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Daox · 03-24-11, 08:36 AM

As most of us know, conventional gas fired hot water heaters are very inefficient. Mine is rated at a whopping 55% efficiency, plus it uses a pilot light. And, as we've discussed in the past, pilot lights can use a fair amount of gas over a month (5-12 therms). So, a few people have opted to heat their water entirely with the pilot light alone. Unfortunately for me, this is not an option. My hydronic floor in my sunroom is run off of the hot water heater, and when that is running it can pull a fair amount of heat out of the tank. Enough to the point where I need to adjust the temperature up during the heating season to ensure there is hot water for showers.

So, is there a way to use the pilot light to heat as well as allow for the burner to run? That is my goal here. And, I think I have an idea to make a very simple damper that will keep the pilot light heat in, yet allow the burner to run without dumping CO into my basement. The idea is one or multiple super lightweight dampers. The damper would sit on the top of the water heater flue. It would be made up of only a piece of aluminum foil cut roughly to fit the flue diameter, and a support rod of some sort. In this case, I think a straightened paper clip would work. Being that it is so light, the hope is the hot flue gasses when the burner fires will be enough to lift the damper enough so that the exhaust can make its way up the exhaust flue. Here is an illustration of what I'm thinking of.

Now, some tweaking may be in order. Perhaps biasing the damper to one side so it naturally tips a little and makes it a little easier for the flue gasses to escape when the burner turns on. Also, if one large damper seems like too much to lift, perhaps two smaller dampers would work better?

Anyways, the idea would be to set this up with a carbon monoxide detector very close by and some manual testing to see if the flue gasses can in fact push the damper out of the way enough.

So, what do you guys think?

03-24-11, 08:36 AM	#1
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	automatic water heater flue damper As most of us know, conventional gas fired hot water heaters are very inefficient. Mine is rated at a whopping 55% efficiency, plus it uses a pilot light. And, as we've discussed in the past, pilot lights can use a fair amount of gas over a month (5-12 therms). So, a few people have opted to heat their water entirely with the pilot light alone. Unfortunately for me, this is not an option. My hydronic floor in my sunroom is run off of the hot water heater, and when that is running it can pull a fair amount of heat out of the tank. Enough to the point where I need to adjust the temperature up during the heating season to ensure there is hot water for showers. So, is there a way to use the pilot light to heat as well as allow for the burner to run? That is my goal here. And, I think I have an idea to make a very simple damper that will keep the pilot light heat in, yet allow the burner to run without dumping CO into my basement. The idea is one or multiple super lightweight dampers. The damper would sit on the top of the water heater flue. It would be made up of only a piece of aluminum foil cut roughly to fit the flue diameter, and a support rod of some sort. In this case, I think a straightened paper clip would work. Being that it is so light, the hope is the hot flue gasses when the burner fires will be enough to lift the damper enough so that the exhaust can make its way up the exhaust flue. Here is an illustration of what I'm thinking of. Now, some tweaking may be in order. Perhaps biasing the damper to one side so it naturally tips a little and makes it a little easier for the flue gasses to escape when the burner turns on. Also, if one large damper seems like too much to lift, perhaps two smaller dampers would work better? Anyways, the idea would be to set this up with a carbon monoxide detector very close by and some manual testing to see if the flue gasses can in fact push the damper out of the way enough. So, what do you guys think? Attached Images __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.