Heater venting - pro help needed

[Steve Szakats]

Well, I just read thru the venting instructions that come with Mr. Heater ceiling mount 45 and 75,000 btu heaters. This applies strictly to horizontal venting because I was trying to avoid having to poke thru my new roof. Here's a summary of what I read:

1. Vent must be at least 4' from any window or door.
2. Vent must be terminated at least 4' away from any soffit vent.
3. Vent must be 6' from any inside corner formed by 2 exterior walls.
4. The maximum length for a residential horizontal vent is 5'.

Boy does that create problems for me. I have an 18" soffit. To stay 4' from the soffit vent, my vent pipe will exceed 5'. I also have windows and I am not sure til I get home and measure, whether I can stay 4' away form the window and 6' away from the "inside corner formed by 2 exterior walls" (the garage is detached).

I guess I am going thru the roof??

Steve

 

[Kinger]

If you have a detached garage you don't have any inside corners formed by two exterior walls. They are referring to a an L shape on the exterior of the building, more common with an attached garage.

Also, remember that 90's and 45's count for footage. The installation instructions should say how much. Usually it is 5' for a 90.

I looked at the manual online and the maximum length of the vent can not exceed 30'. The 5 ft. that you mention assumes that you have 5 elbows (90's). If you only need two elbows to get out of the building, your total length of straight pipe can be 20'. Look at figure 6 in the manual. It covers almost everything. You need to extend the vent a min. of 12" past the soffit, per Fig. 6.

Hope that helps.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

Hope that helps.

I think Kinger pretty much nailed that one. A couple of 90's and 20' of PVC and you're golden. I've installed 4 PVC vents in the last year. I have to say the hardest part is cutting the hole. You need a 1/2" drill and God's own hole saw to do it right.

If you use a hole saw just slightly larger than your pipe, you can use your fittings to hold the pipe tightly in place. A staight coupling may be needed on one side or the other to create a ridge to secure the pipe.

Phil

 

[Steve Szakats]

Ok, thanks for explaining what an inside corner is...and I did see that chart that said max vent length is 30', but consider the following instructions:

E – HORIZONTAL VENTING – RESIDENTIAL

3. The maximum vent length is 5’ (1.5m) plus one 90-degree
elbow.

C – HORIZONTAL VENTING – GENERAL

5. Vent termination must be a minimum of 4' (1.2m) below or 4’
(1.2m) horizontally from any soffit vent or under-eave vent.

Am I misinterpreting this? Thanks, Steve

 

[SKINNER]

Just go through the roof....it's really not hard (and it looks better)

 

[Kinger]

I don't think you are misinterpreting anything. The directions contradict themselves. If there is an 800 number I would call.

Or follow Skinners advice.

 

[Special55]

Would it be possible to go horizontal out the wall and past the soffit then use a 90-degree elbow to turn upward getting it past your soffit for the exceptable distance?

Just thinking here, I haven't seen the instructions myself.

 

[Donzi4me]

I think they mean 5' min. vent. That's what my instructions say. But I didn't pay attention to that. I used b-vent double wall pipe thru a thimble. Total vent length is 2 1/2 '. And it ends 12" from the siding and I have mine 18" under the soffit. No problems at all with the soffit. Doesn't even melt the ice sickles on the soffit. Another guy I know used a direct vent cap which mounts only a few inches off the siding. Three years and running and not a problem. It's so cold here in IL, it doesn't have a chance to melt anything close by.

 

[Climatecreator]

As far as windows go keep in mind that the distance from windows only applies to opening type windows.

CC

 

[Winmon]

I have the Mr. Heater 75k btu unit and was going to originally go with a horizontal vent. Then after reading those instructions/requirements ended up going with a vertical vent. With the horizontal vent I would have had to install the heater in a place I did not want it to be. The vertical vent allowed me to place the heater where I wanted it.