Question about installing an OAK - I do not have an OAK intake in the stove

Hello,

I have a newly installed Enviro Milan insert. I'm still playing with it to try to get the best results. The question I have is about OAK installation. The room I have the stove in gets hot, or should I say warm. The issue I'm having is although the room is warm, I can feel cold air at my feet along with cold pockets of air every now and then when I stand up. All the reading I've done suggests that this could be because the stove is pulling in air from the house and causing these cold pockets. I'm looking into installing an OAK. The problem is my stove does not come with a OAK intake tube in the back.. I'm not sure what it's called but I think some stoves come with a pipe to plug the OAK directly into. Mine does not.

Am I out of luck? Can I not have an OAK without that pipe? If I can, how do I do it? Appreciate the help. In all my research I never thought to check for an OAK intake. I assumed all stoves came with them. Any help is appreciated... or maybe this cold air isn't from not having an OAK and I'm way off?

Thank You!

76brian said:

According to the manual (you did look at that, right?), the air intake is at the rear left side of the stove.

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I did take a quick look but not that close of a look. It's probably ignorance on my part but I was going more on what the installer told me. I asked about an OAK and the installer told me this particular stove does not hav
e an intake valve. However I did look over the manual as well and didn't see anything about the intake valve. I wil have to take a closer look at the manual as well.

Does it sound like the cold air issue I'm having is because I have no OAK?

DexterDay said:

Page 5 in the manual states that the unit needs a fresh air intake if installled in a tight home.or mobile.home
Then page 10 (cleaning guide in upper corner) states the fresh air tube must be cleaned (annually?).

It lays mention to it a few times. If you look at the diagram on page 6, you can see a round hole (2"-3"). Opposite of exhaust. That looks like an OAK hole to me. May not be, but seems strange that it tells you its needed, but then there is not anything to hook up to. My Quad is not a sealed OAK by any means. But they still provided a way to have one.

Follow the passage from where your burn pot sits. That liner is fed air from somewhere. Start from the source and work backwards, if you cant see it on the back. Follow the route in (cold stove obviously) and you will find the place in which it gets its air.

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I did see all this when I was reading the manual but found it strange that there were no instructions on how to install an OAK. I searched the internet and read other manuals (for example the Avalon) and there are specific instructions on how to connect an OAK kit. Which is why I asked, I kind of assumed from what the dealer said and the fact there are no specifics in the manual of how to hook one up, although they do mention it, I guess I was just confused. I was thinking that perhaps with some stoves there is no direct way to hook up an OAK but rather just run a liner to the back of the fireplace. Thanks for the help though! I guess I will have to take it out and take a look and see what I can find.

76brian said:

Md2002 said:

76brian said:

According to the manual (you did look at that, right?), the air intake is at the rear left side of the stove.

Click to expand...

I did take a quick look but not that close of a look. It's probably ignorance on my part but I was going more on what the installer told me. I asked about an OAK and the installer told me this particular stove does not hav
e an intake valve. However I did look over the manual as well and didn't see anything about the intake valve. I wil have to take a closer look at the manual as well.

Does it sound like the cold air issue I'm having is because I have no OAK?

Click to expand...

I think your installer was feeding you a line. The only way to see it for sure is to pull out the insert, not sure how easy that is for ya.

An OAK should definitely help with that, but stopping that cold air from coming in at all will help more. I have an OAK, but I still have slight cool spots along the floor because the insulation in this old house is pretty poor.

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What do you mean by stopping the cold air..

76brian said:

Md2002 said:

What do you mean by stopping the cold air..

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Upgrade insulation, seal drafty windows, fix drafty doors, etc. etc..

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Ya that's next... I haven't kept the stove on for longer than 12 hours either. I keep shutting off and turning it back on for hours at a time. The stove has yet to heat up anything but the living room it is sitting in.So, the rest of the 1st floor has yet to get warm, I imagine it is pulling this cold air into the room as well. I'm going to leave the stove on for days and not shut it off. If I still feel the cold air then I will probably go with an OAK. I just wanted to make sure I was on the right track. I also plan on calling Enviro tomorrow and check about installing an OAK, and if there is indeed a place to connect it.

The house is only 20 years old so I imagine it is well insulated.

Thanks for all your help. I appreciate it.

HopeItBurns said:

Your manual does mention slider damper adjustment, Page 11 about a "DAMPER MUST BE SET AT TIME OF INSTALLATION.
A Qualified Service Technician or Installer must set the Slider Damper." I have a Breckwell insert and had to hook up right to the front of the stove to the left lower of the convection blower and its a pain to get in there. It looks like at one time probably on their older stoves, there was a tube that went to the the back frame but cause they decided to CHEAP-IN it up, it was eliminated. My guess is you have one, just pull it out and look around with a flashlight. I also did not have OAK and had that cold draft and after looking on these forums and asking questions; never looked back. Technical Manual

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As in you installed an OAK and it solved your problems? Did you go up, or did you go through your basement to install the OAK?

It's a pain to pull that thing out but I think it's going to be my only option to find out for sure if I have a place for the hook up. Unless Enviro calls me back. I have placed a call to them.

Just an update for those interested:

I spoke to the Enviro support today and they tell me that there is not a hook up for an OAK in this stove. This doesn't make sense to me since the manual makes reference to an OAK in more than one spot. The manual contradicts what the support tech was telling me and vice verse.

I'm going to take a better look as many people mentioned and see if I can find something that will take an OAK. The way support explained to me is that this stove pulls air from the inside of the chimney and therefore there is no need for an OAK? He said if I'm having issues I can crack the ash pan and see if that helps at all.

Thanks for all the help!! It's much appreciated.