Zx2guy19 Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Help- rental property had water heater turned off today for fumes from "backdraft". I have no idea how to identify or fix something like this and not even sure what type of person to call- HVAC? Plumber? If anyone has dealt with this before, insight would be appreciated. Personal experience or type of person you hired preferred. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 "Backdraft", so this is a gas HWH? Just want to be sure. Before trouble shooting the wrong set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Yes sir, that's correct. I called my friend who's an HVAC tech and he said it could be an improperly pitched return, vent is too long or there's a blockage in the vent. How the fuck do I know if it's any of these? Ha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyM3rC Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Blockage in the vent isn't that uncommon, might be some critter packed some debris in there to escape the cold, I've seen it before. It's easy to find the vent on the outside of the house, just remove any caps and have a look. Will take 5 minutes to check, if that. If it's pitched wrong, probably would have shown up by now unless you had some change that altered the vent, opening, airflow, or etc. Did your tenant move a covered grill or something up against the house where the vent is? Go have a look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 I'm heading over right after work. Here are pics from the tenant- definitely signs of backdraft. Anything jump out as a cause? http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y225/chopperman19/WH3_zpsum1bbjeu.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y225/chopperman19/WH2_zps0nrk906e.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Looks like none of that has been touched in a long time. I'd start on the roof checking for an obstruction at that end of the vent pipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Looks like none of that has been touched in a long time. I'd start on the roof checking for an obstruction at that end of the vent pipe. The water heater is actually relatively new (2013, before I purchased the home). Why the roof? This is in the basement, so shouldn't it vent at the lower level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Anyone here want to tackle it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstmg8 Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 No, it'll have to vent through the roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstmg8 Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Check the bottom of the tank as well, if it has one of those screens around it, it may be clogged. If it can't pull air from the bottom, it won't burn/vent correctly. Slim chance, but I've seen it before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 The water heater is actually relatively new (2013, before I purchased the home). Why the roof? This is in the basement, so shouldn't it vent at the lower level? No, roof in Ohio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macpyro2 Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Where is it located? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clifford Automotive Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Is that a used match on top of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Went over tonight and found out the tenants haven't used the gas in the house since February- they've been boiling water to shower and space heaters because they couldn't afford gas. Literally shocked, they pay $700 a month in rent and just bought a new car, so I never saw anything like that coming. That said, the water heater was installed 10/23/13 and the name of the installer was on there. I called him and he's coming to check it out tomorrow for $50. He said it'll be around $200 to fix. Other option is if he can't fix for that price, I'm doing an electric conversion and moving the gas tank to my newest rental. It's still really nice and the other one is 7/8 years old. $100 to run the 240 volt setup with material and $325 for the new tank. I'll let you guys know what happens, I appreciate the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Is that a used match on top of it? Yep- the gas company used it today to test the backdraft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbs3000 Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 If it's been that long since they used it it's most likely the vent is clogged. Almost all vent out the roof, horizontal venting out the wall can only be done in select cases such as tankless, for example. I'm sure this guy will be able to get it all figured out. Sucks for those tenants though as electric is something like 3x as expensive as ng. If your furnace there is still gas what's the benefit to changing over the water tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 They drain out difference lines, and they're pretty far from each other. Switching would fix this issue for a decent price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Pissed away $50...the plumbing company that installed it went over this morning and called me and said "yep, it's back drafting", and to do any work at all it was $189.95 to reach his hand into the vent to see if there was a blockage. Fuck that, I can search for a dead bird myself. I'm going to go over tonight and take the exhaust off to see if I can find anything- if not, electric water heater it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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