OAK question

Oak has to be spaced & lower than exhaust i think

Outside air
3.5 mobile home
Available from your Authorized Dealer (114KT)
Outside air must not be drawn from an enclosed space (garage, unventilated crawl space).
NOTE: Wolf Steel Ltd. strongly suggests using outside air for all residential installations, especially for
those that are energy efficient, air-tight homes.
Outside air supply must not be over 15' long.
Outside air vents must be made with 1 3/4" diameter or larger metal or aluminum duct with a metal screen
attached to the end to keep out rodents (P.V.C. or other materials may not be used).
The outside air inlet must not be above or within 12" of the chimney termination, must have a rain cap or
down-turned elbow to prevent the water from entering and be located so that it will not become plugged by
snow or other material.

Got this from the manual. Hope it helps?

save$ said:

thanks, I can see that the quote from the manual leaves little question about what kind of pipe to run. what I don't understand is why not have pvc until I get near the stove. What harm could it do? void warranty? impact on insurance if fire occurs?
I think I'll have to cave in and do it according to the manual's directions if I am going to put in the OAK. There has been so much back and forth about the pro's and con's of OAK, but in the end, it most likely is best to conform to the manufacture's directions.

Click to expand...

Technically the OAK is part of your venting, which is why it must be metal.

My oak surrounds the vent pipe so it's about 1" away from the vent...it's Selkirk Direct-Temp pellet pipe... why not just bore a hole in the wall and put the OAK there?

Used PVC on both my OAKs. They do not come within a few feet of either the stove or the venting exhaust. Can't imagine why you can't do the same other than making sure the inner diameter is large enough to be sure you get good air volume.

Used automotive heat riser pipe and OAK kit to connect the PVC to stove.

I also have an issue with the oak, i used the 2" metal flex pipe (came with the stove) from the stove thru the back wall which happens to lead into the inner wall of the garage, i don't feel comfortable having it draw the garage air, so i would like to extend it using pvc to the front of the garage wall, so that way it will draw outside fresh air, length would be total around 15ft, I don't see why this will not work, i only have to adapt the end of the metal flex from the stove to the pvc (not sure what to use there?), what do you members think? any feedback would be greatly appreciated.


englander 25pdvc

krooser said:

My oak surrounds the vent pipe so it's about 1" away from the vent...it's Selkirk Direct-Temp pellet pipe... why not just bore a hole in the wall and put the OAK there?

Click to expand...

Yep, I have the same kind of venting... A bit more expensive, but so much simpler to install in the long run. One large hole, and it all vents.

mike56 said:

I also have an issue with the oak, i used the 2" metal flex pipe (came with the stove) from the stove thru the back wall which happens to lead into the inner wall of the garage, i don't feel comfortable having it draw the garage air, so i would like to extend it using pvc to the front of the garage wall, so that way it will draw outside fresh air, length would be total around 15ft, I don't see why this will not work, i only have to adapt the end of the metal flex from the stove to the pvc (not sure what to use there?), what do you members think? any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
englander 25pdvc

Click to expand...

I had to adapt my metal flex from the stove to the Direct vent pipe hook up. DV is 3 inch, and the stove has a 2 inch opening, so I just bought a dryer venting increaser/decreaser and cut it and clamped it to fit. Works fine for the OAK piping as it doesn't get super-hot. I have basically the same stove you do, but mine was marketed as Summers Heat instead of Englander.

j-takeman hit it on the button. you must use metal pipe to meet code, at whatever the sizing manufacturer requires.

as for the benefits , if you are burning using outside air it has to be more efficient for 2 reasons;
1. the air you are using is from outside therefore you havent already paid to heat it before you ship it out into the yard.
2. when you pull"house air" you are removing air from the house which must be replaced through little leaks and such throughout your house, these leaks would be magnified by the removal of house air so a moderately drafty house would be more drafty due to negative pressure increase by the suction of air from the house by the stove.

i cannot think of a feasible arguement against OAK with a pellet stove

nice setup BTW looks very nice setting where you installed it

save$,

I have a Quad Santa Fe in my finished basement, I used a 2" PVC inside the house (for the looks) but then connects with normal metal pipe to the stove, also metal pipe getting out of the house, may not meet code but heck i thought it'd give it a try.

See my install here, the black pipe to the right is the OAK, a 2" black PVC pipe, again using metal at the bottom to connect to the stove.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/44273/

..

i used 3" black abs piping for my oak. Has a Higher heat rating than pvc and then i insulated it with ecofoil. Its at a angle and a foot away from the exhaust pipe. Just make sure you use abs pipe cement and not pvc works a little better.

