Welcome to the UK Window Cleaning Forums

Starting or own a window cleaning business? We're a network of window cleaners sharing advice, tips & experience. Rounds for sale & more. Join us today!

Lpg flue

  • Thread starter Stayclearwindowcleaning
  • Start date
S

Stayclearwindowcleaning

im going to fit my water heater on the weekend. I'm going to fit a flue to the roof. In the picture surely if that was fitted to the top of my van the rain could go down into it any suggestions thanks

IMG_5514.PNG

 
Looks like it might foul your ladder of roof rack but don't see how the rain will get in?

 
I was thinking when driving and it was raining do u think rain would go down it. Been looking at the different ones you can get and I'm not sure what to get.

 
I've lived in caravans with that sort of flue and never had a problem. Maybe you'll get a teaspoon or two if it pours down? If it's heavy enough to bounce off the roof and hit the underside of the cowl?

 
im going to fit my water heater on the weekend. I'm going to fit a flue to the roof. In the picture surely if that was fitted to the top of my van the rain could go down into it any suggestions thanks
That will melt. You need a stainless steel one.

.

 
Any 1 that u can recommend spruce cheers
Morco D61B Gas Water Heater Flue Kit | Buy now from gasproducts.co.uk

I would contact Hamilton Gas Products and ask them to measure the size of that adaptor collar as you need it to fit on the exhaust sleeve of your heater

Another local windie used a "universal Rinnai 58e gas water heater flue kit" which he got from the same company. It would appear they supply this one now

You will need to get some heat resistant adhesive/sealer to seal the cowl onto the roof. I can't find the name of it but I'm sure it was available from B & Q. You need the cowl to sit about 4" off the roof to stop the heat burning the paint on the roof.

Edit;

I think the sealer used was this:

Geocel Trade Mate Plumba Flue Silicone Black 310ml

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Morco D61B Gas Water Heater Flue Kit | Buy now from gasproducts.co.uk
I would contact Hamilton Gas Products and ask them to measure the size of that adaptor collar as you need it to fit on the exhaust sleeve of your heater

Another local windie used a "universal Rinnai 58e gas water heater flue kit" which he got from the same company. It would appear they supply this one now

You will need to get some heat resistant adhesive/sealer to seal the cowl onto the roof. I can't find the name of it but I'm sure it was available from B & Q. You need the cowl to sit about 4" off the roof to stop the heat burning the paint on the roof.
Thanks spruce

 
Someone made an important point about roof ladders. If you use them then you need to situate the flue so its out of the way when taking off and putting your ladders back.

The other thing is to be 110% certain that this is where the heater is going to stay forever. The other point is that you also have to be 100% certain that you are drilling in exactly the right place.

I appreciate its common sense, but I have got plenty of merit badges for making stupid mistakes and spending hours trying to rectify them. :laugh:

 
would you not want something more low profile like this @spruce ?
Flettner 2000 Rotating Wind Driven Van Roof Air Vent Black

Surely the exhaust heat (after running say 10ft through piping from heater to vent) would not be hot enough to melt polypropylene?

Of course I can accept I may be wrong.
There was another cleaner on the other forum who had his vent melt and he replaced it with a metal mushroom vent. That was his experience when he went hot so we pass that info on. But he then had problems with the heater as the gases weren't escaping properly. So in my books anything that's not metal is suspect.

I have always questioned in my own mind why these vents are used on gas Truma heaters in caravans with seemly no problems, so when you see a small potential for problems, we recall the experiences of others before us and advise to err on the side of caution. I don't know the difference between polycarbonate and polypropylene but I can tell you than Polypropylene has a melting point of of around 173 degrees C whereas Polycarbonate has a melting point of around 250 degrees C. Bosch Power Tools were made of a Polycarbonate derivative and we often saw tools in the workshop that had got so hot and the plastic so melted that we couldn't open them.

I would feel very guilty if @Stayclearwindowcleaning had fitted a plastic roof vent and it did go soft and buckle in on itself and I knew it would happen and didn't say anything.

This Morco vent is similar to one an installer fits and is popular vent with catering vans.

One of the cleaners used a Broan Nutone 636 header from the USA. They were available here on Ebay for a bit, but the company who used to import them appears to have ceased trading. If memory serves me, Nat Jones @Njones (a website designer,), imported one of these from the States when he was a window cleaner. I think this replaced his first vent which also melted come to think of it.

Here's the link to an American supplier. If you went down this route then you would need to source either a stainless steel straight pipe of the right diamt or a s/s flexible hose.

NEW Roof Vent Cap Only FREE SHIPPING | eBay

That Flettner roof vent is just an air extraction vent which is wind driven. More like a bathroom extractor fan so wouldn't be acceptable for a gas heater exhaust vent. You need to ensure all the gas is removed from the van and the only sure way of doing it is a sealed vent through the roof.

Exhaust gasses from these heaters contain carbon monoxide and we don't play with that gas.

.

 
I used a dryer vent that looked like this, only with a bigger overhang (This one is designed to be wall mounted - mine was roof mounted) and made of metal because exhaust fumes are still hot enough to melt plastic even after a few feet of vent hose: Lambro 222W Plastic Dryer Vent Hood, 3" | eBay

You should actually keep the vent hose as short as possible - otherwise fumes can start building up in the van. I had an ecotemp L5 heater from the USA - but the only ones you can get these days have a 20 minute cut-out built in, so they're no good for window cleaning - plus it was hard to fit a vent to that one.

 
I used a dryer vent that looked like this, only with a bigger overhang (This one is designed to be wall mounted - mine was roof mounted) and made of metal because exhaust fumes are still hot enough to melt plastic even after a few feet of vent hose: Lambro 222W Plastic Dryer Vent Hood, 3" | eBay
You should actually keep the vent hose as short as possible - otherwise fumes can start building up in the van. I had an ecotemp L5 heater from the USA - but the only ones you can get these days have a 20 minute cut-out built in, so they're no good for window cleaning - plus it was hard to fit a vent to that one.

My personal opinion is that the 20 minute cut-out was something that got blown out of all proportion. Like the weight of the Aquadapter. Someone starts something which quickly becomes "a storm in a teacup" with most of the 'mob' having no clue what its about to begin with.

Even on commercial I doubt I have ever run my pump for 20 minutes continuously. If I had a heater with a timer I would be aware of that and switch the tap/water flow off more regularly whilst moving onto the next window. Switching the tap off will stop the water flowing through the heater, switch the heater off and resets the 20 minute timer.

I don't recall seeing a post recently from anyone complaining about the 20 minute time safety feature on their gas heaters.

I certainly would never consider an L5 heater because venting them outside. As you say there is no flue to do attach a pipe to. They were meant to be outside it the first place, not in the confines of a van. I feel leaving a door open isn't an ideal answer. Rinnai heaters did make and sell a cowl at one time that worked similar to a cooker hood, but I haven't seen one for sale for years now.

.

 
I custom built a vent hood for my L5 - more trouble than it was worth thought - just get a heater that you can attach directly to.

The 20 min cutout was an issue for me - - mostly because even when you stop water flow between windows your pump keeps running for 10 or 15 seconds,.. the heater only cuts out when the water stops fully. So you think you'd be resetting the timer fairly regularly, but in reality on commercial jobs at least, you rarely stop the water long enough between windows for the reset to kick in.

 
Back
Top