gas wh safety

[sherrill83]

I have a question about the safety of gas water heaters. We have a one story house with crawl space. The lot slopes so one end is about 2' off the ground and the other is about 7'. The water heater is located in the 7' area and is vented outside. My concern is that our two year old sleeps directly over this wh. I have installed carbon monoxide alarms in her bedroom, but it still worries me. The wh vent is also under her window. Am I being overly concerned? I guess my options are 1) do nothing, 2) move the wh heated outside or 3) install an electric heater. Thanks for your help.

 

[Mr_David]

The wh vent is also under her window. Am I being overly concerned?

You can never be to overly concerned about the welfare of your child and the Silent Killer.

Take a picture of the vent and post it if you can. Vent should be extended to the roof. Some water heaters can be vented out the side wall, but not under a window. There are limitations and minimum distances from open windows. Some codes vary by location but when it comes to gas venting they are probably pretty much the same every where.

Here are some references you can skim through. A Direct Vent water heater can be vented out the side. If you have a standard gravity vent you will need to extend it to the above the roof.
Taken from California Code


Direct-Vent Appliances

Venting of Appliances

Find the 510.8 page 86 510.8 Through-the -Wall Vent Termination (See Figure 5-12).

508.18 Venting of Flue Gases. Gas utilization appliances shall be vented in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and NFPA 54, National Fuel Gas Code, Chapter 12. [NFPA 54:9.1.14]

 

[sherrill83]

Thanks, I'll get a picture tomorrow.

 

[Mr_David]

Thanks, I'll get a picture tomorrow.

Look at my previous post. I made some additions to it.

 

[sherrill83]

Pictures of WH Vent attached

 

[phishfood]

Gas appliance venting is not my strong point, but looking at the termination of your water heater vent, i believe that it is a direct vent appliance, and so it meets code requirements for clearance from a window. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Mr_David]

Gas appliance venting is not my strong point, but looking at the termination of your water heater vent, i believe that it is a direct vent appliance, and so it meets code requirements for clearance from a window. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

Yes! you are correct!
That is a " direct vent " vent. And the clearance looks Okay!

I was wondering what that grill was next to the window, then I thought the shutters above and below window looked kind of odd. Dah!! I fixed it

The second picture I snipped from the link I posted in post #2