When my flue is cold, I get a downdraft to my stove. I can feel cold air coming out of my air intake in the rear and the two holes in the front of the stove. My question is, can I cover the rear air intake? The stove is in a basement and the house is not a mobile home. The chimney starts outside on the basement level and up 24'.
Can I cover the outside air intake on Englander 30-nc
- Thread starter jus93paq
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You can plug it if you want to use the stove to sit plants on. You sure can't burn with it plugged. That is the primary air intake.
Find out what in that house is causing that much negative pressure. It has to be sucking cold air through every crack in the house.
Find out what in that house is causing that much negative pressure. It has to be sucking cold air through every crack in the house.
shawneyboy
Minister of Fire
If it is "air tight", then the draft could not happen without assistance. Something is pulling that air down be it an exhaust fan above the stove or in the bathroom, running another heat source that needs air like a furnace, something is pullling that air in.
I think your experincing negative pressure/ stack effect in your basement (run a Google search for a good description). You may need find a way to put back some air that is missing in your house.
Although we have a heat exchanger in our airtight house our OAK (separate from the chimney) in our basement setup still pulls in cold air - especially when I run the dryer or the built in vacuum cleaner which both suck a lot of air out of the system.
During this difficult burining time of year (shoulder season - burning every now and then) I'm trying to figure out a way to put a damper on the OAK so that I can shut it off when I am not burning (instead of pulling it off the stove and stuffing insulation into it .... only to put it back in when I need to burn).
Although we have a heat exchanger in our airtight house our OAK (separate from the chimney) in our basement setup still pulls in cold air - especially when I run the dryer or the built in vacuum cleaner which both suck a lot of air out of the system.
During this difficult burining time of year (shoulder season - burning every now and then) I'm trying to figure out a way to put a damper on the OAK so that I can shut it off when I am not burning (instead of pulling it off the stove and stuffing insulation into it .... only to put it back in when I need to burn).
Highbeam
Minister of Fire
As I understand it, there are many places on the 30 where air goes in so you are looking at trying to find and plug several holes. You're better off finding the real problem to prevent the flue reversal. Must be a stinker to start a fire in that 30 when the flue is blowing smoke into the house.
If it happens all the time then its something going on in the house. If its just occasional the it may be as simple as barometric changes outside causing it. My chimney will downdraft when I'm not using it when the weather changes. And its common when folks say they smell creosote coming from the fireplace, thats the downdraft pushing air into the house during OA pressure change.jus93paq said:
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