Air pipe beside the furnace

[fhebert]

Hello,

I have an oil furnace. Beside my furnace is a 4 or 6 inch metal pipe that brings fresh iair straight into my furnace room. What is the purpose of this? Can it be blocked? It brings in air from our cold Canadian winters into my house. This must make heating my home more expensive and the electric water heater is 4 feet away. If it is a carbon monoxide problem, can I just get a detector so as not to have cold air coming into my house. And will putting an insulating blanket on my water heater make much of a difference in my water heating costs?

Thanks,

Francois

[fluepipe3]

Can u post a picture

[troyorr]

Your furnace and water heater are in a confined space and the pipe you describe brings in air for combustion. Do not block it. You can eliminate the pipe if you install high efficiency furnace and water heater and run direct vent PVC to them

[bmathews]

It is called combustion air. Fire (your flames) need oxygen to burn and this brings it to the furnace so that it will light and not backdraft when you open the door to let oxygen in. Leave it as is or risk danger, it has nothing to do with carbon monoxide levels. I would suggest insulating the water heater and insulating the room as much as possible to keep the cold out of the living area.

[deejoe]

fhebert; if you install the pipe approx 1 to 2 inches above the floor level inside a pail or bucket it will only bring in enough air for combustion purposes whenever it is required.
This is called the "anti-spill" method.
Try it, it works, and sure cuts down the on the amount of incoming air when not required.

[Jim Davis]

fhebert; if you install the pipe approx 1 to 2 inches above the floor level inside a pail or bucket it will only bring in enough air for combustion purposes whenever it is required.
This is called the "anti-spill" method.
Try it, it works, and sure cuts down the on the amount of incoming air when not required.

Excellent deejoe!! Could add 2 - 90 degree elbows if you don't have a bucket. This is called a cold air trap. Also keeps warm air from sucking out.