trouble shooting a vacuum switch

Morning all...I've been having some trouble with my new-to-me St. Croix Revolution throwing vacuum error codes. The furnace was used by a previous owner, and he traded it in for a larger model. I've been using it for a few weeks, and it's been fine other than the vacuum issues.

The error message seems to be more wind related than anything. I previously had a SCF 050 that gave the occasional vacuum issue, and that was pretty obviously related to wind, as it only happened during serious weather events. I hooked the Revolution up to the SCF venting set up. I also had an above ground pool put in last summer, and I think I've created a wind tunnel directed right at the venting.

Moving the furnace is not an option, as the rest of the basement is finished. Next summer I'm putting in a deck that should block most of the wind, so this should only be a problem this winter. I know I can bypass the vacuum switch, and it should run fine after that. I'd rather not do that long term, and I don't think that rules wind problems in or out. I was thinking of building a box around the vent opening, outside of the clearances obviously, to try to slow down the wind. Thoughts?

 

Would something like some snow fence a few feet away around the exhaust be enough to 'break the wind' (no pun intended)?

It shouldn't take much to make things happy. I was surprised that I didn't have any issues last Monday when we had 30-50 MPH east winds, which blow right towards my Fahrenheit exhaust venting. There is a lilac bush about 5 feet away that acts as sort of a windbreak. I'm guessing that must help a bit.

 

You can use anything to divert wind direction but stay within codes allowances just in case something happens, play it safe is the name of the game
I know you're already aware of the potentials but it's more for the newbies

 

First of all, make sure the vacuum switch is the actual problem. If you have some windy conditions in your forecast, jump the switch and see if that cures it. If so, then some sort of wind break as mentioned above might suffice until the pool deck gets built.

 

And now...the rest of the story.

I built a windbreak a few feet to the west of the exhaust termination, and it seemed to work pretty well for few days. No more vacuum related shutdowns. Then, I started having problems on Sunday night/monday morning. We were having some pretty nasty, gusty winds pointing directly at the exhaust. Finally gave up, and tried again monday night. I watched my weather station while it was running, and winds were 10 mph or less, and still it had a vacuum related shutdown. Ugh.

The dealer I bought the unit claims the vacuum switch is adjustable, but I can't see where, unless it's on the back side of the switch. I did notice the vacuum hoses are slightly looser than I would like, so I'm going to make sure those aren't leaking, but other than those two options, I'm pretty sure the switch is toast.

Suggestions on where to buy a new vacuum switch, and while I'm at it, a new combustion blower? St. Croix doesn't have a handy parts website like Englander did, and I don't feel an obligation to order through my dealer, mostly because they're 4 hours away from me.