Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

Ice formations on sidewall vented boilers

Steve_35
Steve_35 Member Posts: 546
in THE MAIN WALL
of the methane extracted makes it into the environment instead of the end user and that methane is about the worst greenhouse gas there is I'm going to say the gas system has more of an impact on the environment.

Comments

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Flue gas. Oil Vs. Gas

    Ice formations on two of my side-wall vented boiler terminations. One is an oil fired boiler. The other is a condensing/modulating gas fired boiler. Notice how dirty the ice is on the oil fired unit compared to the clear ice on the gas. Oil boiler was just cleaned and dialed in.

    Which one is having more of an impact on the environment?


    To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"
  • hr
    hr Member Posts: 6,106
    That's not an

    operatable window under that V vent, is it :)

    I do everything in my power to vent through the roof. Sidewalls, as you well know, cause a number of icing and odor problems for the building owner and often the neighbors. lots of moisture in condensing boiler exhust. much different than a sidewall vented convential unit.

    hot rod

    To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"
  • ScottMP
    ScottMP Member Posts: 5,883
    Thats not ice

    THIS is ICE !!!

    DAMN I had some great photos of condesate buildup and they won't down load.

    Never Mind...

    To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"
  • ScottMP
    ScottMP Member Posts: 5,883
    Let me try again

    Hows this ...

    Anyone else having trouble posting pictures ??

    I could only do one ??

    To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"
  • hr
    hr Member Posts: 6,106
    Titantic

    wow, Scott, in a few more months that build up will push the home off the foundation :)

    Takes it toll on the siding also.

    Wonder where the melt waters will end up?

    Then again you could sell the "block" to local chefs for ice sculpture displays. They like big solid, clear chunks :) Where's my chain saw and chisel? You could carve an ice sculpture of the boiler that formed that for an ad!

    hot rod

    To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"
  • ScottMP
    ScottMP Member Posts: 5,883
    Ya know

    It made my drink taste funny....

    To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"
  • ScottMP
    ScottMP Member Posts: 5,883
    Ya know

    It made my drink taste funny....

    To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"
  • J.C.A._3
    J.C.A._3 Member Posts: 2,980
    Here's some ice damage....

    This didn't effect the environment outside too much but indoor air and life quality weren't so good either. Chris
  • Joe@buderus
    Joe@buderus Member Posts: 165


    Any appliance that has an issue such as plugged nozzle, low gas pressure, lack of combustion air is going to cause problems. With sidewall venting we just see it up close.
  • Weezbo
    Weezbo Member Posts: 6,232
    Man You been feelin funny all day*~/:)))

    Ever since the last cool one:)))) You ARE GOOD ToDay! i wish i had a picture of the ice maker overflow line we had in Phrudo Bay...it was like an Ice AntHill over 4'6" tall,about 6 foot at the base..hollow through the center where the water kept leaking out every day..BUSTin UP the floor inside the building... i took a sledge hammer to it and a couple hours later it was history....
  • Darin Cook_3
    Darin Cook_3 Member Posts: 389
    Chris, That thing was waiting all these years

    just to pull a few more of your discs out. I bet you threw that little baby up on your shoulders and ran out the door with it.






    Darin
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Snow storm + ice could = Trouble!

    WOW! Now That's Ice buildup!

    Hmmm, The code body here tells us we only need 12" from ground level to the invert of sidewall vented boilers. When I woke up this morning, we had 14" allready. Probably another foot or so comming today & tonight with high winds. I'm wondering about all of those building owners who have these now.

    I know 12" is not enough around these parts. Shouldn't the codes require at least 36" around here?

    HR, That window in photo doesn't open. 14" crawlspace below and no hinges.

    To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"
  • Steve_35
    Steve_35 Member Posts: 546
    The code defaults to the

    manufacturer's specifications. Every side wall vented appliance I've seen requires 12" above the ground OR 12" above the anticipated snow level whichever is greater.
  • Mark Eatherton1
    Mark Eatherton1 Member Posts: 2,542
    Define...

    "anticipated snow levels". There are places here in Colorado that have gotten 10 feet of snow in the last 2 weeks:-)

    They're just trying to cover thier butts...

    Denver now requires 18" A.F.G.

    ME
  • bob_44
    bob_44 Member Posts: 112
    Another consequence

    of sealed combustion in snow country is sucking powder in the intake. I have seen it plug the intake pipe, pack the combustion air fan until it seized,and cause rust and corrosion after it melts. On hydro-pusses the melted snow would cause the spark plug to get rusted in, it would take two guys to hold back on the boiler because they were piped with hose and a third guy with a 4' cheater and a pint of liquid wrench to remove the plug. Like oil a good money-maker for a serviceman. bob
  • Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating
    Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating Member Posts: 1,373
    I refuse to vent through the side wall

    I just saw on the news a half hour ago, we lost a pregnant women and her child, the snow drifted up against the boiler vent here in the Boston area...

    To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"
    To learn more about this professional, click here to visit their ad in Find A Contractor.
  • Doug_21
    Doug_21 Member Posts: 3
    Plymouth, Mass

    I agree with Joe from Buderus. Sidewall venting makes problems (normally never seen by the consumer up in those chimneys), visible to even the average jane, joe, or junior. Many of you in the industry (and many more homeowners) will see the video of the sidewall venting in Plymouth, Mass. that was buried in the snow. Side venting will get a bad rap from this near tragedy, but the reality is that every day, CO problems arise in homes with faulty conventional chimneys. For homeowners, the key is education. Admittedly, some DIY'ers do drive tradespeople crazy, but that's no reason to keep consumers out of the loop. The more HO's know about their systems, the better. Few people would think it prudent to run a dryer vent or car tailpipe immersed in snow, in part, because even the layperson can see the dangers connected with such situations. If you educate your customers to know as much as they can about their systems, the more they are likely to appreciate you and the importance of your work.
  • joel_19
    joel_19 Member Posts: 931
    How??

    How could she get CO from direct vent. The pressure switch would be open not allowing the unit to run. Something must have been wrong with it the safetys must have been bypassed. Still HO's should make sure it's open and clear. They won't though, I went to a house with frozen pipes yesterday. they had the garrage doors open all day!

    To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"
This discussion has been closed.

Categories