Natural Gas heater location question, re: windows, A/C condenser, & furnace intake

[MitchRyan912]

Natural Gas heater location question, re: windows, A/C condenser, & furnace intake

I am in the process of building the equipment pad for my new heater, pump, & filter, and was reading the manual for the Raypak 266A heater and seeing some things regarding the heater location for exhaust/intake that aren't clear to me.

One warning says that it shouldn't be installed near a "heat pump or condenser unit," which I am assuming refers to an A/C air handler?

The second potential issue is in regards to a forced air intake. The intake for my furnace will be in the same area as the A/C unit.

I believe I should be OK as far as the 4' distance from any window, even being 2' or more off from the house.

I'll be attaching a picture of the layout area, with the heater needing to be somewhere between the 4 snow stakes I've driven into the ground.

 

[MitchRyan912]

Re: Natural Gas heater location question, re: windows, A/C condenser, & furnace intak

Sorry my phone tends to rotate pics for some reason. Here's the upright version:


and some of the specs:

 

[ps0303]

Re: Natural Gas heater location question, re: windows, A/C condenser, & furnace intak

I would move the pad to the left of your furnace exhaust. They want the heater away from any possible item that could cause a spark or anything that could allow exhaust to flow into the house. How much house do you have to the left of your furnace intake/exhaust?

 

[MitchRyan912]

Re: Natural Gas heater location question, re: windows, A/C condenser, & furnace intak

I don't have a ton of room to work with to slide the whole pad much less the heater. The "box" I created is the left-right limits of the 4' distance from the windows on the side of the house, and the distance out from the house (2') and to the other edge of the pad (4'x8'). I suppose I could make sure the heater is located so that it's not directly in from of that exhaust/intake for the furnace.

Here's a wider angle shot from the corner of my property:

I pushed the "box" out on one side (in this pic) to see where I could go with the pad 3' from the house, so that does give me a little more room to work.

 

[MitchRyan912]

Re: Natural Gas heater location question, re: windows, A/C condenser, & furnace intak

Our HVAC guy is also piping in the gas line to our heater, and he came out to quote that pipe work today. He said those intake/exhaust ports are fine. The air handler shouldn't be an issue either! Whew!

 

[Pool Tool]

Re: Natural Gas heater location question, re: windows, A/C condenser, & furnace intak

Just follow the limits in the manual for the furnace inlet, looks to be 10 feet. Just image a leak in the gas line at the heater next to the furnace inlet!

 

[ps0303]

Re: Natural Gas heater location question, re: windows, A/C condenser, & furnace intak

What does your city/county code say? Regardless if the HVAC guy says it's ok, I would still look up the codes in the area. If I were the installer of the gas pool heater, I would not want to put it within 10ft of any ignition source(AC unit) or 4ft of any opening. If you can't do both then you have to find a suitable place to locate it. The codes in your area might vary.

 

[MitchRyan912]

Re: Natural Gas heater location question, re: windows, A/C condenser, & furnace intak

4' from any windows wont be a problem, and the intake will be well below the exhaust of the heater. I will have to check into the A/C handler issue. We will likely be replacing the air handler in the next 2 years, so we will be pulling that out away from the house, which should distance it from the water heater a bit more.

 

[danpik]

Re: Natural Gas heater location question, re: windows, A/C condenser, & furnace intak

The air intake for the furnace they are referring to is for makeup air for a air to air heat exchanger for makeup air in the house, not as much for combustion air although this probably will be spaced out as well. The location you have looks to be Ok to me. Just be sure to allow for the proper clearances for the electrical boxes. Code requires a 20" wide by 36" deep area in front of the boxes to remain clear. In residential applications it may not be too big of a deal but some electricians will not work on stuff with inadequate clearances.

 

[MitchRyan912]

Re: Natural Gas heater location question, re: windows, A/C condenser, & furnace intak

The air intake for the furnace they are referring to is for makeup air for a air to air heat exchanger for makeup air in the house, not as much for combustion air although this probably will be spaced out as well. The location you have looks to be Ok to me. Just be sure to allow for the proper clearances for the electrical boxes. Code requires a 20" wide by 36" deep area in front of the boxes to remain clear. In residential applications it may not be too big of a deal but some electricians will not work on stuff with inadequate clearances.

I think that settles the debate I was having about locating the pad 3' vs 2' off the side of the house.