, drifting warm air, that means it is releasing into the same room. So when the water heater fires up it vents into the basement until the draft reestablishes. The power of the draw increases as the vent duct heats up.