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Posted on April 1, 2006 by Alphonso Sirtle.. | Posted under Home and Family
3 Things Everyone Should Know About That Water Heater Power Vent
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Of course, the first place I look is not at the water heater power vent, but maybe it should have been. I knew how to light a pilot light on a gas water heater; I knew how to use an OHM meter to see if heating elements are working on an electric water heater. However, I was not prepared for the trouble offered me by one simple water heater power vent. 1. What is a water heater power vent? This is the ventilation system for those combustion gases that may be released from your water heater. Mine is located from the water heater, along the ceiling, and into a hole in the roof. Now, you may be curious as to how this could cause me problems. Well, it gets better. 2. How does the water heater power vent work? There is a fan that pushes those gases out from the heater to the blue sky above. You do lose a little of the cool indoor air, but it is worth having a water heater power vent that works. You also have a bit of a problem if you ever lose power because these are electric and will cease to function without electricity. 3. Does every water heater have one? Absolutely. However, there are some that do not go to the ceiling but have a more internal ventilation system. As you know, ventilation is important. Having proper ventilation is essential to the workings of your water heater. Now, back to my story. How in the world did my water heater power vent cause my hot water to quit working. Well, this is sort of amusing, but let me explain to you first the hassles we went through to get the water heater to work. I got my handy dandy OHM meter and got busy checking for power. Sure enough, everything seemed to be in working order. Next, I called my husband in because he is a pro and knows what he is doing. After two days, we called Sears. This water heater was only 2 months old, there is no logical reason it should be broken. By now, the summer days have caused the household to start getting this smell that screamed we need hot water. However, the children seemed to take it as a holiday. Soon, the repair magically appeared to save the day. Well, the repairman checked, poked, and prodded and to no avail. He proclaimed that it should be working, but it wasnt. I wasnt in a mood to argue with him. My hair was still soapy from two days ago. We pondered this. My husband, the repairman, and myself all standing there staring at this new water heater. What could be going on? I had images of a lemon water heater that I was stuck with for the next 10 years. I was frantic. I had to have hot water. The water heater would kick on, and then immediately off. Something was not right. The repairman said he would be back, and I was less than pleased. I had images of hot bathes and clean dishes for the household. However, it wasnt for another week until I found the problem. Actually, my son found the problem. The repairman had been to our home 4 times. I was beginning to think he kept coming back for the cookies and tea. However, each day he left more puzzled than the day before. The last two times he actually brought someone with him. No one could figure out the water heater dilemma. They made plans to replace the water heater the following week since it was a Friday. At this point, we are hauling in bottled water and heating as needed for basic necessities, but it still was not a pretty sight - or smell - in my household. Could not phantom that the water heater power vent was causing this problem, but my son made an interesting discovery. A few months back, we had a wicked wind storm. A wind storm that made trees bow, and made garbage fly. Well, we had not noticed the vent covering for our water heater power vent had been blown off. However, my son came in and grabbed some crackers and proceeded with running outside. I watched him do this twice before I asked him what he was doing. He said the birdy from the house was eating it. Now, I do not own any birds - my cats would not allow such an atrocity. So I was slightly curious what he meant by our house birdy. He said that the birdy lived in our chimney. My husband and I looked at each other wondering what chimney he was talking about. We proceeded outside and looked on our roof. At first, we did not notice a thing. Then we noticed this big bird was coming out of a shaft in our home. We looked at each other and started laughing. Then we called up our trusty repairman. To make a longer story short, a bird had roosted itself in this tiny shaft. The shaft got cleaned out, the bird got relocated safely, and we got a working hot water heater. And this is why I know so darn much about water heater power vents. About The Author: Alphonso has been working in the home remodeling industry for last 5 years. Take advantage of his experience and written material on heater ideas at his website at http://www.improve-home.com |
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