M55 Insert outside air venting.

[bostonfan49]

My M55 inserts exhaust is pretty much just a long 30' plus straight shot up the chimney. (3" or 4" flexable tubing) The air intake is from inside the house, warm air, because the sales person and the Tech said that is the only install option. I am led now to believe that this stove insert has a fresh air intake kit option.....Is this true? What would be the advantages? Thanks, Bill

 

[BradH70]

Hi bonstonfan49,

Follow this thread - https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/84137/ (and many others in regards to the M55, OAK's)

My M55 is exhausting through a 4" flex line from the back of the frame into a 6" rigid liner that was originally used for a wood burning stove. Overall distance is around 24' and I have had no exhaust issues.

For fresh air I am currently relying on air from inside the house. I'm going to do some investigating this weekend with regards to drafts and such and see if the OAK is really necessary. Theoretically it makes sense to have one. My dealer told me that a kit does not exist nor was it necessary to use one, but the owners manual boldly states that it is recommended to install the OAK for this stove. It takes a little bit of ingenuity to install an OAK for this stove since it is an insert and can slide out on the rails, and that is probably why most dealer will tell you that you don't need the OAK.

 

[flynfrfun]

Just go outside and put your hand in front of the exhaust (not too close so as to burn yourself). There is a lot of air coming out. All that air is being sucking into your house so the stove can use it for combustion and expel it. So, if the air temp outside is 32F, you have 32F air being sucked from every leak in your house. That's a lot of cold air coming into the house.

With an OAK, it sucks air from outside directly into the stove and then uses it for combustion and expels it. So, it doesn't pull any air from in the house. Basically, w/out an OAK your house is under a vacuum and you can imagine it pulling cold air from all over. With an OAK the house is no longer under a vacuum, so should feel warmer as cold air is not being pulled in.

If you go even deeper, warm air is less dense than cold air. So warming the air in the house will lower the pressure in the house putting it in a slight vacuum anyway. But a lot less so than if you are forcefully pulling it in with a stove blower. This is why most furnaces have a fresh air intake...to equalize pressure inside the house to the outside pressure.

 

[bostonfan49]

............thanks, Brad! I would like to know what you find. I just wonder if the outside air increases the efficiency of the stove? Thanks, Bill

 

[DexterDay]

.....................I just wonder if the outside air increases the efficiency of the stove? Thanks, Bill

It does....... Search OAK here at the top of the screen. Pull the cold air in and burn it. Creating warm air that goes throughout the house (bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, etc). Or dont OAK and use the warm air in your house for combustion and pull cold air in the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, etc.

Much easier to heat a home the doesnt have cold air infiltrating it. Do some searches here. I started without one. Quickly learned the rewards after installing one on the Quad. Fahrenheit will have one also (installing this week)