Build An A- Frame Diverter - Prevent Snow From Blocking Furnace Vents

[@billk8780]

A couple years back I installed screens over my furnace inlet & outlet PVC pipes to keep bugs out. Last winter during a cold snap my inlet screen iced up and shut down the furnace. After troubleshooting I removed the inlet screen. Ah, the joys of home ownership! All the best from Traverse City, MI.

[@craiggerlach5548]

pulled my screen too, that got me triple the time I needed to clear it out.. so went from every 12 hours to once every 2-3 days... will hate to do this when older, which is coming fast...

[@craiggerlach5548]

down to 0F no issues.. but soon as dips to -20 like we had last few weeks, if I forget the furnace, hot water in floor heat, will either just not come on or will suck snow or ice into furnace and try to take out my fan... in room next to bedroom and got woke up once, thought nightmare..lol

[@stigharding3534]

Thanks for the video it saved my sister a lot of problems, I built one for her after seeing this video. We had a foot of snow yesterday and it worked perfectly.

[@blessedlife1206]

Genius! You should honestly manufacture these and sell them at Home Depot and Costco for people like me. I would buy these for me and as gifts for family. I’ll try to make one but I wish I could just buy one or two.

[@NEBeachcomber]

I just built one for my home. Thanks for the tip!

[@ConcordCarpenter]

Fantastic!

[@joshuaking34]

I am totally building these for my parents place. Thank you.

[@ConcordCarpenter]

Yes and I also snow blow a path to them - even shovel a bit if needed

[@solutionsgirl8439]

Exactly what I was looking for!

[@NEBeachcomber]

As a follow-up to my previous comment... the snow diverter that I built worked like a champ and we had no issues during the Winter. We had snowfall in the thirty inch range and my heating vent stayed clear until we went out and cleared a path to it. However, we came across an issue that some will have to consider. We had a contractor do some work in the later Spring and when they put the diverter back in place for my heating vent, they abutted it right up to my house. The issue is... my house has vinyl siding and the diverter caused several sections of siding to melt and deform. The best that I can figure is that the contractor not only put the diverter directly against the vinyl siding, but also pitched the diverter so that the front of it was pitched lower than the back side. Doing this caused the heat to rise and collect in the back, higher area, which led to my siding melting. Two solutions to this problem that I arrived at: (1.) remove and store the diverter as soon as the snow season is over, or (2.) keep the diverter slightly off of the house siding (appx. 2-3 inches) and pitch the diverter so that the back of the diverter sits lower than the front. Pitching the diverter like this will allow any residual heat to rise naturally, and flow away from the house and it's vinyl siding. If you house has vinyl siding, learn from my issue and don't be afraid to try this A-Frame Diverter... it does work.

[@derekpiehl85]

Good tip Rob

[@brianhamilton9943]

How wide are the pieces of plywood?

[@gregglouis2969]

Honestly that’s a good tip

[@perrymahnke886]

Awesome idea & thank you for sharing

[@ShockReviewsNo1]

Great video!

[@lawdog516]

Great idea, thanks Rob

[@debbiesills6636]

Omg yes thanks

[@lxxs3v3nxxl]

When are you guys going to do a bench top jointer comparison?

[@davidlopata7532]

Great tip!

[@elizabethearleywine6237]

Could this also help with wind around the pipes by any chance?

[@ConcordCarpenter]

yes

[@monicamitchell7827]

What do you do in blizzard conditions?

[@NEBeachcomber]

Check and shovel them clear periodically if needed. Depending on the direction of the wind... you might not even have any snow built up? Buy checking them occasionally you should be able to stay on top of things a lot easier than if you didn't have a diverter.

[@ecospider5]

I installed solar 2 years ago. When snow falls off the roof now it comes off in big sheets instantly making a 2 foot pile of snow beside my house. Even when we only had 2 inches of snow. I need to build a cover for my heat pump because it does not have enough airflow to blow that instant pile of snow off the top of it.

[@RobertLeBlancPhoto]

Install heat strips on your roof and the snow will melt into your gutters. Works great for us.

[@jvistas6074]

My vent is on driveway side of house. How far out does the cover have to come out from the house?( i.e., minimum width?)

[@ConcordCarpenter]

Enough to ensure that snow doesn’t block the vent. This one is 36”

[@Metalcastr]

Our house has the pipes "snorkeled" up offset above the typical snowfall height. Only once did snow cover above it and we had to shovel it out.

[@annesklaroff5705]

When intake and exhaust are next to each other, doesn’t that make for a dangerous situation with the A Frame causing fumes to go back into the house? 0:09

[@NEBeachcomber]

Interesting question... I suppose the possibility is there? As a remedy, you might try making two diverters and placing them side by side.That way one could move the exhaust away from the home and the other could bring the fresh air back into the home?

[@joetaylor1357]

Not sure if you want to confine both exhaust and combustion air together . Normally these are required to be separated 12 in so they don't exchange air between them . Not sure this idea is without flaw .Well be careful, you may cause another. situation. Talk to your HVAC specialist to make sure your doing the right thing . Good luck

[@keweenawbee]

What about the codes? They’d never let you build a house with those diverters because of both fire danger and interference with the exhaust flow.

[@thomasmoorhead42]

These aren't part of the house lmao. The inspector would never see them. Good try, trying to be the smartest boy tho. You get a gold star ⭐

[@ConcordCarpenter]

Yup but yet there are situations where we find this

[@NEBeachcomber]

When in doubt... check with Code Enforcement to be sure.

[@JonathanAylward]

If only it didn't snow 3-500 inches per season at my house.

[@jps101574]

Cheap insurance? Have you seen the price of plywood lately? That's about $500 worth of plywood there.🙂

[@ConcordCarpenter]

Haha right! It’s all scrap

[@steveochremchuk7143]

Have you ever had to deal with neighbors complaining about noise

[@ConcordCarpenter]

Not that noisy

[@Pepe-dq2ib]

That's just bad design, why would anyone install vents so low. All my side vents are 10ft high if not on the roof.

[@Jddlincoln]

Not always an option

[@Pepe-dq2ib]

@@Jddlincoln the only way it can't be installed higher is the appliance is in the basement and there are no near walls to hide the went above it. That is only because of bad planning when the house was built. This should be a common practice building a house that gets snow.

[@ConcordCarpenter]

@@Pepe-dq2ib this house was built in 1863.

[@Jddlincoln]

@@Pepe-dq2ib dude his house is like a hundred years old…. A lot of houses up here in the north east are that old. Trust me the vent pipe on a high efficiency furnace was the last thing that was being thought about when these houses were built.

[@konamanstudio2447]

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[@realestateservicessaleshea99]

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