Roof plumbing vents and methods including for tankless water heaters with concentric venting

Abstract

A vent apparatus is used to install a tankless water heater or similar equipment inside an attic without going onto the roof. The vent apparatus may include a main housing and an umbrella assembly movably disposed therein. The main housing (e.g., PVC pipe) is installed through the roof. The umbrella assembly may have a central rod with a flexible umbrella cover on top. The umbrella assembly is pushed up through the main housing until the umbrella cover exits the top of the main housing to cover it and prevent rain from entering the main housing. The bottom of the main housing is then connected to the tankless water heater. Additional embodiments are disclosed for tankless water heaters and other equipment with an air intake port and a gas exhaust port.

1 . A vent apparatus comprising:
 a main housing having an upper end and a lower end; and   an umbrella assembly including a central rod having an upper end and a lower end, and a flexible upper cover attached proximate the upper end of the central rod, the umbrella assembly having a first position in which the flexible upper cover is disposed within the main housing and a second position in which the flexible upper cover is in a deployed state above the upper end of the main housing, the central rod being restricted from movement relative to the main housing when the umbrella assembly is in its second position to hold the flexible upper cover in its deployed state.   
     
     
         2 . The vent apparatus of  claim 1 , the umbrella assembly further including a lower member attached to the central rod, the lower member being adapted for engagement with the main housing when the flexible upper cover is its deployed state above the upper end of the main housing. 
     
     
         3 . The vent apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the lower member includes a body, a lip disposed around the body, and at least one passageway through the body, the lip being adapted for engagement with the lower end of the main housing, the lip being engaged with the lower end of the main housing when the flexible upper cover is in its deployed state above the upper end of the main housing. 
     
     
         4 . The vent apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the umbrella assembly further includes at least one disc disposed within the main housing and secured to the central rod. 
     
     
         5 . The vent apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the disc includes at least one passageway. 
     
     
         6 . The vent apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the disc is adapted for mating engagement with an inner surface of the main housing, the disc positioning the central rod along a longitudinal center axis of the main housing when the disc is engaged with the inner surface of the main housing. 
     
     
         7 . The vent apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the main housing is adapted to be positioned through a hole in a roof of a building and secured to the roof, the upper end of the main housing being disposed above the roof and the lower end of the main housing being disposed below the roof, the flexible upper cover being in its deployed state above the upper end of the main housing, and the main housing being in communication with an exhaust outlet from a tankless water heater. 
     
     
         8 . A concentric vent assembly comprising:
 an outer housing having an inner surface and an intake passageway, the intake passageway extending away from the outer housing and in communication with the inner surface of the outer housing;   a main housing having an upper end and lower end, the main housing have a flex cap disposed around the main housing and between the upper end and lower end of the main housing, the main housing being disposed within the outer housing and defining a flow passageway between an outer surface of the main housing and the inner surface of the outer housing, the flow passageway extending from an upper end of the outer housing to the intake passageway; and   an umbrella assembly including a central rod having an upper end and a lower end, and a flexible upper cover attached proximate the upper end of the central rod, the umbrella assembly having a first position in which the flexible upper cover is disposed within the outer housing and a second position in which the flexible upper cover is in a deployed state above an upper end of the outer housing.   
     
     
         9 . The concentric vent assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the flex cap is positioned between the flexible upper cover and the lower end of the main housing. 
     
     
         10 . The concentric vent assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the central rod is secured to the main housing, and the main housing and central rod are moveable relative to the outer housing from first position to a second position, the flex cap being in a deployed position above the upper end of the outer housing when the main housing and the central rod are in their second position, and wherein the deployed position of the flexible upper cover is above the deployed position of the flex cap when the main housing and the central rod are in their second position. 
     
     
         11 . The concentric vent assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the flex cap is disposed in the flow passageway between the outer surface of the main housing and the inner surface of the outer housing when the umbrella assembly is in its first position. 
     
     
         12 . The concentric vent assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the flex cap is disposed above the upper end of the outer housing when the umbrella assembly is in its first position. 
     
     
         13 . The concentric vent assembly of  claim 8 , further including at least one disc secured to the central rod and having a least one passageway. 
     
     
         14 . The concentric vent assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one disc is adapted for mating engagement with an inner surface of the main housing and to position the central rod along a longitudinal center axis of the main housing. 
     
     
         15 . The concentric vent assembly of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the outer housing is adapted to be positioned through a hole in a roof of a building and secured to the roof, an upper end of the outer housing being disposed above the roof and a lower end of the outer housing being disposed below the roof, the flexible upper cover being in a deployed position above the upper end of the outer housing, the flex cap being in a deployed position above the upper end of the outer housing;   the intake passageway being in communication with a fresh air inlet of an item of equipment located within the building to establish a passageway for fresh air from outside the building to be communicated into the fresh air inlet; and   the lower end of the main housing being in communication with an exhaust outlet of the item of equipment to establish a passageway for exhaust gases from the item of equipment to vent from the item of equipment through an interior of the main housing to outside the building above the roof.   
     
     
         16 . A method of establishing a vent for an item of equipment located within a building, the method comprising:
 positioning a first housing through an exterior surface of the building, the first housing having a first end located outside the building and a second end located inside the building;   moving a flexible upper cover from a first position inside the first housing to a second position outside the first housing and outside the building, the flexible upper cover being in a collapsed state in its first position and a deployed state in its second position; and   connecting the second end of the first housing to an exhaust port of the item of equipment.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the flexible upper cover is connected to a central rod that is positioned within the first housing, and the central rod is secured to the first housing to hold the flexible upper cover in its second position. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , further including:
 positioning a second housing through the exterior surface of the building, the second housing having a first end located outside the building and a second end located inside the building, and the first housing being positioned inside the second housing and defining a flow passageway between an interior surface of the second housing and an exterior surface of the first housing, the second housing having an intake passageway exiting the second housing and in communication with the flow passageway; and   connecting the intake passageway to a fresh air inlet port on the item of equipment to establish a flow path for fresh air from outside the building to flow into the fresh air inlet port.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein a flex cap is disposed around an upper end of the first housing and disposed between the outer surface of the first housing and the inner surface of the second housing when the first housing is in a first position relative to the second housing, the method further including:
 moving the first housing within the second housing toward an exterior of the building into a second position to move the flex cap into a deployed position outside of the first housing.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the flex cap is between an outer end of the second housing and the flexible upper cover when the flex cap and the flexible upper cover are in their respective deployed positions, and the fresh air flow path into the flow passageway is defined between a lower surface of the flex cap and an upper end of the second housing, and the exhaust flow path from the main housing to outside the building is defined between an upper surface of the flex cap and a lower surface of the flexible upper cover.