Vitidens 200 venting

Bob Schultz

I'm concerned about the side vent on the west /north wall causing trip out problems in the vitodens 200. Or should I stick with a vertical vent if possible. Are these unit fussy with wind induced backpressure

Mike T., Swampeast MO

The Vitodens uses a "non-mechanical, proportional pneumatic link" to mix air and fuel. It is self-compensating for changing pressure (both positive and negative) in the air and fuel supplies. Should extreme conditions occur it will detect the fault, shut down, record that the fault has occurred and re-start some time later. If no fault is detected things work as normal, but the original fault is still stored in memory. Should the condition persist for a long period, I believe that it will finally shut down on "uncorrectable" fault.

My Vitodens has a horizontal vent exiting the west wall. Land slopes down significantly (am on a ridge) and there is nothing to break the wind. While there was nothing near sustained hurricane winds last year, we did have some very windy and gusty days. No fault was ever detected.

Personally, I think that vertical venting should be considered the desired method. Horizontal should only be used when vertical is either impossible or extremely impractical.

If you do use horizontal termination, make certain that you secure the screen cover VERY well to a FIRM substrate! It's huge and a LOT of ice builds up--BIG icicles that eventually reach the ground. Mine was never in danger of fully icing over, but I was beginning to wonder... I suspect that the shorter the horizontal venting the more ice buildup. Mine is only about 4' so there is little opportunity for the water vapor to condense in the flue and drain back to the boiler.

Andrew Hagen (ALH)

Vent

I prefer vertical venting to horizontal venting, especially in very cold climates where ice buildup can be a problem, or where wind can be an issue. If ice buildup is a problem, there are ways to reduce it. Portions of the vent protection cage can be cut where the ice buildup is the worst. Also there is a procedure to attach a 45 degree elbow pointing downward on the end of the horizontal termination and eliminate the cage altogether if allowed. It doesnt look as good as the factory setup, but it works.

If you can, vent vertically. If you have to vent horizontally, try the factory setup first and modify only if necessary.

-Andrew