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QUESTION:In the house we have just purchased, there is a brand new Rheem gas
furnace (installed in September of 2003).
Whoever installed it ran the vent and intake pipes out through the
wall right by the gas meter. My concern is that there is no caps or
covers on the end of the pipes, and it would be fairly easy for small
animals to crawl into them and make nests in the blower motor or the
burner area.
The house was built in the late 20's and the original brick chimney
for the old coal-fired furnace is still intact. I do not understand
why they would not have just used this for the vent... but instead
they ran it halfway across the room to the outside wall (the brick
chimney inlet is right next to the furnace). Would it cause any ill
effects to run the vent through the original brick chimney? also is
there any reason the air intake needs to be outside? Can I just have
it suck air in from the basement? I want to get rid of the 2 pipes
and fill in the hole in the foundation.
ANSWER: This is standard procedure for high efficiency furnaces (running them
through the outside wall. As for concern about rodents -DON'T try to put any
cap/screens on these as it would restrict the airflow. While in theory I
guess it is possible (but not probable) this is a standard design used
everywhere with no problems.
he late 20's and the original brick chimney
NO, NO , NO and HELL NO. One of those pipes is the exhaust - you want your
furnace venting into the basement. Also you can not vent into the chimney as
it is a much cooler temp than a regular furnace and would cause all sorts of
condensation problems and eventually destroy the chimney. Leave the design
alone - it is a sound one.
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