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Fill and Vent Pipes

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charlie123
charlie123 Member Posts: 55
edited 4:01PM in Oil Heating

I just had a Roth 275 tank installed in my basement, the original copper pipes that ran through the siding were replaced by 2" steel through foundation

Roth.jpg

.

The pipes are horizontal, there is no pitch in either towards the tank. I'm aware of the reasoning behind having a pitch in both pipes: seeping through joints, the possibility of oil blowing out through vent after overfill, etc.

I've been told that having a pitch is not required, and that sometimes the run through the foundation prevents adding some pitch to the pipe.

Is this acceptable or do I need to insist that the installer return?

Please see the attached photo, thanks.

Roth.jpg 767.3K

Comments

  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 20,476

    I doubt you will have any issues. The installer looks to have done a nice job from what I can see.

    As far as the pitch issue goes, yes the pipes should be lower on the tank end. They look level.

    The only reason for pitch is so any oil leftover in the pipes will drain to the tank.

    As long as the pipes are not back pitched and are level you should be fine.

    charlie123
  • charlie123
    charlie123 Member Posts: 55
    edited 4:27PM

    Thanks Ed, I do believe that they did nice work and I couldn't imagine overfilling the tank to the point where oil got up into the horizontal part of the vent pipe, but I wanted to confirm with you experts.

    The vent pipe is ~6 feet long: would you have given that some support from the joist above or not necessary?

  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 7,526

    Hopefully the fill is on the left. So its only about 2 ft horizontal.

    The only concern would be if the piping is below grade outside. If so I would've used galvanized over the black steel.

    charlie123
  • charlie123
    charlie123 Member Posts: 55

    Yes, the fill is just under 4' and the vent is 6', and both above grade.

  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 7,281
  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 7,281

    Have you put a level on them?

  • charlie123
    charlie123 Member Posts: 55

    Yes, I have a 2' level.

  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 7,281

    and what did it show?

  • charlie123
    charlie123 Member Posts: 55

    That the pipes are horizontal as noted thanks.

  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 7,281

    ARE THEY LEVEL OR PITCHED???

  • charlie123
    charlie123 Member Posts: 55

    In using my level to determine if the pipes were pitched towards the tank, I determined that they were not, so I wrote my original post. Naturally, I was referring to the horizontal sections as opposed to the vertical, so I assumed that it was clear what I meant by 'horizontal'. I guess I should have written either 'level' or 'perfectly horizontal' to make it clear, but others seem to have understood what I meant.

  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 7,281

    you can ask that they redo it

  • charlie123
    charlie123 Member Posts: 55
    edited 6:54PM

    I don't want to be a PITA (but I will if I need to be), it looks like they'd have to chip out whatever they patched with and then shorten the vertical, adjusting the 'swing' section accordingly.

    I posted in order to determine if it was something to be concerned with, it appears that it really shouldn't be.

    What is the desired degree of pitch, 1/4" per foot or similar? And should they have supported the longer pipe via the joist above?

    Edit: I took a closer look, both pipes are very slightly pitched towards the tank along the lines of 1/32" per foot.

  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 7,281
    https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1898959#Comment_1898959

    then it’s not an issue!

  • charlie123
    charlie123 Member Posts: 55

    It would appear that way, thanks.

  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 20,476

    It's fine. If the pipe is level then they can't hold any oil. You would only have an issue if they were back pitched.

    No additional support needed.

    Not that familiar with Roth tanks but is there a whistle on the vent line, a vent alarm?

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