Fan-vent thoughts
 

New 425G tank build and going over fan and venting ideas.

Looking for thoughts on the following;

I have a bathroom fan vent (I believe 6" diameter) I can tee into which runs directly from the bathroom to the outside of the house. So I am thinking of getting two more bathroom fans, one coming from the sump/equipment room and another coming from the area above the tank where the of course the lights are, and teeing these into the existing bathroom fan vent.

Thoughts?

vent
 

it might vent back into the bathroom.better to have separate vents-easy to install and waterproof the outside

make sure to add air return lines, with sucking out that volume of air your going to develope negative pressure in your house.

+1 yeppers nail on the head there. Especially when u are dealing with natural gas too. Best way to do is drill a 3" hole and pipe it in by the furance and problem solved. That is with a older house too with the new houses they have already got a pile that is drilled in for. Fresh air return to the furance. But another one wont hurt

have you considered a dehumidifier in your equipment room and maybe venting your area above the tank into the same space.

that is alot of air to be heating and exhausting.

IF you have the cash, a HRV would be a better idea for decent airflow both into and out of your home.

The bathroom fan has a flap on it. Will the air open this flap and enter the bathroom before it exists the house where there is no flap?

House has no furance, radiant heat with boiler, 20 year old house.

not sure what your mean. Here is a little more info on the area, equipment area will just be under the tank with closet area connected to one side of the tank, area will be sealed off from the rest of the house with and will have access panel.

Above the tank will also be a sealed off area with access panels.

Thanks, with no existing ducting, I dont think this would be cost effective for me.

If the boiler is gas fired (as opposed to electric) it still requires combustion air and has a chimney. Negative pressure in your home (from too many or too large of bath fans, dryers, kitchen fans etc) will suck air that is trying to be vented from your boiler into your home. That air, once burned 2X creates carbon monoxide, deadly.

you made reference to a sump/equipment room in your first post.

anyways, portable dehumidifiers are somewhat small perhaps one could fit in the enclosure or another strategic location.

just another angle to consider, strip the moisture from the air instead of exhausting the air.

Would house air vents solve this?

Thats why i thought i would clarify the "room" more of a large closet space and will be lots of space under tank. I dont think a dehumidifier can handle the volume?

I understand. The boiler is on the other side of the house and I will not be able to tee into its vent. If there are house vents or more added to the general area where the tank fans are sucking out, this should solve the pressure issue?

I was actually looking at getting one myself and for $200 you can get a portable dehumidifier that is rated for a 2000+ sf home: http://www.sears.ca/catalog/dehumidifiers/12996

I think that rating is based on a regular humid house, not one with a 425g tank? I have read that dehumidifiers have not worked for people with large systems due to the amount of evaporation?

Just came across the following;

I can have access to two other vents coming from a gas fireplace, I imagine one is an intake and the other is out?

This has been mentioned earlier, but...
If you have a bathroom fan on 24/7 you are exiting warm air, and cold air is coming in from outside to replace that air. You have to heat all that cold air. Not very cost effective method.
Even if you put in a vent in the closet that replaces that exhausted air, your chimney from your boiler might flow backward and you could get carbon monoxide poisoning. You should talk to a heating specialist.
You want to have + pressure in a house, not negative.

Once you get the pressures figured out, there are humidity control units that will only start the fan at a preset humidity level.

Just took mine out of comission, doesn't cut it in cold weather with large tanks.

I drilled two holes through the wall, one is a 4" that connects to the fan above everything, the secons is a 2" that i plumbed down the wall to enter at floor level. My room is fairly sealed so its not like I'm heating and cooling the whole house, It just takes care of that room.

+100.
Just to clarify, you do not, under any circumstances, want to attach anything to your boiler boiler venting.
If you add up all the things in your house that exhaust air, you have to make sure that air is being replaced. If it's not and your house runs at a negative pressure, it will pull flue gasses back down your boiler venting. It's the easiest path for the air to come from.

You really should have a pro come over and see what you're faced with and what you have in the house already to make an informed proposal that you can make decisions with. With any gas fired appliances in the home, the dangers of not balancing out the system are too dangerous and should not be attempted without that on site visit from someone who fully understands those venting requirements.

+1 to the HRV, initial install costs may be a bit higher but you will save a lot more long term

Charles

I agree. Is a heating/plumbing pro the best person to come over and advise me on this or another profession?

Thanks all.