Making an A frame for a heater vent

[Garandman]

I think the installer's rationale was "Well it's been here 10 years, must be OK."

We clean the snow out of there so they can get to the propane tank, anyway.

 

[kenmac]

View attachment 451428

The image above is from a current Rinnai tankless water heater install manual. One can note how they have added the image clarifying height above the "anticipated snow pack" to the install manual. Perhaps it was open to interpretation before leading to the kind of situation described by the OP.

installation instructions reference things like this for a reason..
Any Licensed installer that installs in states that have this much snow , should know how to properly install equipment..
You can bet, If I were a installer in 1 of those states that can have 4-5-etc ft of snow.. I sure wouldn't terminate a vent only 18 '' off grade

 

[kenmac]

I think the installer's rationale was "Well it's been here 10 years, must be OK."

We clean the snow out of there so they can get to the propane tank, anyway.

And that type of thinking is what gets peoples house burned down, kill people from CO poisoning, when the safety fails to shut the unit down
I went to a home where a contractor installed a new furnace (gas) attached to an old rusted out flue vent...His thinking was the same.. the old furnace worked just fine with the old rusted out flue vent

The state revoked his state license.

there must not be any state or local inspections in your area.. or the installer didn't obtain a permit for the install..Installed it under the radar so to speak

 

[PILOON]

Just guessing here, but if those vents are anything like my clothes drier vent, the heat creates its own tunnel. Actually the flowers even want to grow during winter.
Heck my central vacuum exhaust keeps a good swath open.
And we are in a snow belt area!

 

[dstig1]

It must not be a condensing unit as it is SS metal duct. All of my appliances in my house are condensing (2 on-demand water heaters and a forced air furnace) so all exhausts and intakes are Sch40 PVC pipe. When I put them in, the intakes are high up on one wall, but the exhausts are like yours near ground level around the corner (limited spaces that met code for these on the house). I made a snorkel for them with a 90 sweep up, a couple feet of pipe, then a pair of 45's with a stub in between them to point it back towards the ground. Then I later wrapped hardware cloth around them to keep critters out, but didn't do it fast enough and a couple birds got into my furnace and died. You can get SS hardware cloth/mesh too, so it won't react and corrode with your SS pipe. Even cutting a disc of it that is snug inside the pipe is a good measure.

 

[kenmac]

When ever I do a job...I always leave the installations with the customer.. That way, the customer can read them ,and know that they were installed correctly..Some instructions are more strict than the code.. When they are, MFG instructions prevail