Instant water heater exhaust

Ghynes440 · July 29

we have an old 1800’s home that we just switch to a gas boiler. Now we are looking to switch from electric water heater to an instant Rinnai RX199in. I was planning on doing this myself minus the gas hookup part.

my question is, we have an old window that is rotted in the basement and needs to get replaced. Can I just completely seal off this window and then use that for the exhaust exit for pvc? I would have to come out the window to a 90 and go up the wall of the house to get out of the window well and then run it 4’ along the wall to where I end it.

it’s an old basement that will never get finished, I figure this would be easier then drilling through brick with a a 3” bit

mattmia2 · July 29

If you put a solid panel over the window it would be legal but it would be a hack job. You would also end up sealing in all of the rot with the panel and the vent where it would still get wet and rot more but would be very difficult to take apart and repair properly with a vent running through it. Solid glass block would also be legal although not so much appropriate for a 19th century house.

It is pretty easy with a short handle sledge and a chisel to split and break out a piece of brick to make a penetration. Score it where you want the hole an break out the piece. Could use a demolition hammer or air chisel too. Pack mortar in around the pipes. It should be soft lime mortar but modern mortar in that little piece would probably be ok, just don't start repointing stuff with it or something like that. In fac the chisel I had wasn't long enough and I just used an old piece of galvanized pipe for the part in the middle.

hot_rod · July 30

You can purchase, or rent a carbide drill for coring brick if you don't want to do a chisel hack :)

i keep an assortment of common pipe size in the shop. 2-9/16 for 2" PVC, 3-5/8" for 3"

There may be a wood framed wall behind the brick?

Imported diamond core bits are cheap online, a little harder to keep centered. They are deep enough to reach across the brick.

Ghynes440 · July 30

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1901090#Comment_1901090

I cannot seem to find a cheap 3 5/8 core bit online.. only 3 1/2

hot_rod · July 30

4" and a tube of grey silicone to seal the 1/4" gap around it. Assuming you are using 3" PVC? If not measure the OD of the material you are using.

Jamie Hall · July 31

The short answer is yes you can do that. Take out the window and it's frame, though, and fill with new masonry to get a really clean job of it.

The just drill through the brick idea works, too — if it's brick. However, if your foundation is field stone… you can do it, of course. But I wouldn't advise it with a hand held drill — there is no way you can hold it straight when it hits a change in stone at an angle. Further, in some stone you might find that it would take you a while. I have seen folks trying to drill through some field stone foundations and spend all day — literally — to get through them.

ChrisJ · July 31

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1901202#Comment_1901202

I had to drill into and bust out some quartz when I dug for my sump pump. It wasn't fun even with small bits.

I believe a lot of my foundation contains it as well.

EBEBRATT-Ed · July 31

I core drilled a 2 1/2 in hole with core bit in a rotary hammer to run 2" PVC through a granite fieldstone foundation at my uncles' house for a 200-amp service. Took a long time. The rotary hammer was so hot I had to ware gloves. But that was 35 years ago. Today I would rent a core rig to bolt on the wall with a wet core bit……….or better yet sub it out.

The largest hole I ever cored was a 10" through a concrete roof in a hospital for an 8" cooling tower feed.

Instant water heater exhaust

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