Well, mine has an elbow but it is only about 20 inches above grade. Usually there is enough heat to more or less keep the snow away clear but my house is very well insulated and quite air tight so the furnace doesn't work all that hard when it is warm enough to snow and if the wind banks it up while the furnace isn't cycling a lot it can cover over the end of the exhaust. When the furnace does cycle on it may work a time or two but this only serves to melt some snow and condense some vapor and form a nice ice bubble.At night my thermostat cuts back to 16C or about 62F at about 10:30 and doesn't come back up until 7 the next morning. A lot of snow can build up in that time.
What I intend to do is create a box with horizontal slats but tilted to shed snow and water maybe about a cubic meter so there is always some space around the outlet. I might extend a three or four inch pipe up from it with a hat so that there is always some ventilation or maybe even a length of weeping tile just to make sure there will always be more than enough escape. When properly installed the exhaust also slopes toward the outside so that any water condensing will run down hill to the outside. ----- Original Message ----- From: Lee A. Stone To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 9:43 PM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] the furnace is on order Might I suggest once you figure out Dale what you are going to do to prevent snow drifts , etc from blocking up your heating system that you first get a Canadian and then american Patent. . apparently when new heating system ideas come out they do not test in all types of situations , well the way I found out about putting the elbow on is because of what I listened to on the radio during the blackout of 87. it was a flaw in the original design. Now the other problem which I am thinking you have with the snow, as we do. where we never had snow drifts ten or fifteeen yearts ago we might have now because of the change in storms as well as the winds. . I'd be interested on finding out what Geno had at the end of his pipes if anything after he had a new system installed last year up in Maine. or any other person who has a new furnace with this type of exhaust. Lee On Tue, Jul 08, 2008 at 09:27:33PM -0400, Dale Leavens wrote: > Do be aware that the intake and the exhaust can become blocked by snow, it happens to me most every year at some point. The safety devices sense if there is too much resistance to the exhaust and they won't allow the furnace to ignite. What can happen is a drift of snow will cover the outlet, it may work fine for a cycle or two but the exhaust gasses aren't very hot, maybe 80 or so degrees and full of vapor. This can form ice around the exhaust and seal it up pretty snug. > > I intend this year to make something of a vented box to place over my exhaust to create a large open area in the hope that this will help keep the end clear. It is a difficult thing to get to in my situation , the other side of the house to the drive and generally there is a drift at the corner of the house about 6 feet deep to wade through. > > Still, it is a lot better than climbing up on the roof. Usually it happens after one of those blizzard downfalls where driving snow forms a thick deep drift. > > anyway, you will probably be happy with the new furnace. > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Don > To: [email protected] > Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2008 4:55 PM > Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] the furnace is on order > > > Great idea on the vent pipe. It should be great this winter. Keep warm for less money, that couldn't be all bad.. Regards > ----- Original Message ----- > From: David Ferrin > To: [email protected] > Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2008 9:06 AM > Subject: [BlindHandyMan] the furnace is on order > > We've decided to go with the 95% efficiency model furnace. It's $240 more than the 94% unit but I figure with the price of natural gas and electric spiking around here almost every day that minor cost adjustment won't even be noticeable at all. It's a Lennox if I spell that correctly unit and the guy first said they vent them out the roof but I killed that idea toot sweet. I said vent it out the side of my house which in fact is not the storm side which is closer to where the furnace room is located. He said that he had already been up on roofs shoveling snow off of the vent pipe so a customer's furnace would light but like I said not here no way. I'm sure as many of you out there know if that vent pipe gets blocked your furnace is not going to do it's thing. It will be no sooner than next month some time, when exactly though I have no idea. With 2 guys it is billed as a 1 day job as the saying goes a turn key system. I'll post more if anybody is interested as things progre > ss. > David Ferrin > www.jaws-users.com > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------- > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG. > Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.4.6/1540 - Release Date: 7/8/2008 6:33 AM > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > -- Is there life before breakfast? Come and chat with me at #quietzone on irc.newnet.net ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.4.7/1544 - Release Date: 7/10/2008 7:37 AM [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
