Why Are Outside Air Kits are So Expensive

cpk,
Youve got the right idea.
Bought my kit. By the time i got it installed their was not 1 piece from it that i used.
Wound up using 4 inch dryer vent pipe with a bit of the metal flex pipe........
H.D. had the o/s screened fitting and clamp...........
Worked out well
Now go finish figuring it out and put the rest of that cash back in your pocket.

Was thinking about putting a closeout inline to shut off the incoming air just in case of a chimney fire but havnt done that yet?
enjoy
rn

Check the link in my sig for what I did for an OAK. I would not dream of buying some sort of kit for this. The only odd piece I needed was the actual snout to bolt onto the stove that is made by hearthstone. No easy way to fake that.

No reason to not make your own. Just don't put anything flammable near the stove.

I believe I will eventually need to install an OAK due to having two 90 degree bends in the chimney flue, but my stove will be in the middle of the house and routing the OAK to an outside wall will be tough. Is it okay (effective) to have the the hose extended from the wood stove and up into the attic (plenty of air there with a solar attic fan) to draw air from there or is there any reason for the hose it be installed closer to the ground?

The taller the OAK, the shorter your effective chimney length so your draft situation will be worse. Can't you draw from the crawlspace? Do you have a crawlspace? No reason to go to an outside wall. Running the OAK into my crawspace actually supercharges the woodstove since the OAK drafts pretty hard all by itself due to the 3 foot or so elevation change.

laurel said:

I believe I will eventually need to install an OAK due to having two 90 degree bends in the chimney flue, but my stove will be in the middle of the house and routing the OAK to an outside wall will be tough. Is it okay (effective) to have the the hose extended from the wood stove and up into the attic (plenty of air there with a solar attic fan) to draw air from there or is there any reason for the hose it be installed closer to the ground?

Click to expand...

Many people will tell you no, but I will say that it can be done, and that I did it.

My reason why? The attic is a perfect place to do a short run on a single story home. It also buffers out the negative/positive pressure issues occasionally found when mounting it on the side of the home. Consider though that in the event of a backdraft you could end up with sparks in your attic. So terminate it into some type of non-combustible enclosure that should allow the embers/sparks to settle out or burn out.

I went with aluminum dryer vent transitioned into dwv pvc and used a pvc floor drain in the end of the dwv. When the stove is burning good and you get close to the vent outside you can hear it sucking air. I have also had to put paper over the vent a couple of times to slow my fire down on some really dry wood.

I may be able to route the outside air ducting through a closet to an exterior wall, but it will be tough and if I can't I may still try the attic incorporating the suggestions provided. I will first see if I even have draft issues with my install (2 90s) that I posted on this forum. Since I am a first time burner, I am reluctant to even fire up the darn thing. I realize that I am thinking ahead since I haven't bought the stove and all I have done is install the chimney flue and begining to rock the enclosure.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions.

http://www.woodheat.org/outdoorair/outdoorairmyth.htm = if silly enuff to install 1, silly enuff to "u get what u pay 4 theory". with varying wind directions & speeds, the air supply to the fire will also vary & possibly result in a downdraft in a "perfect storm" scenario when OAK intakes air from 1 side of the house