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wind blows down vent and snuffs furnace

Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:37 am
by devilonmyback
I live on the bay and in the winter we get fierce wind blowing right off the water in NJ. Several times a year a gust of wind blows so hard that it comes back down the roof vent and snuffs the furnace out. Trying to relight it with matches is a miserable task, so I moved onto a small butane torch which is a bit tricky but is powerful enough to reach inside the hole and not get snuffed by the wind. Its fine when I'm there, but if the wind blows it out while I'm away, the house temps plummet and can freeze up. I'm trying to figure a way to keep this from happening. Theres currently a cap on the vent, yet the winds are stronger than it can handle. Any help?

Thanks
Eric

Re: wind blows down vent and snuffs furnace

Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 5:29 pm
by Greg
You could try changing the height of the pipe, there may be weird turbulence from the roof pitch. Possibly a different style cap. If you can find one, I remember seeing caps that swiveled like a weather vane that had part of the cap closed that faced the wind.

Greg

Re: wind blows down vent and snuffs furnace

Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 6:27 pm
by devilonmyback
Greg, are you referring to the "spinning" caps I see on commercial business, that remind me of jiffy pop popcorn bags?

Re: wind blows down vent and snuffs furnace

Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 8:26 pm
by Greg
The one I am thinking of did not spin like a turbine vent, It had an opening that pointed down wind and swiveled with the wind direction. Something like this.
http://www.wayfair.com/ITR-Galvanized-R ... 49-ITR1007
Google wind proof caps and there are a few styles.

Greg

Re: wind blows down vent and snuffs furnace

Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 8:21 am
by devilonmyback
whoa, thats something new to me, never saw this before, looks like it would solve my problem. Thanks.