Video · Water Heaters
Power Vent Water Heater Install: Four Details Worth Seeing
A power vent water heater uses a blower to push its exhaust out through a pipe, and this one lights itself with no pilot to fuss over. A tech walks the homeowner through the new install, detail by detail.
Job footageSwiftPro
- Topic
- Water Heaters
- Length
- 1:05
- Posted
- October 7, 2026
- Shot by
- The SwiftPro crew, Northern Virginia
What you’re seeing in this video
In an unfinished basement, the tech fires up the new power vent water heater. The motor on top spins up, the igniter clicks and the burner lights on its own. He sets the temperature at 120 degrees and says customers who like it hotter can go to about 130, but no higher.
Then the tour: a new shutoff valve placed where the homeowner can reach it, a thermal expansion tank on the cold line, and the install date written on both the expansion tank and the water heater so the next tech knows their ages at a glance. He figures the expansion tank lasts three to six years depending on water quality, and calls it a quick swap when it goes.
Okay, let me try it on. Then turn it and start flickering. The good thing about power vents is you don't have to manually turn on the pilot. Once the pilot does it automatic, you'll hear the motor go.
This is going to start clicking and then it's going to have the flame kick on by itself. I set it at 120, that's my code. Some customers are a little bit more tolerant to heat. The most I'll say is to go up to eight, that's about 130.
Okay. All right. This is your new valve over here for your water heater shutoff. Okay.
Easy access on. Easy access back on. Thermal switch takes right here. Okay, I put the date of installation.
These typically last about three to six years, so depending on water quality, of course. After that, if this starts to fail, it'll be the same thing. You just need to cap off. If there's no air in it, then you know it's going to run along.
This is a little bit easier to replace. All they have to do is just loosen, loosen, unscrew, put the new one back, you'll be okay. I got the date of installation on the water heater tank as well. That way if the next person comes in, they can tell you what year it is or, you know, what the status of it is, that's all.
Okay?
Why it matters in your house
- A power vent model pushes exhaust sideways through PVC with a fan instead of up a chimney. It needs a nearby outlet, and it won't fire during a power outage.
- At 120 degrees you get hot showers with less scald risk and less heat lost from the tank. Higher settings raise the scald risk, especially for small kids and older adults.
- An expansion tank soaks up the pressure that builds as water heats. Without one on a closed system, that pressure strains the relief valve and the tank itself.
How does a power vent water heater work?
It burns gas like any tank, but a blower motor on top pushes the exhaust out through PVC pipe, usually through a side wall. It doesn't need a chimney, and most newer models light automatically with an electronic igniter. The tradeoffs: it needs power to run, and the fan makes a soft hum when it fires.
Want it done at your place? See Water Heaters at SwiftPro or call (703) 997-9757.
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