Can anyone tell me this pipe's purpose?

1351 Views 11 Replies 7 Participants Last post by HVAC1000, Feb 5, 2013

ebnub

Discussion Starter · Feb 4, 2013

Its in my utility room with the furnace, gas water heater, washer/dryer, etc. It goes up into the ceiling and across my home and leads to an exterior vent on the opposite side of the house. Its has a constant flow of exterior air coming from it and I'm fairly certain its the cause of my chilly basement. I have a radon mitigation system in place so that probably helps to draw air through this pipe as well. I'd really like to close it off but a friend has mentioned it probably is to provide fresh air for furnace combustion however my furnace and home are only 11 years old and I thought one of the two PVC pipes off the furnace was for the fresh air.

See less See more

Save

1 - 12 of 12 Posts

hvactech126

· #2 · Feb 4, 2013

It is for combustion.......though it should not have the 180 degrees of elbows on it.... Is your dryer gas?(combustion) Is your water heater gas (combustion)?

Save

ebnub

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 4, 2013

Dryer is electric, water heater is gas. So plugging it or covering it with a towel may be a bad idea then?

Save

hvactech126

· #4 · Feb 4, 2013

unless the appliances have been changed since the house was built then it was put there for a reason.

Save

ebnub

Discussion Starter · #5 · Feb 4, 2013

Well, that's not really what I want to hear. :wink:

Any suggestions to help with the amount of flow or temperature without sacrificing its purpose? It really does move at a good rate...

Save

SeniorSitizen

· #6 · Feb 4, 2013

Reduce it down to about 2 square inches and your gas water heater will be just fine.

Save

beenthere

· #7 · Feb 4, 2013

hvactech126 said:
It is for combustion.......though it should not have the 180 degrees of elbows on it.... Is your dryer gas?(combustion) Is your water heater gas (combustion)?

Thats a J hook, its to help prevent excess air from coming in when the furnace isn't running.

Of course if the clothes drier is running, then air will come in through it.

Save

Hardway

· #8 · Feb 4, 2013

Take a look at this link.

http://www.skuttle.com/aircontrols.html

Save

Marty S.

· #9 · Feb 4, 2013

A fresh air duct going from outside into the return duct and adding a supply in that room would help. The only reason that pipe in the picture has a lot of flow is because the home and/or the utility room are in a negative pressure. Eliminate the negative pressure and there will be almost no cold air dumping out of it.

Save

HVAC1000

· #10 · Feb 5, 2013

you can extend that pipe down and end it in a 5 gallon bucket (the kind you get at home depot) about 6 inches from the bottom of the bucket. this will make a cold air trap and the cold air will only come out when it is being drawn by and appliance

Save

beenthere

· #11 · Feb 5, 2013

HVAC1000 said:
you can extend that pipe down and end it in a 5 gallon bucket (the kind you get at home depot) about 6 inches from the bottom of the bucket. this will make a cold air trap and the cold air will only come out when it is being drawn by and appliance

Thats what the j hook is for. The Op has something causing a negative draft in that room. So the cold air would be coming out of the bucket too.

Save

HVAC1000

· #12 · Feb 5, 2013 (Edited)

beenthere said:
Thats what the j hook is for. The Op has something causing a negative draft in that room. So the cold air would be coming out of the bucket too.

Opps! Your right. I didn't see it the first time I looked at the picture, these phone screens are getting too small haha

Save

1 - 12 of 12 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month