Additional venting for water heater required?

[Sonia Carver]

I moved a gas water heater outside of the house into a newly constructed closet = slab floor, framed, roof, etc. The metal utility door is vented (top to bottom). Am I also required to have an additional vent on the structure or running from the top of the water heater to the outside of the structure? OR is the vented door enough? This is in AZ. Thank you.

[Roy Lewis]

Read this...
https://codes.iccsafe.org/public/document/IRC2015/part-vi-fuel-gas


I moved a gas water heater outside of the house into a newly constructed closet = slab floor, framed, roof, etc. The metal utility door is vented (top to bottom). Am I also required to have an additional vent on the structure or running from the top of the water heater to the outside of the structure? OR is the vented door enough? This is in AZ. Thank you.

[Jerry Peck]

I moved a gas water heater outside of the house into a newly constructed closet = slab floor, framed, roof, etc. The metal utility door is vented (top to bottom).

That 'venting' is for "combustion air".


Am I also required to have an additional vent on the structure or running from the top of the water heater to the outside of the structure? OR is the vented door enough? This is in AZ. Thank you.

Yes, you need the "vent" from the draft hood, with a minimum 1 foot rise before an elbow to go out a wall, or go vertical through the roof. This vent is for combustion by-products.

It should all be shown in the manufacturer's installation instructions which came with the water heater ... you did keep the installation instructions, and you are following them, right?

[Sonia Carver]

Thank you. Very helpful! Water heater was not new* I just had it moved.



That 'venting' is for "combustion air".



Yes, you need the "vent" from the draft hood, with a minimum 1 foot rise before an elbow to go out a wall, or go vertical through the roof. This vent is for combustion by-products.

It should all be shown in the manufacturer's installation instructions which came with the water heater ... you did keep the installation instructions, and you are following them, right?

[Jerry Peck]

Thank you. Very helpful! Water heater was not new* I just had it moved.

Search the Internet for the manufacturer and model number, if the water heater is new enough to be moved then you should be able to find the installation instructions.

Most water heaters I've seen in the last 30 years have a plastic sleeve stuck to the side with the instructions in it, plumbers rarely look at the instructions (which explains why so many are installed incorrectly - plumbers already "know" how to install a water heater).

Rarely do home owners know the instructions are there, and fewer remove the instructions.