I am looking at various vent covers for my house. I have a 3" Plumbing vent stack and a 4" Radon vent stack. The radon system is passive, which means I do rely on a chimney effect along with the fact that a breeze creates a draft tunnel down to the basement. I want to prevent the possibility of a squirrel or bird from a.) entering the vent pipes and b.) dying in the vent pipes after a quick trip to the bottom.
Doing a lot of reading it turns out this is a very technical topic! So far I see things priced from $5 to $40! Right now I am really leaning towards these simple little things because it prevents the issue at bay and appears that the slits would allow the continuation of passive venting.
I don't know enough to decide if these are the proper vent covers or not for my situation. I think the 3" stack would be okay, but I am concerned about the 4" radon pipe.
Best Answer
Plumbing vents work on the principle of water moving and are sized accordingly. Reducing the "net" area may affect your plumbing's venting, thus the drainage.
We install radon remediation after tests are performed and they indicate it's necessary. Usually it's a passive system with the capability of adding an exhaust fan to "suck" more air through the system if future tests indicates the passive system is not working. Likewise, you could try the covers and re-test for effectiveness.
We worry about the "amount" of screen on outside grilles blocking air movement for heating systems. The amount of air reduction in your proposed "vent caps" seem excessive...especially if you're worried about keeping birds out of the pipe.