Hello Forum,
This is my first post to this site. I've done a fair amount of reading so far, and it seems like a great collaboartion here. Specifically, I've been reading about outside air kits and whether or not to install one for my own stove setup. so here goes.
It seems like there are some pro's and cons to each. Currently, I do not have an OAK installed for my harman P61A. There is a natural convection in the house at this point because its burning the air in the house of course. I have a fan positioned at the top of the basement stairs pulling the cold air from the main floor down into the basement where the stove is located. There seems to be a steady loop of cold air going down and warm up rising up from the basement.
One of my main concerns was of course the CO levels. I guess its technically possible to burn all of the available O2 in the house and eventually draw a reverse draft down through the chimney correct ? Realistically though, could this ever happen with the blower on the stove constantly pushing exhaust, and the various leaks in the house pulling in some amount of cold air ? Like I mentioned, the stove is in the basement and there a few of those cheap rectangular basement windows just next to it, and they feel pretty leaky. Today I'm going to pick up some digital CO monitors just to keep alittle closer eye on it.
On the other hand, there is the debate that by not having an OAK you are burning and exhausting the air that the stove has already heated so its fairly wasteful. But the air being pulled down the basement stairs is always cold. Not like its pulling 70 degree air down to the stove to be burned and sent out the chimney. Would the stove burn better/hotter/more efficiently if it had its own air source from outdoors.? Its pretty cold outside these nights (single digits, teens, etc) so would the stove have to work harder to heat this cold of an air source ?
It seems like having an OAK is dependent on each individual set up. Safety and efficiency are really my top concerns, so I guess whatever satisfied those two the best would help me make my decision.
Any advice or input from the veteran pellet stove users here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
This is my first post to this site. I've done a fair amount of reading so far, and it seems like a great collaboartion here. Specifically, I've been reading about outside air kits and whether or not to install one for my own stove setup. so here goes.
It seems like there are some pro's and cons to each. Currently, I do not have an OAK installed for my harman P61A. There is a natural convection in the house at this point because its burning the air in the house of course. I have a fan positioned at the top of the basement stairs pulling the cold air from the main floor down into the basement where the stove is located. There seems to be a steady loop of cold air going down and warm up rising up from the basement.
One of my main concerns was of course the CO levels. I guess its technically possible to burn all of the available O2 in the house and eventually draw a reverse draft down through the chimney correct ? Realistically though, could this ever happen with the blower on the stove constantly pushing exhaust, and the various leaks in the house pulling in some amount of cold air ? Like I mentioned, the stove is in the basement and there a few of those cheap rectangular basement windows just next to it, and they feel pretty leaky. Today I'm going to pick up some digital CO monitors just to keep alittle closer eye on it.
On the other hand, there is the debate that by not having an OAK you are burning and exhausting the air that the stove has already heated so its fairly wasteful. But the air being pulled down the basement stairs is always cold. Not like its pulling 70 degree air down to the stove to be burned and sent out the chimney. Would the stove burn better/hotter/more efficiently if it had its own air source from outdoors.? Its pretty cold outside these nights (single digits, teens, etc) so would the stove have to work harder to heat this cold of an air source ?
It seems like having an OAK is dependent on each individual set up. Safety and efficiency are really my top concerns, so I guess whatever satisfied those two the best would help me make my decision.
Any advice or input from the veteran pellet stove users here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
) about the 'drafts' around the Castile, I spent the day today hooking up an OAK into my ash dump in my fireplace. I had to fabricate the mounting plate and reduce a 3" flanged crimped fitting down to 2" and mate them together and mount them. Then I used some SEMI-flexible steel ducting I got from McMasterCarr. It gave me the most trouble because of the wide radius bends I had to take. Worst part was that it's an insert and inserts are a PITA to do anything with. And the surround on the Castile is NOT a one man job and just BARELY a husband and wife job. I lost a lot of blood biting my lip during that fiasco. 
is that U bend 3" OD so that 3" ID flex can fit over it? What kind of flex did you use for the OAK? We don't really need the expensive stuff, just heat tolerant. Ooops, that's 2 questions...