Good choice of metal duct at McMasterCarr, very reasonably priced.
Galvanized Steel is something like 1.80 per foot........a good choice to replace pvc


http://www.mcmaster.com/#metal-duct-hose/=a31nu0

Ideal for smoke, paint fumes, and weld fumes; also for air
Rigid
Maximum Temperature: Galvanized Steel: 550° F; Aluminum: 450° F; Types 304 and 316 Stainless Steels: 1000° F
Clamps: Use U-bolt clamps
All-metal interlocked strips create a durable hose that is not air tight but can take the heat. Hose is not rated for compression, pressure, or vacuum. Can be used indoors and out, except the galvanized steel hose is for indoor use only.

Galvanized Steel–An economical choice with fair corrosion resistance. Extra-heavy weight hose has Type 304 stainless steel packing for added strength and better sealing.

Aluminum–Lighter in weight than galvanized steel and stainless steel with good corrosion resistance.

Type 304 Stainless Steel–Very good corrosion resistance.

Type 316 Stainless Steel–Excellent corrosion resistance.

To Order: Please order hose in 5-ft. increments up to the full coil length of 25 ft.

I've run my NPS40 for two years and it seemed to work fine.
This (third) season, I installed a Napoleon factory OAK ( www.build.com ) and now the stove performs better in every way. I'm not sure why I waited so long either!

Two of our stoves do not have "OAK"
The house has a fresh air feed into the air inlet of the electric furnace air plenum and this allows a fair amount of fresh air into the house.

The new raised hearth has an OAK installed. The Original stove that was in that corner had one that I Installed back in 93.

I did not want to abandon the old one so I connected it with Poly flex under the raised hearth and a stub of PVC protrudes through the hearth about 2 feet behind the stove.

Currently there is a little rag stuffed into the pipe to keep the drafts out.

Interestingly the air inlet to the stove is set up so that the OAK really does not provide all the air.

There is a connection at the rear of the stove for the OAK but, about 2 inches inside the rear stove cover is a larger opening in the inlet pipe that basically allows room air to enter.

It would seem that the design was not meant to fully rely on outside air.


Very likely I will not hook up the OAK as it is not going to make any real difference.


As mentioned, if your house is very tight, you should use the OAK.

If the book says it needs to be there and the thing is inspected, it will have to be there to pass inspection.


I have noticed that with the stoves running, any smoke that might escape when the door is opened to clean the pot quickly, will be gone within short order wih no odor left.


I have been in some very tight houses, and they always seem stuffy and stale.

Personally I would prefer to have a little more air circulation even if it costs a tad more to heat.

Fresh air is healthy me thinks.


Good luck

Snowy

Installing an OAK is more than just giving the stove more air... consider this....

You have a fairly 'tight' house... you also have a gas stove (maybe with a pilot light) and a gas-fired OR oil-fored water heater... all without outside air provisions. Perhaps you still use an NG furnace to keep some areas of your home warm in the coldest months. Where do these appliances get their oxygen from? Inside your home! Add a few people into the mix who also have a need for O2 and you COULD have disaster in the making... too many users and not enough oxygen.

It's in the headlines every year where folks get sick, or worse, when they are sickened by a lack of oxygen or the presence of carbon monoxide.

Having an OAK is a matter of safety IMHO....

Yup the tight sealed houses can be a real issue when it comes to lack of oxygen with too many things using it.

Interestingly, my install was Ok'ed fine as the PVC was through the wall and just about 4 inches into the room.

From that point on it was a foil flex tubing designed for the job. (About a 2 foot piece of flex)

Having PVC connected to the stove is definately not going to pass code.

Snowy

save$ said:

thanks for the link, I wish there was someway to put that in some sort of index for those seeking materials for their new OAK. As is ended up, I went to the Midas shop and had them fashion what I needed. I had searched the net for days with no luck finding a 2 in flex. metal pipe. From what I understand, one can use 2 in. up to 15 ft. of run, longer than that use 3 in. That material can found at most any hardware outlet. My OAk is in. I must have rocks in my head for questioning the need. It really does help. If your stove's manual recommends use of OAK, then there is a reason why you should give strong consideration for it's use. If your installer tries to talk you out of it, find someone else to deal with. You want to be confident you are going to get the best performance from your investment. I got a lot of good advise from several experienced pellet burners who are regular contributor to this forum. Clearly the best place to find answers.

Click to expand...

Englanders manual states that length of greater than 6 foot needs to be three inch.And im not sure what the difference between having pvc(or my case abs) through the wall is ok but having it reach the stove is not ok.Well the big reasoning with that i believe is if it down drafts some hot air will go through the pipe whether its connected to the stove or not its still gonna be hot and possibly melt the pipe.The back of the stove has wires and tubing that doesnt melt in which the stove is designed for so i dont believe its because of the heat off the stove. Just when it down drafts and having any pvc is going to be bad if thats the case.