I have a Hearthstone Mansfield, and I have an outside air kit installed that I'm not currently using. I have the vent outside, which goes through the rim joist, and ties few feet of flex that's tied into a rigid 90 degree fitting that's mounted to the stove. I guess it's about 6' of pipe at most. The problem I was having is when it was pretty cold out (below 25 degrees) I would have trouble making a really hot fire. Upon inspection I could see the back of my stove was covered in creosote, the two pipes feeding the secondaries looking the worst. I can see the outside air is much too cold, and cooling down my stove, which is why it's currently disconnected - and burning good. So my question is, has anyone dealt with this or something similar? I would like to be using the OAK, I spent the money for it and went through with the install, but I'm not sure what's the best way to preheat the air prior to it hitting the stove. Thanks.
