Bosch Greenstar 151 Combi
Hi and Good Morning everyone…I've been on before with questions about this same system of which I had to replace after 11.5 years … Since it was freezing with no time to make any decisions to change to a less Hi-tech, standard system, we replaced with the same unit…everything is working extremely well and no issues as I experienced at the beginning last time that caused me to come on here..Anyway… Unrelated to the new install, ice on the gutter on the outside wall caused my soffit and gutter to come down, which exposed rotten wood which was caused by the units exhaust over 11 years… My soffit is OVER the exhaust thus the condensate has caused the wood to rot… All of that has been fixed BUT the exhaust has to be extended which now means that my central AC unit must be moved about a foot so that the acidic condensate doesn't destroy it… Are there any other remedies such as extending the pvc duct and directing the condensate upwards?…or downwards… my installer seems to think not I hope all of thhis makes sense…. TIA…
Comments
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Normally the exhaust pipe is pitched back towards the boiler so you shouldn't get condensate outside. Is the warm vapor condensing your concern for the AC?
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Picture of the exhaust pipe and the AC unit (all in the same shot) to get a better idea of your concern would help.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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Ok… Be right back…The Rhododendron is not as close as it looks and has been cut all around the bottom…
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The condensate was going up into the soffit which caused all of the wood underneath to rot badly… to extend the exhaust pipe it will inevitable drip acidic condensate onto my AC unit…Specs state the exhaust is NOT to be under a soffit for the very reason the wood had rotted
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That should never have been installed that way.
All that’s needed is for the pipe to be extended beyond the soffit and a 45* ell put on it facing upward.
Bob Boan
You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.0 -
45 degree elbow?….. Trust me… the first installers did a **** job which is why I originally discovered this very helpful site
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We felt that all that was needed was for it to be extended but when my plumber reached out to our local Bosch dealership in Westbury NY, he never said that the pipe can be faced upwards…That would be fantastic if we didn;t have to move our Central AC unit
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Why would you have to move it?
Bob Boan
You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.0 -
The plumber didn;t say anything about being able to extend and then face upward at 45 degree angle… if that's what you meant above… if he just extended it, the acidic condensate would drip on the top of AC unit which would eventually cause damage
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There won’t be any (or extremely little) condensate dripping from the ell if it’s pointed upward. Any unevaporated condensate will drain back inside the piping as it’s designed to do.
If that’s a real concern, then the pipe could be offset in the horizontal portion that’s under the soffit with a couple of ELLs, then extended out past the soffit with the 45 pointed upward.
I’m a little bit at a loss as to why your plumber doesn’t see how to do something that simple.
Bob Boan
You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.0 -
Not sure if my plumber ever installed this type of unit, however, it was somewhat emergent and he was highly recommended by people in my area as well as my brother who owns a oil company…My plumber has contacts at local Bosch distributor in out area, so it was an easy install, although he did introduce new mfittings?.. I guess they are called… ws here all day… then when I called him back due to the soffit issue, he then also called Bosch for giuidance…
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Sorry for sloppy spelling… and for my lack of knowledge.. I hope all that makes sense… So in other words…the outside pvc pipe can be pointed upwards after it exits past where the sofit/gutter ends? OR Horizontal?… would you do horizontal towards the chimney or past the intake?
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There are so few people around here that know these systems and I thought I could get a service contract but no…was told they just need a vinegar flush by a local very large HVAC company
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The installation manual shows acceptable venting termination.
Is the 45 on the vent outlet?
Could you remove the 45 and extend the pipe out to the end of the soffit?
Although wind could still blow exhaust back against the building. Any windows above the soffit?
Bob "hot rod" Rohr
trainer for Caleffi NA
Living the hydronic dream0 -
I can’t see everything from your picture, but I’d probably go away from the chimney since an inside corner termination should be avoided.
“A vinegar flush” is not what has to be done - whatever that means. The heat exchanger cover must be removed and sections of the heat exchanger scrubbed thoroughly with the cleaning kit that Bosch makes for that boiler. The igniter and flame sensor should also be replaced. 5 years maximum, sometimes less.
Go to Bosch’s website and look for an ABC contractor who knows how to service the boiler. Ask whomever you contact if they know how to service and clean the boiler and if they have a combustion analyzer and know how to use it. If you don’t get a clear, positive response on any of those questions, move on to someone else.
You need a competent HYDRONIC contractor, not just a plumber or forced air HVAC contractor.
Bob Boan
You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.0 -
I'm not a huge fan of these concentric vent kits, but they do blast the exhaust away from the building.
Here are their other guidelines.
Bob "hot rod" Rohr
trainer for Caleffi NA
Living the hydronic dream0 -
I had only called those "qualified" people or companies from the Bosch website… One guy that I thought was good was supposed to come end of November to check it over, never showed up on our scheduled day… was then to come end of week… Never showed… I get that other people may have had emergencies but then the following week he was on vacation… AGAIN… which has been quite frequent for this guy… Lucky HIM… The week he was on vacay, is when it was the first freezing day here and had no heat and a part on the inside was cracked and irreplaceable… we had had a power outage briefly during the night… when I got up and turned up the temp, nothing happened so I checked on unit and reset button flashing… hit it 2 times then called someone on the Bosch site for service…guy comes, tells me WHY hitting reset button didn;t work opened unit and determines pipes are frozen… That's how I ended up with the plumber who came and said pipes are fine and found the cracked part in the unit that the Bosch guy never saw…also was told it was leaking carbon monoxide… so here we are and That's how everything went down…
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Ironman, I wish you lived here or could recommend someone from here…Oh, I should also mention that the flame sensor and igniter were changed last December by Mr Vacation… lol…I may have to call him again about the exhaust.. He seemed good until he was a no show and then when the girl in his office reached him when he was upstate vacationing, he couldn;t recommend anyone,,,so I had to either act of freeze…Woouldn;t have cared if it was summer… I've roughed it before…
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Hotrod, Bob… we can extend it out, but thats why the plumber that did the install said that the condensate would then not be good to be over sthe AC unit slightly…I have that whole diagram also that you sent….pulled off Bosch site instead of copying from manual…Of course I don;t know what all that means, but when you all say "45" is that 45 degree angle?… as you can see in the photo, I believe it is
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Another option is to remove the 45° fitting , put a 90° ell, run down under the soffit 5 feet or so, then turn back out with a 45° or another 90°ell.
This gets it away from the inside corner of the home, exhaust out from under the soffit, and away from the AC.
Bob "hot rod" Rohr
trainer for Caleffi NA
Living the hydronic dream1 -
So it would run horizontal under that intake towards the end of that outside wall then end with either a 90 or 45?.. I'm sorry, I'm trying to visualize in my mind… Also regarding a question you had earlier… there are no windows above…
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From that exhaust to the end of that wall/house it is about 5.5 feet
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Thanks … Probably NOT but who knows.. maybe he knows someone closer to me…Always a possibility!.. Thank You!.. His phone exchange 347 is actually Queens NY… lol
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Oh GREAT!!… Thank YOU so much for reaching out after Ironman/Bob mentioned you…..
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Eyes on the job will be a good idea. Need to look at the entire venting route to determine a better option.
Bob "hot rod" Rohr
trainer for Caleffi NA
Living the hydronic dream1
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