Chimney Services in East Brunswick, NJ

What the numbers suggest for chimneys in East Brunswick

Census estimates show 86% of East Brunswick's occupied homes heating with utility gas, 10% with electricity and about 2% with fuel oil. Older-style gas furnaces and water heaters commonly vent into a masonry chimney through a connector pipe, and two appliances often share one flue.

Of the township's 17,438 housing units, 32% were built from 1960 to 1979 and 31% from 1980 to 1999, with another 20% from 1940 to 1959. In a house of that age, the furnace in the basement may not be the original one. Every replacement is a point where the venting arrangement can change, a situation the Academy covers under the orphaned water heater problem.

About 64% of units are detached houses, 11% are attached and 20% sit in buildings with five or more units. The figures describe East Brunswick as a whole and tell you nothing certain about the venting in a particular home.

Why the water heater can end up alone in the flue

High-efficiency condensing furnaces generally vent through their own pipe, out a side wall or the roof. When one replaces an older furnace that shared a chimney flue with the water heater, the water heater is left behind in a flue sized for two appliances. A DuraVent technical paper on the subject describes the orphaned water heater as left to vent within an oversized chimney and warns that, left uncorrected, the water heater's exhaust can end up spilling into the living space.

The same paper points to the warmer months as the weak spot. With the furnace idle, the water heater alone has to establish enough draft to overcome any depressurization in the home as well as the extra space in the flue. A large flue carrying small amounts of warm, moist exhaust also invites condensation, which DuraVent's gas relining guide links to acids that erode clay tile, brick and mortar. Our guide to chimney condensation covers that side.

A furnace replacement, seen from the chimney

1. Before the old furnace comes outAsk the installer how the new furnace will vent and whether any other appliance, usually the water heater, will stay on the chimney.
2. Check the flue for what remainsAn inspection before a new appliance measures the flue and checks its condition, scanning it on camera where its shape permits, and documents both in photos.
3. Correct the size if neededA flue too large for the water heater by itself is commonly fitted with a properly sized chimney liner, following the appliance's installation instructions.
4. Close out the paperworkNew Jersey's Form F370 is the chimney verification for replacement of fuel-fired equipment. On it, a qualified verifier (the form rules out a homeowner) signs off that the chimney is sound, unobstructed and properly lined and sized for the new equipment. Ask your installer or East Brunswick's construction office whether your job needs it.

Swapping in an appliance of a dissimilar type, input rating or efficiency is also one of the situations for which CSIA calls for a Level 2 inspection.

Local questions

Sources

1. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates (tables B25034, B25040, B25024), via Census Reporter
2. DuraVent: FasNSeal 80/90 white paper on high-efficiency furnace upgrades and orphaned water heaters (PDF)
3. DuraVent: Relining Chimneys for Gas Appliances (Ventinox technical guide L1039, PDF)
4. NJ DCA Form F370: Chimney Verification for Replacement of Fuel-Fired Equipment
5. CSIA: The Three Levels of Chimney Inspections