Fresh Air intake from Furnace PVC intake tube?

[Toddah]

Is it possible to tap into the natural gas furnace PVC fresh air intake pipe to feed my skimmer fresh outside air?
I have a very convenient 2.5" PVC pipe feeding my furnace fresh air intake about 3 feet from my tank behind the wall. I would love to be able to drill a hole in the pipe and install the 1/4" line feeding my skimmer.
Any drawbacks or showstopper reasons not to do this?

 

[MnFish1]

Is it possible to tap into the natural gas furnace PVC fresh air intake pipe to feed my skimmer fresh outside air?
I have a very convenient 2.5" PVC pipe feeding my furnace fresh air intake about 3 feet from my tank behind the wall. I would love to be able to drill a hole in the pipe and install the 1/4" line feeding my skimmer.
Any drawbacks or showstopper reasons not to do this?

When your furnace is not working - fresh air will not be coming in.

 

[Foomanj]

When your furnace is not working - fresh air will not be coming in.

I would consult a HVAC company on that just to be safe.

 

[Gtinnel]

If it's like my furnace's air intake it is just an open pvc pipe going to outside, so even if the furnace isn't on it would still supply outside air to the skimmer. It would be equivalent of running your skimmer air intake from a 3" line and reducing it down to a 1/4" line.
I would actually be more worried that when the furnace is on and is trying to suck in the same air as your skimmer and cause your skimmer to not be able to pull in enough air.

I suspect it would work but that is just my my guess.

 

[ScottJ]

If it's like my furnace's air intake it is just an open pvc pipe going to outside, so even if the furnace isn't on it would still supply outside air to the skimmer. It would be equivalent of running your skimmer air intake from a 3" line and reducing it down to a 1/4" line.
I would actually be more worried that when the furnace is on and is trying to suck in the same air as your skimmer and cause your skimmer to not be able to pull in enough air.

I suspect it would work but that is just my my guess.

+1 on that thought about when the furnace is running. But could you run the 1/4" line out through the intake pipe so the open end is just outside?

 

[Gtinnel]

+1 on that thought about when the furnace is running. But could you run the 1/4" line out through the intake pipe so the open end is just outside?

I agree that would be the best option if possible.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Is it possible to tap into the natural gas furnace PVC fresh air intake pipe to feed my skimmer fresh outside air?
I have a very convenient 2.5" PVC pipe feeding my furnace fresh air intake about 3 feet from my tank behind the wall. I would love to be able to drill a hole in the pipe and install the 1/4" line feeding my skimmer.
Any drawbacks or showstopper reasons not to do this?

IMO if you are gunna do any of this use bigger hose 1/4 is not even worth it

 

[srobertb]

If it's like my furnace's air intake it is just an open pvc pipe going to outside, so even if the furnace isn't on it would still supply outside air to the skimmer. It would be equivalent of running your skimmer air intake from a 3" line and reducing it down to a 1/4" line.
I would actually be more worried that when the furnace is on and is trying to suck in the same air as your skimmer and cause your skimmer to not be able to pull in enough air.

I suspect it would work but that is just my my guess.

I think the thought would be if it had a flap or something on the end to keep squirrels out when it wasn’t drawing air.

Your furnace would have to be drawing in a massive amount of air to be so powerful it started sucking in water through the skimmer. This could be tested by turning on the furnace and putting your hand over the exterior intake. If it felt like a powerful vacuum, I wouldn’t do it. I’d guess it’s not.

You could always use the intake line as a chase and run oversized tube through the hole all the way to the exterior to avoid any issues.

None of this will be to code and if you sell your house the inspector will feel some kind of way. Make sure you seal well around the hole you drill so that your furnace continues to draw 100% fresh air.