tonybullitt Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 I had my water heater quit this week. I had it checked out and it was junk. The scary part is the exhaust pipe coming off the water heater was rusted out (propane water heater). This means that the exhaust was all going directly into my house. We had never had our carbon monoxide alarm go off. There had been several occasions that my wife and kids had complained about headaches and not feeling good after being indoors all day. We were obviously getting to much in the house thank goodness we have a drafty old farm house. Very scary situation when you think about it. I had been in the basement next to the water heater recently to change the furnace filter. It never dawned on me to inspect the water heater exhaust. Just not something I ever thought about before. I just wanted to share. I suggest you all inspect your furnace and water heater vents. I now have an electric water heater so no exhaust needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batmantech Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Wow! Thank goodness that everyone is fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Good post. Now that you bring it up, I do not have any CO detectors. It is recommended that an inspection of your homes utilities be performed annually to catch things like this. I have a check list somewhere around here that lists the foundation, drainage, roofing, all of my appliances, fire extinguishers and smoke alarms.Need to work on that! Usually I perform this inspection around daylight savings in the spring - when we usually hear "good time to check those smoke detector batteries" that frequently accompanies reminders to set the clocks forward. This inspection usually results in a short list of spring repairs and projects. :hammer: Glad to hear you guys are all okay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Amacker Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Not to put down the importance of CO detectors, but one time I was chatting with a furnace guy while he was adjusting the furnace in our house. It seems that a properly adjusted burner is important in controlling levels of CO in the exhaust. I asked if a "rich" burn (not enough air in the mix adjustment) made more CO and he said, yes, and he adjusted ours to the edge of "lean" while we talked Too lean and the flame would go to yellow and misfire, IIRC. Not much different than a car- a properly functioning PFI has little CO, even before the cat........ Yes, maintenance on the house furnace as well as every other mechanical system in the house is important, just like maintenance on the car. I have bowed out trying to be a jack of all trades and we have guys come in to do it. FWIW, I am a safety nut both around the house and at the shop with many fire extinguishers, always wear safety glasses, etc. I store my flammables outside the shop in a deck box- gas cans, K1, etc. so a stray spark won't catch them. As you get older you pay attention to silly stupid stuff like hanging onto handrails going down steps and watching your footing so you don't twist an ankle or knee, or fall and break something. My wife stumbled on a single step in our house that goes between the LR and BR area and broke her foot 4 years ago, and it still hurts to this day. Merry Christmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy57 Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 "This inspection usually results in a short list of spring repairs and projects." You can take the tech out of the shop but you can't stop him from upselling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8WA Sman Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Glad everyone is fine. I also have a CO detector in my shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonybullitt Posted December 22, 2014 Author Share Posted December 22, 2014 I sure am glad that water heater quit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonybullitt Posted December 22, 2014 Author Share Posted December 22, 2014 Glad everyone is fine. I also have a CO detector in my shop.When they remodeled and added quicklane at work CO detectors hooked up to vent fans were installed. Its amazing how often they turn on. Its not daily not even weekly but more often then a guy would think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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