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hi, just recently the local gas company was in to install a new gas meter, I wasn't in so one of the kids called me to see if he should let him in, ok'd to go in and change gas meter, when I got home my pool heater was disconnected, the frt door off the heater was laying in the yard and there was a warning card left behind, indicating an infraction and to get it re-connected I would have to have it repaired by a qualified gas technician who would sign this warning ticket and send it back to the gas company to indicate repairs had been done, OK, but there was no explanation of the infraction, contacted the gas company and after three calls in three weeks they explained that the flue had to be 10ft from any opening, there's a basement window about three feet away. ok,tks. So I need to do something about this, my question is what is the difference between the flue of my pool heater and that of our gas fireplace or our furnace, cus they ain't ten feet away from windows and openings, my house is only nine years old and I assume that someone had to approve the design and locations of these flue's, tks to all that reply

Where do you live?

Clause 8.14.10 of the CSA B149.1-05 Code requires a distance of 10 feet from a building opening to a flue gas discharge opening of a pool heater.

Your furnace may be vented with plastic pipe, which has a different set of clearances.  1 foot from a building opening if the furnace is under 101,000 BTU's and 3 feet if it's over 101,000 BTU's.

There is a Director's Advisory that address' your problem.  Read the Director's Advisory FS-106-07 - Here

QuoteTSSA will allow the location of the discharge opening within 10 feet of a window that is non-openable. Nonopenable is interpreted as a window that either has fixed glass or a window that has been designed as openable, but has been rendered as non-openable by installing screws which fix the window shut, sealing the joints with a compound such as silicon and permanently removing the mechanism designed to open the window. 

In addition, a permanent label, suitable to the environment shall be affixed to the window stating:

WARNING

"This window is non-openable. Making it openable may create a carbon-monoxide hazard".

The word "WARNING" shall be a minimum of ¼-inch (6.4 mm) in height. All other words on the label shallbe a minimum 1/8-inch (3.2 mm) in height.

I would fulfill the Director's Advisory yourself, no need to hire someone.  Then call the gas company back to hook things back up.

tks for the reply and the information, I guess what I am really asking, paying no attention to the code for each installation, what is the difference between the fumes coming from my pool heater vs the fumes from my furnace or gas fireplace.
Is it about BTU's, efficiency, are the fumes from the pool heater worst than that of the furnace or fireplace?

durham region

tks

Yes, there's a greater chance that carbon monoxide is being produced by the pool heater.  That's why the clearances to a building opening are greater.  When the pool heater burners heat up the cold water inside the coil, condensation can occur.  The water drips onto the burners and may cause flame impingement and CO.