Venting issues

[Richard Roshak]

The heating unit is 7 years old and the home is 28 years old. The local utility company came out at the owners request and said there was nothing wrong with the venting. He called me an idiot for calling it out and said this is normal to see condensation because you have a warm pipe and cold air around it. The hole he put aluminum tape on.

I'm looking for a someone who knows venting for another opinion.

[Gunnar Alquist]

The heating unit is 7 years old and the home is 28 years old. The local utility company came out at the owners request and said there was nothing wrong with the venting. He called me an idiot for calling it out and said this is normal to see condensation because you have a warm pipe and cold air around it. The hole he put aluminum tape on. I'm looking for a someone who knows venting for another opinion.

EEYOW!

I am horrified that anyone would call this "normal". Did your clients get this statement in writing?

I am not a heating expert, but a corroded hole in a gas vent is not ok. The condensate from gas-fired appliances is somewhat acidic. If it condenses on the interior of a metal pipe, the metal will corrode through. When those pipes are disassembled, the interiors will be pretty heavily corroded. I have seen corroded adjustable elbows fall apart.

If were me, I would advise my clients to get this corrected by a licensed heating contractor, not reviewed by the utility company. Even so, I find the utility company around here is likely to "red-tag" something like this, not refer to it as "normal".

[Jim Luttrall]

The person that said this is normal is the idiot. I doubt that is what they said and if they did say anything close to this, I doubt this is the official position of the utility provider. They need a competent HVAC person to may repairs.
By the way if nothing is wrong, then why apply tape....?
And we all know tape should not be used on exhaust vent pipes.

[Egbert Jager]

Wow!

There's so much going wrong there! Were you able to find a local installer or two? or possibly the municipal inspector? Every HVAC guy I've ever inspected a house for has always been able to quote the rules chapter and verse. Some have even been pickier than me.

[Don Hawley]

I am not in favor of throwing other trades under the Bus, but this may be an exception. I think I would verify with the owner and get a name and call the utility. If this really did happen this guy needs to be corrected.

[Bob Harper]

The utility guy is probably a personal friend of the homeowner. That vent connector is not only severely corroded and a hazard but they have a major problem with condensation. They need to install a postpurge for about 4 minutes to flush that vent clear. No, visible corrosion is a sign of venting failure. I would also recommend combustion analysis to ensure the unit is firing properly with proper heat transfer.

The position of the utility is unsustainable.