Black flexible rubber-like gas water heater vent

[msteger]

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OK guys.. first time I've seen this type of install today. It was a gas water heater (2006) with a black flexible 'rubber like' hose with extra slack run from the power vent to the exterior. Would have expected to see rigid PVC for this application. Is this material (in the photo) approved for this?

I did note the slack and the loose hose clamp in the report.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

[Eric B]

I know of no problem with these connectors.

[msteger]

Are they required to be a straight shot b/w water heater and ext vent? This one had slack and sagged before going outside. Just looked wrong to me at 1st sight.

[Bain]

I posted a similar question about a year ago, having never seen that material used for a vent before, Matt. Les and some of the other Michigan people said the stuff is common up there and also legal.

Here's a similar thread that discusses those vent connectors. Lots of us had never seen them before.

https://www.inspectorsjournal.com/forum ... IC_ID=3060

[msteger]

Thanks, OK, so I see this type of vent material is allowed in some areas, but is it allowed to have that much slack? I would have thought it should be straight.

[Les]

naw, the slack in the photo does not mean anything. But, most are pretty stiff and I have seen more than one replaced with a radiator hose from a 1994 Chevy!

[msteger]

Thanks. 1st time in over 5 years that I've seen that material used for venting an appliance.

[Eric B]

Matthew,

Now that you have the picture up, that connector is not what I was thinking of. I've got to retract my previous statement.

[Chad Fabry]

Well, I just read John's original post and my opinion is still the same; that's exhaust hose like they use for cars in repair shops.

[kurt]

That's what it looks like to me.

I've never seen that stuff outside a car repair shop. Anyone got a link?

[Nolan Kienitz]

I'd be writing it up for B-type flue pipe.

[Bill Kibbel]

The first time I saw it, I contacted the supplier of the water heater. It's packaged with the unit from the manufacturer. It's closer to corrugated wet exhaust hose for marine use than the garage exhaust tubing. They're not that unusual around here. Most were installed in the '90s.

[msteger]

The water heater was a strange brand, actually, none that I had ever heard of before (don't recall its name right now), so who knows, maybe they supplied this weird vent material. I called it out anyway.