Olsen Oil Direct Vent Furnace Questions

[Smurfz]

I have a Direct Vent OIL furnace (high Efficiency) The installer ran the exhaust chimney out of the side of the furnace at 4' and through the wall at about 8' The exhaust vent is flexible corrugated stainless tubing 4" in diameter. There is no fresh air feed from outside at all.

Whilst having an oil tank certification at the end of last year the OIL guy tells me that the intake and exhaust system is not set up correctly and does not meet code. He tells me that there needs to be a 4" intake installed to draw fresh air in to the "pump or blower?" This seems to be quite a simple task however when speaking to the local "1hour heating guy" he tells me different. His comment are as follows

1. if you install the intake too close or too far away from the exhaust vent then you will have possible "-" or "+" pressure problems.
2. After installing the intake the furnace need to be re-dialed in to compensate for different air.
3. The chimney I have has no protection between the floor joists and should have plates installed as heat deflectors
4. yearly cleaning must be done to ensure correct operations.

I have had this setup (apparently wrong) for 8 years now and it is working perfectly. The exhaust is not sooty at all and there is no staining on the outside of the cottage. (this surprised the heating guy). I don't want to do all of these revisions to get soot and less efficiency. Currently I get better efficiency than any other cottages with similar setups. My consumption of OIL to heat a cottage at 50 degrees all year long and 70 on the weekends (almost every one) is about 1000 litres of fuel. The cottage is 2400sq feet and really well insulated.

Finally this building is 8 years old and was certifies by the building inspector for occupancy. If infact my venting does not meet code wouldn't he not have provided an final inspection?

Any suggestions welcome.

[default]

Probably it MET code when it went in, and code has since changed. Since it's a direct-vent furnace, you don't need to worry about heat deflectors.... Hold your hand against the exhaust while the furnace is running.. it's not hot, right?

IF you ever do something that seals up the basement, then you'll have to provide air to the furnace, and it will then have to be adjusted for the fact that the air supply is restricted. Until then, don't worry about it. Do you have a smoke alarm and CO2 detector in that area of the building?

--Goedjn

[Smurfz]

Smoke alarm is hard wired and CO2 sensor on each level. Location (fire and CO2) is monitored by alarm company, I am inclined to keep the setup the way it is as it works well.

Thanks for the response.