The Plexvent and Ultravent Recall:
Gray or Black Plastic Vent Pipe on Older Gas Furnaces and Boilers
In 1998, the CPSC and 27 companies announced a program to replace about 250,000 plastic vent systems on gas furnaces and boilers. The pipe could crack or pull apart at the joints. Most of those furnaces are gone now. Some of the pipe isn’t.
Most gas furnaces in the Portland area vent one of two ways. Older and mid-efficiency units send hot exhaust up a metal flue. Newer condensing furnaces send cooler exhaust out through white plastic pipe. For a stretch in the 1980s and early 1990s, some mid-efficiency furnaces and boilers used a third option: gray or black plastic pipe rated for higher temperatures.
That pipe is HTPV, and the CPSC recalled it in 1998.
What the 1998 recall covered
On February 24, 1998, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and 27 manufacturers announced a program to replace about 250,000 high-temperature plastic vent (HTPV) systems on gas and propane furnaces and boilers. The CPSC’s wording on the hazard: the pipes “could crack or separate at the joints and leak carbon monoxide (CO), presenting a deadly threat.”
The scope was narrower for furnaces than for boilers. Furnaces were covered only when the vent ran horizontally out a sidewall. Boilers were covered no matter how they vented.
The 27 participants were furnace and boiler makers plus the two pipe makers, Hart & Cooley and Plexco. Names you might see on a rating plate in an older house here include Armstrong, Bard, Evcon, ICP, Lennox, Nordyne, Rheem, Trane, Weil-McLain, and York. Carrier and Bryant aren’t on the CPSC list, and the recall didn’t mention water heaters.
Goodman had its own recall in 2009. It covered about 10,000 HTPV systems on Goodman mid-efficiency furnaces made from October 1988 through July 1994, models starting GUP, GDP, GMP, and GMPV among others. Goodman didn’t make the pipe, but the CPSC said it was “susceptible to corrosion, cracking and joint separation.”
How to spot HTPV pipe
Start at the furnace or boiler and follow the exhaust pipe. The CPSC describes recalled pipe as gray or black plastic, with “Plexvent,” “Plexvent II,” or “Ultravent” stamped on the pipe or printed on stickers on the connecting pieces.
A few things help sort it out:
- White PVC or CPVC is not part of the recall. The CPSC says so directly.
- A metal flue going up through the roof isn’t HTPV.
- Check the appliance’s age. HTPV went on furnaces from the 1980s into the early 1990s, so a furnace from 2005 with gray pipe is a question for an HVAC tech, not a recall match.
- Furnaces were covered only with a sidewall vent. If the pipe runs out the side of the house, keep reading.
Furnaces last about 15 to 20 years, so most of the appliances that came with HTPV have been replaced. The pipe sometimes stays behind when the furnace is swapped, or a newer unit gets connected to it. Either way, gray or black plastic vent on a gas appliance in an older house is worth a closer look.
What the recall offers now
The program has been cut back twice since 1998.
In 2005, the company behind Ultravent (by then Falcon HC Holding Corp., formerly Hart & Cooley) withdrew. The CPSC said Ultravent owners would pay about 40 percent of the replacement cost from then on, while Plexvent owners still got the fix free. About 93,000 of the roughly 250,000 systems had been replaced by October 2005.
In 2009, the free replacement ended for new claims. Claims opened after May 1, 2009 get a rebate: up to $400 for Plexvent and up to $250 for Ultravent. The rebate can go toward a new vent system or a new high-efficiency appliance that doesn’t need HTPV. Owners register first, pay for the work, then get reimbursed.
The hotline the CPSC published is (800) 758-3688. No notice that the program has ended could be found, but nobody has confirmed it’s still taking claims either. Call before you count on the rebate.
What Russ checks on the vent
On every inspection, Russ follows the visible vent pipe from the furnace, boiler, or water heater to where it leaves the house. He’s looking at the material, the slope, the support, the joints, and the condition: rust, staining at the base of a flue, separated sections, sagging runs, and pipe that doesn’t look like it belongs on that appliance.
Gray or black plastic vent with Plexvent or Ultravent markings gets written up for a licensed HVAC contractor to evaluate and replace according to the appliance maker’s instructions. So does any vent pipe with cracks or open joints, whatever it’s made of.
What a visual inspection can’t do is see pipe hidden inside walls or ceilings, or test the vent for leaks. The furnace and its exhaust run are also part of what he points to when CO alarms are missing or past their date.
Which houses to think about
The best candidates are houses that still have a gas furnace or boiler from the late 1980s or early 1990s, especially a furnace that vents out a side wall instead of through the roof. A boiler from that era is worth checking whichever way it vents.
If the furnace has been replaced, look at the pipe anyway. And if the rating plate is from one of the recall participants and the vent is plastic, write down the model and serial number before you call the hotline.
Gray or black plastic vent pipe on an older gas furnace or boiler may be recalled Plexvent or Ultravent. Look for the brand name on the pipe or fittings, have a licensed HVAC contractor evaluate it, and keep CO alarms working in the meantime.
For more on older heating systems, see Russ’s post on the Carrier secondary heat exchanger settlement and what to look for in the HVAC before you make an offer. The guide to checking a house for recalled products covers the CPSC lookup and how to read model labels, and expired smoke and CO alarms covers the alarms every gas-heated house needs. To book an inspection in the Portland metro or Southwest Washington, schedule online.
Plexvent and Ultravent FAQ
