Air Requirements
Breathing Hazard - Carbon Monoxide Gas
Install water heater in accordance with the Instruction Manual and NFPA 54 or
To avoid injury, combustion and ventilation air must be taken from outdoors.
Do not place chemical vapor emitting products near water heater.
Breathing carbon monoxide can cause brain damage or death. Always read and understand instruction manual.
For safe operation an adequate supply of fresh uncontaminated air for combustion and ventilation must be provided.
An insufficient supply of air can cause recirculation of combustion products resulting in contamination that may be hazardous to life. Such a condition often will result in a yellow, luminous burner flame, causing sooting of the combustion chamber, burners and flue tubes and creates a risk of asphyxiation.
Do not install the water heater in a confined space unless an adequate supply of air for combustion and ventilation is brought in to that space using the methods described in the Confined Space section that follows.
Never obstruct the flow of ventilation air. If you have any doubts or questions at all, call your gas supplier. Failure to provide the proper amount of combustion air can result in a fire or explosion and cause property damage, serious bodily injury or death.
Unconfined Space
An Unconfined Space is one whose volume is not less than 50 cubic feet per 1,000 Btu/hr (4.8 cubic meters per kW) of the total input rating of all appliances installed in the space. Rooms communicating directly with the space, in which the appliances are installed, through openings not furnished with doors, are considered a part of the unconfined space.
Makeup air requirements for the operation of exhaust fans, kitchen ventilation systems, clothes dryers and fireplaces shall also be considered in determining the adequacy of a space to provide combustion, ventilation and dilution air.
Unusually Tight Construction
In unconfined spaces in buildings, infiltration may be adequate to provide air for combustion, ventilation and dilution of flue gases. However, in buildings of unusually tight construction (for example, weather stripping, heavily insulated, caulked, vapor barrier, etc.) additional air must be provided using the methods described in the Confined Space section that follows.
Confined Space
A Confined Space is one whose volume is less than 50 cubic feet per 1,000 Btu/hr (4.8 cm per kW) of the total input rating of all appliances installed in the space.
Openings must be installed to provide fresh air for combustion, ventilation and dilution in confined spaces. The required size for the openings is dependent on the method used to provide fresh air to the confined space and the total Btu/hr input rating of all appliances installed in the space.
Direct Vent Appliances
Appliances installed in a Direct Vent configuration that derive all air for combustion from the outdoor atmosphere through sealed intake air piping are not factored in the total appliance input Btu/ hr calculations used to determine the size of openings providing fresh air into confined spaces.
Exhaust Fans
Where exhaust fans are installed, additional air shall be provided to replace the exhausted air. When an exhaust fan is installed in the same space with a water heater, sufficient openings to provide fresh air must be provided that accommodate the requirements for all appliances in the room and the exhaust fan. Undersized openings will cause air to be drawn into the room through the water heater’s vent system causing poor combustion. Sooting, serious damage to the water heater and the risk of fire or explosion may result. It can also create a risk of asphyxiation.
Louvers and Grilles
The free areas of the fresh air openings in the instructions that follow do not take in to account the presence of louvers, grilles or screens in the openings.
The required size of openings for combustion, ventilation and dilution air shall be based on the “net free area” of each opening. Where the free area through a design of louver or grille or screen is known, it shall be used in calculating the size of opening required to provide the free area specified. Where the louver and grille design and free area are not known, it shall be assumed that wood louvers will have 25% free area and metal louvers and grilles will have 75% free area. Non motorized louvers and grilles shall be fixed in the open position.
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