with millions of installations and is
utilized by all the European heating
equipment manufacturers.
This question comes up from time
to time: Is PVC used for venting flue
gases in Europe?
The answer is: No, Europe does not
use PVC because of its lower maximum
operating temperature and environmental
health and safety concerns.
Manufacturers of these polypropylene
gas vent systems arrived in
the U.S. in 2009 and have sold and
installed them for the last 13 years.
One of the first things they did was
obtain the UL-1738 listing to meet the
most stringent and applicable safety
standard used in the U.S.
Which leads us to the next question…
Why UL 1738? The manufacturers of
polypropylene gas vent systems had
already been listed with Europe’s
highest safety standard for venting
flue gases from condensing appliances.
They realized that, to participate in
the U.S. market, they would need to
be listed with the highest standard—
Underwriters Laboratory-1738 (UL-
1738). European manufacturers had
an entire polypropylene vent system
shipped to the lab to go through exhaustive
testing procedures.
The reason why achieving a listing
to the UL-1738 standard is so
difficult is because there are several
additional tests it puts the venting
systems through that no other testing
standards conduct:
• Pressure Testing:
The vent system is tested to
250% of the rated operating pressure.
• Leakage Testing:
The highest pressure is used to
perform the leak test (3 L/H Max
at 100Pa).
• Low Temperature Handling:
A drop test is performed at -20°C
(-4°F)—requiring no shattering,
chips or cracks.
• UV Testing:
This involves a 180-day UV Climate
Chamber test.
• High Temperature Testing:
The vent system is tested 70°F
higher than the rated temperature.
Needless to say, the polypropylene
gas venting system is a viable
option to use when venting the
flue gases from a high-efficiency
condensing appliance. Because it
uses a gasketed technology and not
a glued technology, there are some
installation details that are very
different from what the industry
may have been used to over the
years. That is why the provision
of installation instructions is the
most important requirement of gas
venting systems manufacturers
wanting to be listed with UL-1738.
Per the Standard, “Installation
instructions shall be illustrated and
include directions and information
necessary to complete the intended
installation of the venting system.”
Can you imagine that? ICM
If you have any questions or comments,
E-mail me at gcarey@fiainc.com, call
800-423-7187 or follow @Ask_Gcarey
on Twitter. ICM
More on
Polypropylene Venting
Looking for more information on
Polypropylene venting? Energy Kinetics
has provided a video containing detailed
instructions on sizing, installation and
safety procedures.
Go to https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=IX2SpCvQxgY or scan the
QR code:
As always, follow
all manufacturers
instructions and
adhere to all safety
codes & standards.
ICM/November/December 2022 27