A tip on keeping a gas furnace running during a blizzard

[billig]

Keep exterior furnace venting pipes clear of snow.
We discovered something new about our furnace during this blizzard.

We had a new furnace installed about 4-ish years ago, and the way they plumbed the new venting for incoming and outgoing air (two pvc pipes) is out the side of the house, about 18" off the ground. ( I believe the gas exhaust still goes up to the roof).
(This is Mpls code)

Apparently you're suppose to keep these clear of snow and debris...not that it's much of surprise, since anything with air moving needs to be clean.
But during a blizzard, the snow can accumulate up against a house, clogging the air, which can result in gas entering the house, or carbon-monoxide, depending on which pipe is clogged.

Our furnace went out last night with a little 'pop' and some smoke. When calling the gas co. they said to check these pipes to make sure no snow has accumulated, and there was a drift of snow it. We shovelled everything away. So it was about an hour until the gas co showed up to make sure everything was ok and turn it back on.

[motherofmolly]

can you put up tarps around it? like a makeshift house? if your weather is like ours, i would take outside chairs and the kids toys and cirlce it around the pipe (one "wall" would be the house, the rest objects) and then take a tarp and wrap that around the objects and try to put some of the tarp on the house (even if i have to nail it on)...leaving enough area "open" to vent it still. then of course you would have to check it still.

[billig]

can you put up tarps around it? like a makeshift house? if your weather is like ours, i would take outside chairs and the kids toys and cirlce it around the pipe (one "wall" would be the house, the rest objects) and then take a tarp and wrap that around the objects and try to put some of the tarp on the house (even if i have to nail it on)...leaving enough area "open" to vent it still. then of course you would have to check it still.

Thanks, I was thinking of building something to sit over it but still have it open to the ground, but a drift could enclose that too. Then again, there might be a code against that.

It must have been quite a few people who had this problem that night because Xcel Energy asked the news to tell everyone to keep these pipes free of snow. And also some natural gas thingy, but ours is inside the house in the basement.