Any ideas on this exhaust pipe?


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Old 08-13-13, 08:10 AM
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Any ideas on this exhaust pipe?

Folks:

My home was built in 2001. Has a force-air furnace with 2 levels. I bought it in 2007. As can be seen in the photos, it obviously has a high efficiency furnace as the exhaust pipe is PVC.

I have 2 concerns with this pipe's placement and design.

1) It is near a window. We seldom open it in the winter, so I'm really not that worried about it.

2) It has no rodent nor pest cover. Where we live there are squirrels and we all know that everyone has mice. I can see a major issue if one gets in there and can't get out.

Any suggestions as to how to solve #2? I suppose #1 can only be solved by running that pipe up the wall above the window. Even still, if I do that I'd need to cover it somehow, so back to #2.

To me I need a reasonable cover device that will defuse the exhause gas quickly and not let the bad guys get into my home. I think the pipe is 4 inches, but haven't measured it to confirm.

Thanks for your opinions.
 
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Old 08-13-13, 08:55 AM
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That would not pass any cone that I am aware of... Whats that vent to the left of the vent???

Probably best to run vent to the left horizontal with pitch back to the furnace.. But I need to see the overall of the home so I can see where it ends at the corner of the house...

I believe its 4ft from any openings...windows, doors and such....

I assume no permits were taken out..

I would certainly re-route the furnace vent to another location...meaning exit it at another location...

Could that be an intake?

As far as the animals...Just get a piece of chicken wire or hardware cloth and cut it into a circle slightly bigger then the pipe... Then insert it in there... It will be kind of con-caved.....
 
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Old 08-13-13, 11:03 AM
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Mike NJ: Thanks for your reply. Yes, the white vent on the left if fresh air intake for the furnace room. The fresh intake is 3 feet to the left and about 2 feet lower than the exhaust. The window to the right is one foot to the right of the vent. It looks like I really need to see if I can run the exhaust straight up to the roof. I would assume they would have done this when they built the home--if the could. Why would they have gone to the back yard like this? I don't know. Note: The hot water heater IS right next to my furnace and it exhausts up to the roof, so I'm not entirely sure why they didn't follow that same path.

By the way, is it possible to join into the hot water exhaust with the furnace exhaust or do they have to have their own pipes the entire way? Remember, the furnace is PVC, while like most hot water heater tanks is double insulated metal.
 
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Old 08-13-13, 11:14 AM
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Cant combine vents....

If you go up you have the overhang there... Cant add to many bends to that pipe as it will restrict flow...

I would relocate...

Did you put the furnace in??? Possibly its a replacement... It should not of passes code/inspection AFAIK... Possibly no permit was taken out...

What is the make and model furnace?
 
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Old 08-13-13, 11:27 AM
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No, I did not replace it. The home had it installed. We had an inspection before we bought it and the inspector noted the pipe was too close to the window. How it passed construction inspections is beyond me. The furnace is a GMPN100. I'm already trying to figure out if I can get it vented up next to the hot water heater exhaust. Who would do such a project? An HVAC guy? That sounds more like construction work than heating and AC work--running exhaust pipes through an existing wall structure and then roof/shingles.
 
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Old 08-13-13, 11:36 AM
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I'm already trying to figure out if I can get it vented up next to the hot water heater exhaust.

Probably not... You need certain clearance...

Who would do such a project? An HVAC guy?
Or plumber...


Why not just move it to another exit site... Different side of house???? It will be simple and cheap.... ( Dont know why you are not considering this....)

Thake pics of other side of home and furnace location...
 
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Old 08-13-13, 12:07 PM
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That's the only real workable location. That direction is east. South has to pass through a garage (cement floor) West is also a garage (2 door cement floor). Going north would mean going through floor joices and then west and that's the front of the house. Ugly. Now I think I know why they did that. What a mess. I'll have to call an HVAC guy to give some level of estimate I suppose.

By the way, do you happen to know what the clearance distance is for the two exhaust pipes to run together? Meaning PVC and metal hot water heater exhaust.
 
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Old 08-13-13, 06:20 PM
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http://www.alltemp-hvac.com/gmpn.pdf

pages 6-9 cover venting for your furnace.
 
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Old 08-14-13, 07:21 AM
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EXCELLENT! Thank you for that PDF. It looks like I need to completely reinstall the vent. Considering the risks and rules surrounding it, I'm going to hire an HVAC installer to do so. I'll use this PDF to ensure he does it according to the Manufacture's requirements. Thanks again.
 
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Old 08-17-13, 06:58 PM
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Might wanna have that gmp furnace checked before doing anything else - many here say that they have bad heat exchangers.
 
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Old 10-15-13, 09:33 PM
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