Water central heaters provide adequate heating throughout a building with the use of pipes to pipe the water to the various parts of the building.

The basic way a water central heating system works is that it uses a boiler, radiators and interconnecting piping. In order for heating to circulate the boiler heats the water and then a pump circulates the water through the pipe work and radiates in a circular fashion back to the boiler.

There are two main boiler arrangements:

The open vented system – The sealed system

We will discuss the Open vented systems:

This works with a hot water cylinder which is used to store domestic hot water, using natural atmospheric pressure as a feed/expansion tank is open to the air. The feed/expansion tank is usually fitted high above the rest of the system and usually placed in the loft of the house. It basically works with a ball valve / boiler vent, and when water is lost due to evaporation etc. it is automatically replaced. The tank is designed so that it allows the water stored in the system to expand when it is heated. You need to make sure that the ball valve or water vent is set very low so that expanded water does not create an overflow.

Water vented from the system up the boiler vent pipe is recovered. You will find that the boiler vent pipe is connected near to the boiler and is then bent over the tank. Water is fed down from the tank to connect into the boiler system between the boiler and pump that sits adjacent to the boiler vent pipe.

Installation of your water central heating with a boiler vent must follow the manufacturer’s instructions very carefully in order to follow all safety codes, uniform codes and other applicable national and state. It is recommended that only qualified personnel take care of the boiler vent and installations.

Choosing a boiler vent for a specific need is important. Consideration must be given to the size of the boiler. It must have adequate capacity to handle the maximum hourly load. If installing in a high volume area it is a good practice to install a boiler vent with sufficient capacity to handle future expansion.

A boiler requires fresh air for safe operation and must be installed so that there is adequate combustion and ventilation air from a boiler vent.

A proper boiler vent system must ensure the necessary draft for efficient combustion. It must also develop a positive flow which is adequate to convey all the products of combustion safely to the outside atmosphere above a building. The boiler vent should preferably be circular and made of metal. Proper vent clearance should be provided. An outside boiler vent should be sufficiently insulated in cold climates.

A barometric damper or draft hood should be installed directly onto a boiler vent outlet. You must ensure that you follow all manufacturers’ instructions carefully for both safety and safe installation of your boiler with a boiler vent.