Are you gonna plug off the chimney?

I run an OAK and keep the door closed. I would not think that it would really draws any indoor air..... But I am curious what others may do.

Seriously? You take your chimney apart? Totally unnecessary. Clean it once per year and keep the door shut.

Why do you think that your cold, dense, conditioned air would rise up the chimney into the thinner hot air? With an OAK you shouldn't have to worry about this even if it were an issue.

For sure no reason to take apart. Some do just stuff a little insulation in the flue but only enough to plug it. Most times it is not necessary. Some will also plug the top to keep birds from getting down into the stove. Some caps have a small enough screen to stop birds. If not, some 1/2" hardware cloth will do the trick. Amazing that we had several reports of birds last summer.

Last summer, one real cool rainy day I thought I could smell the stove a bit, so I pulled up the slip joint and set a piece of cardboard between the pipe and my offset box.. But it's not going to become a habit. In a month or so I will brush out the chimney, shovel and vacuum the stove, call it good.

Backwoods Savage said:

Amazing that we had several reports of birds last summer.

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I had several service calls late last summer and fall about birds. More than ever. Weird!

I have never stuffed my flue!
I do know what you are talking about though. In my last house the AC would pull air down the flue and out of the stove. It bothered me, just not enough to take the pipe apart.

If ya do stuff the flue or chimney with insulation,
ya better be CERTAIN that ya remember to remove it next season.

razerface said:

That is why I take the pipe down. It takes 3 minutes,,,,

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Well then,ya better make certain ya remember to re-install that pipe next season.

What if a guest did not know the flue was blocked? What if you were incapacitated and someone else started a fire? Multiple scenarios for disasters.

Nope.

CenterTree said:

If ya do stuff the flue or chimney with insulation,
ya better be CERTAIN that ya remember to remove it next season.

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I leave a note in the firebox "Flue Plugged!!".

I don't plug it anymore, I modified my air inlet to allow me to completely close the air supply. I had a very significant downdraft which brings a sooty smell and wastes heat or A/C, and this simple mod fixed it.

TE

I posted a thread with pics about what I did, you can search. It's unlikely what worked for my Lopi will be anything applicable to another brand. All I needed to do was allow my air control slider to move perhaps 1/4" past the factory stop position for all air to be shut off.

TE

="Backwoods Savage, post: 1691673, member: 1624"]For sure no reason to take apart. Some do just stuff a little insulation in the flue but only enough to plug it. Most times it is not necessary. Some will also plug the top to keep birds from getting down into the stove. Some caps have a small enough screen to stop birds. If not, some 1/2" hardware cloth will do the trick. Amazing that we had several reports of birds last summer.

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After two birds in the stove, I stuffed some insulation in the top of the class A. Then I had to take it out, in June, to build a fire. I made a screen out of hardware cloth.

My sister had a bird in her pipe last spring. I took it apart to find only some poop and feathers. The bird found its way back up and out 26' of pipe.

My stove has a hole of less than 1/2" diameter with the thermostat closed, and I can't imagine too much cold air going up the flue

jeff_t said:

My stove has a hole of less than 1/2" diameter with the thermostat closed, and I can't imagine too much cold air going up the flue

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It doesn't sound like much, but I wouldn't leave a 1/2" wide hole in my kitchen wall, this is the same.
I get a downdraft, and all through winter if the insert isn't burning (5 days/week), I can feel that cold draft several feet away. I realize that it's only a tiny hole relative to all the other air leaks in my house, but it points right at my chair!
In the summer any time a storm would pass though, I'd get a very strong sooty smell, this mod eliminated that, much more important than any energy savings.

TE

TradEddie said:

In the summer any time a storm would pass though, I'd get a very strong sooty smell, this mod eliminated that, much more important than any energy savings.

TE

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+1 there, man. I never get any downdraft thru my stove upstairs, but occasionly do in the basement. Nasty.

We burn 24/7, so never any cold drafts.

No, and what's a OAK?

WiscWoody said:

No, and what's a OAK?

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Outside air kit