Water heater venting is extremely important when installing any type of water heater. A water heater is basically an appliance that is connected to a cold water pipe which is attached to a number of outgoing hot water pipes that supplies hot water to the taps in your house.
Most water heaters come with a tank in which to store this hot water, while the less conventional water heater do not come with tanks and as such they do not store water but instead the heated water is directed straight to the taps hence the need for water heater venting.
Although there are propane and electrical water heaters, the most common type of water heater available are those fueled by gas and they are also the least expensive.
There are also small water dispensers which are miniature electric water heaters that can only send water to a single tap. These small water heaters come equipped with an under-sink tank that heats and stores almost boiling water, which is delivered to a single tap under very low pressure again underscoring the need for proper water heater venting.
All water heaters need to be vented, with the exception of the electrical water heater as these do no create any sort of combustion gasses, they do not need to have vents. Electrical water heaters receive energy to their heating elements through electrical cables.
Because a water heater depend on combustion for energy they create harmful exhaust gases at varying temperatures and as they are installed indoors their exhaust fumes needs to be moved somewhere outdoors.
For this reason a water heater venting is required because it acts as a conduit through which these exhaust fumes can be moved outside. Without a properly installed venting system your house would probably burn down and also you would stand the risk of being exposed to these dangerous toxic gasses.
Venting systems can include any number of vent pipes joined together. There are also many different types of venting components which include straight pipe lengths, which represent the major part of the total length of the systems.
These are available in various lengths and you can order the length you require to suit your personal need. Then there are appliance adapters which are used to connect tank-less water heaters to the vent systems.
There are also variable straight lengths which are basically adjustable lengths that are very useful in most water heater venting installation for adding that extra length that you may require for your venting system. The elbows pipes can be very useful when you need to change the direction of your vent.
Another set of pipes are called increasers and reducers which are used to increase or decrease the vent pipe to different widths, such as if you need to increase your pipe from one size to another or vice versa.
Other types of combustibles are Support Guides - these are used to support your water heater venting system and Termination- as the name implies this will be the last piece of your water heater venting system to be installed.
