# Screens For Hwh And Furnace Vents



## daslobo777 (Mar 24, 2007)

Does anyone have any good horror stories about bugs and stuff getting into the furnace or HWH vents? I just got my vent screen covers today from CW and installed them as insurance - a waste of $$ or good cheap insurance??


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## Tom W. (Jun 6, 2007)

daslobo777 said:


> Does anyone have any good horror stories about bugs and stuff getting into the furnace or HWH vents? I just got my vent screen covers today from CW and installed them as insurance - a waste of $$ or good cheap insurance??


May want to verify that installing these screens will not negate your warranty...manufacturers look for potential causes of failure and owner installed mods is one of the first things they look for...


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## GlenninTexas (Aug 11, 2004)

The screens are a good thing. If you've ever had to try to clean a dirtdauber nest out of the heat exchange tube of your hot water heater, you'll know why.

The screens shouldn't interfere with your warranty as they are external to the units themselves.

Regards, Glenn


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## Dreamtimers (Mar 7, 2005)

GlenninTexas said:


> The screens are a good thing. If you've ever had to try to clean a dirtdauber nest out of the heat exchange tube of your hot water heater, you'll know why.
> 
> The screens shouldn't interfere with your warranty as they are external to the units themselves.
> 
> Regards, Glenn


X2

Don't know how the nesting critters are in Az. But in the south this is a must do mod. The last CG I was at, a large motorhome was getting help to dig them out of his water heater.

Also screen on the fridge vents is really useful also. I was telling another outbacker about this at a rally. He wanted me to show him on his TT. We opened his cover & there was a growing wasp nest. Insects will take cover where ever they find it.

Dave


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

I have both furnace ports and the HWH vent covered with screens. My dealer recommended them. Mud daubers will build nests any place that affords some shelter from sun and rain and spiders LOVE to build nests in the venturi tube of your HWH.

The spider nests will prevent your HWH from running on propane. (Had this happen on my pop-up's HWH.) The mud daubers nests may prevent your furnace from running, at the least, and could cause a potentially dangerous situation if they block the exhaust too much.

Go for the screens. They will save you some headaches down the road.

Mike


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## Chasn'Racin (Mar 12, 2007)

Another hint when winterizing to keep the spiders out of your fridge is to hang a webbing full of moth balls in the fridge vent area. Keeps the spiders out!


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## mmblantz (Jul 1, 2007)

Another good place to screen is the rear bumper where you keep your sewer hose(or not). You have that small inviting hole for airflow to the hose and it REALLLLLLLYYYYY SUCKS to pull a nest of wasps or yellow jackets out with your hose. My DW's cousin asked me to go with him to do a walk around on an SOB with him last week and as soon as we got near the bumper they were comin out.
---Mike


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Good idea in the real world but the furnace manufacturer has warnings not to add ANY obstructions to the intake or exhaust of the furnace.


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## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

I know this is an old post, but I had to find a place to add this story.

I just pulled my trailer out of storage for the first time this season yesterday (pitiful, I know). I couldn't remember if I left the plug in or out of the water heater, so I popped open the water heater cover and got a big surprise when about 20 wasps came right after me. (sorry, no video). I turned and headed for the cab of my van but got all twisted in my crocs (why did I wear those dumb things), and I went sailing head first towards the pavement at the storage yard. Fortunately, my quick non-thinking resulting in me dropping suddenly off the wasps' radar. Unfortunately, my elbows and knees got up close and personal with the pavement. I had my DD with me, who is an aspiring nurse and was able to dive into the cab with her and get first aid. I have not been this torn up in many years.









Fortunately, we had finished hooking up and testing the lights before I made my little discovery. We decided to do a few laps inside the storage place to see if we could shake loose our visitors. No luck, they liked it in there. Next we decided to head to the nearest WM or KM about 5-6 miles away to get some wasp spray. We drove 40 miles per hour with the water heater door open, hoping it would not tear away. Once we parked, I went back there and the wasps came flying out, not all that happy. We ducked into KM and bought some spray and let them have it, as they had all settled back on the nest.

I closed the door and we headed home. Once we got home, I opened the door again and tore out the nest. Lesson learned, again the hard way.

I guess I'm going to be stopping at the nearest RV store for a screen for the water heater door! I had one for the furnace; no idea why I didn't put one on the water heater years ago.......


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## Pooh&Tigger (Oct 20, 2008)

Thank you for your post, I'm going to invest in some screens, seems better to prevent entry then have to evict after nest established.


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## JMAC (Jul 31, 2009)

I have some in the garage I hope to install this weekend.


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

I haven't tried it with the Outback, but on my house there are areas where the wasps love to start nests. One spray of Ortho Home Defense seems to keep them away for the entire summer. I might try a little in those problems spots in the Outback.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

7heaven said:


> I know this is an old post, but I had to find a place to add this story.
> 
> I just pulled my trailer out of storage for the first time this season yesterday (pitiful, I know). I couldn't remember if I left the plug in or out of the water heater, so I popped open the water heater cover and got a big surprise when about 20 wasps came right after me. (sorry, no video). I turned and headed for the cab of my van but got all twisted in my crocs (why did I wear those dumb things), and I went sailing head first towards the pavement at the storage yard. Fortunately, my quick non-thinking resulting in me dropping suddenly off the wasps' radar. Unfortunately, my elbows and knees got up close and personal with the pavement. I had my DD with me, who is an aspiring nurse and was able to dive into the cab with her and get first aid. I have not been this torn up in many years.
> 
> ...


Sorry to hear of all the excitement!









Hope those knees and elbows heal quickly!


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## JMAC (Jul 31, 2009)

ok. I installed my furnace and HWH covers this weekend... quick and easy. A followup question regarding the HWH cover... The screen I purchased ONLY covers the "grid" area where the hot air dischard is located. It doesn't cover the "louvers" located to the left of the "grid".

Did I buy the wrong cover and should I be concerned about the louvered opening?

Cheers.


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