What's this device on water heater?

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rogar6

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I have an AO Smith heater with an auto-draft inducer. It's 13 years old so I'm going to replace it now rather than wait for it to start leaking.

I think this device is needed for the draft inducer, is this something I can remove from this water heater and install on the new one? It appears to be screwed into the heater. Also, there's a wire that wraps around the exhaust area, is this a sensor?

What I'm trying to figure out is if this draft inducer can be used on any heater or does it have to be AO Smith?

20150603_070551.jpg

20150805_172946.jpg
 
One more thing, the black plastic device near the exhaust I believe is a piezzo buzzer, an alarm, I'm not concerned about it.
 
Dispose of the entire heater the new one will come with newer technology and include the draft inducer safety components.
 
Agree. If the new one needs that part it will be included.
 
Is your heater vented out a chimney or metal stack of some kind, or is it vented out PVC thru the basement wall?
 
The picture shows a stack. Mine has a double walled stainless steel pipe that goes out the wall. Pretty common direct vent for water heaters.

To the OPs question, I'd think retro-fitting the device on the a new water heater would void the warranty.
 
bud, it's vented out the chimney but it has a long distance to travel which is the reason for the draft inducer.

I looked at the heaters at HD and none of them had that attachment on them which makes me wonder how I'd attach my fan to the new unit. Is it because only certain heaters can be paired up with an inducer and HD just doesn't carry such heaters?
 
I had to go to a Ferguson plumbing supply house to get my direct vent water heater. I suspect you'll need to do the same for one with a inducer. Lowe's wouldn't/couldn't special order one for me either. It was available same day at Ferguson.
 
rogar6 said:
bud, it's vented out the chimney but it has a long distance to travel which is the reason for the draft inducer.

I looked at the heaters at HD and none of them had that attachment on them which makes me wonder how I'd attach my fan to the new unit. Is it because only certain heaters can be paired up with an inducer and HD just doesn't carry such heaters?
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Is the fan part of the water heater or is it up stream of the heater on the stack? I never had one but I’m thinking of getting a new tank and when I do if I get a direct vent I can remove my chimney in the process and as we need a roof that’s the time to do it. My understanding is the inducers requires a up stream pressure in order to let the burner light.

Would a tank made for direct vent out PVC have all the equipment on it you are looking for?
 
I figured you were upgrading to a high efficiency heater that has a power vent that can exhaust through the chimney if you want.
 
look at post #10, it is a rheem, with the same stack assist
 
bud, the fan is upstream. Here's a couple pics.

Frodo, if I went with the rheem from post 10, I'd have to run a vent from the top of my chimney down to the water heater; just a lot more work than hooking up the new heater to my existing fan.

fan1.jpg

fan2.jpg
 
Wow that is a long horizontal run and I’m sure the fan was installed because they needed it. In my case the tank is about 2 feet from the chimney but I want to get rid of the chimney or at least the part that cuts the attic in half. My furnace was updated about 10 years ago and done with a direct vent with PVC.

Looks like you have to stick with the fan and the gas pressure switch maybe adapting the old one to your new tank. Or go with a direct vent tank and forget about the long run to your chimney and exit the house some other closer place. I don’t know a lot about direct vent tanks but I would assume they come with a blower?

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28EJjUDtKiE[/ame]
 
Thanks bud. Yeah, if I went with any other setup than what I have now it would be a lot more work (including permits) but now that I understand what I'm dealing with, I'll just stay with my current setup.
 
My old atmospheric vented water heater took a crap about a year ago.
The quickest and easiest fix was to replace it with a "like" vented heater (which are no longer manufactured as all new water heaters are now Power vent a.k.a. - direct vent.
The major difference between the two is the efficiency rating with the new heater being much, much more efficient.
I would recommend taking advantage of the fact that you have time to plan the installation of a direct vent heater to save on utility bills. I didn't have the luxury of time to do so.

You may also want to look at this:
http://www.askthebuilder.com/water-heater-venting/
 
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