OAK opinions...please

[StokeFree]

I am Newbie to the forum as well as pellet stoves. My Ecoteck Monica is in unpacked and ready to install.

Fielding opinions on OAK. Not sure I want another hole in the wall if I can't feel the difference using the OAK. House has all new windows and doors and is on the smaller side of square feet for this stove. If I cant detect a draft, is the efficiency and/or burn worth adding the OAK?

I've read that using inside air early and late in the season (cant remember your term) helps due to the drier air. It would be nice to swap sources for combustion air if this is the case. I am installing with minimum clearance and won't have room to add a valve.

Appreciate all feedback.

 

[Shaw520]

OAK,.. is ALWAYS a good idea,... for many reasons.

 

[heat seeker]

Welcome!

I suggest that you do a search on this forum for OAKs. There have been many threads, and loads of opinions expressed.
I have an OAK, and it works great for me and my stove. I recommend having one, but there are opposing opinions.

 

[imacman]

There is NO downside to installing an OAK....only helps the stove burning. Most major stove manufacturers recommend using one. Also helps eliminate drafts in the house due to the stove constantly using inside ALREADY HEATED air for combustion.

As for the extra hole, why not use a thimble that has a built in OAK? Hole for oak is covered by thimble flashing.

www.dynamitebuys.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=711

 

[jlupi]

http://woodheat.org/the-outdoor-air-myth-exposed.html

would the same principles apply to pellet stoves?

 

[Shaw520]

There is NO downside to installing an OAK....

.

www.dynamitebuys.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=711

Agree Entirely ,..there is NEVER a good reason NOT to install and OAK, (well unless lazziess is a viable reason)

Stoke Free, you indicate in your post there your house is very tight, with no know or felt drafts,... all the more reason you want outside air,... do you really want your stove consuming the same life supporting oxygen from your living area that YOUR body requires..... and that just one reason OAK is a no-brainer

 

[Shaw520]

http://woodheat.org/the-outdoor-air-myth-exposed.html

I just found numerous non-truths in that publishing,... who ever wasted their time writing that, would have spent less time installing an OAK.

 

[Pelleting In NJ]

Welcome to the Ecoteck owners club......

I have an Elena which I installed last year, with a Pelletpro thimble with a built-in OAK. I used 4 inch pipe. See my post below. As others said, there is no good reason to not install an OAK, every stove should have it.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/pellet-newbie-ecoteck-installed.72279/

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Actually there is one downside to installing an OAK. When running on low fire on very damp days you might get caked ash in the burnpot. Then you might have to clean it more often or run it on a higher heat level like medium.

The best solution is to get the Selkirk DT venting that pre-heats the OAK air and only one hole is needed for the venting.
See pics of my up & and out install. It really works the best!
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/hr-wp-up-and-out-dt-install-with-custom-lighted-hearth.90555/

 

[Pelleting In NJ]

Stokefree : send me your email address (use private message "conversation" feature of this forum) and I can send you a copy of the Factory Service Manual.

 

[P38X2]

+1 to all the pro-OAK comments. The Harman kit is quite nice.

 

[bbfarm]

That's what we use, the oak connected to the thimble for only 1 hole going through the wall. works great.

 

[imacman]

http://woodheat.org/the-outdoor-air-myth-exposed.html

would the same principles apply to pellet stoves?

That article is almost exclusively referring to fireplaces with glass doors and wood stoves......different animals than a pellet stove that has powered combustion air.

As the article states, "The average air consumption of a modern wood heater is in the range of 10 - 25 cfm, which is very small compared to the natural leakage rate of houses."

Most pellet stoves have combustion blowers that pull more than that.

 

[skibumm100]

Apples and oranges. Natural draft vs. induced draft, as imacman eluded. Not the same animal. A pellet stove is relatively sealed and has an induced draft fan that sucks air through the stove.The air has gotta come from somewhere. It would be very unlikely that the flow of air could, or would, reverse. I also have to call BS on assuming a wood stove of any kind will suck the oxygen out of a room. It will pull air out of a room and send it up the flue. The oxygen level in the room won't change. The oxygen level would only drop if you exhaust back into the living space. You don't ......it exhausts out the flue. The air leaking in the house has plenty of O2. A gas range or a ventless gas appliance is a whole different deal.

 

[peirhead]

One thing to consider...do you have an air exchange system?...if it has inlet and outlet, you probably have a balanced system, which keeps the air pressure inside the house balanced with the outside as well as controlling humidity....these are more common in cold climate locations. With one of these there is no need of OAK as you already have a source of outside make-up air.

 

[Don2222]

That article is almost exclusively referring to fireplaces with glass doors and wood stoves......different animals than a pellet stove that has powered combustion air.

As the article states, "The average air consumption of a modern wood heater is in the range of 10 - 25 cfm, which is very small compared to the natural leakage rate of houses."

Most pellet stoves have combustion blowers that pull more than that.

X2, most pellet stoves pull 165 CFM up to 250 CFM, that is alot more! ! !

 

[Hellfire]

Lotsa indoor plants for CO2/02 exchange Rainforest anyone? heh heh heh

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

One thing to consider...do you have an air exchange system?...if it has inlet and outlet, you probably have a balanced system, which keeps the air pressure inside the house balanced with the outside as well as controlling humidity....these are more common in cold climate locations. With one of these there is no need of OAK as you already have a source of outside make-up air.

More than just air pressure, humidity, and temperature is in play. But good heat recovery air exchange systems allow some really good sealing to be done.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

X2, most pellet stoves pull 165 CFM up to 250 CFM, that is alot more! ! !

Not on the combustion side though.

 

[StihlHead]

OAK,.. is ALWAYS a good idea,... for many reasons.

What he said...

 

[StihlHead]

I just found numerous non-truths in that publishing,... who ever wasted their time writing that, would have spent less time installing an OAK.

Also what he said. I have an OAK here and none of the BS that they post about them has ever happened here; ever. Of course, eveything is different in Canada... home of Terrance and Phillip (who probably wrote that post).


Terrance, pull my finger!

 

[imacman]

Not on the combustion side though.

Yep. I think Don was confusing convection blowers w/ combustion.

Smokey, any idea what a typical comb. blower CFM is?

 

[boosted3g]

I think my p61a is 80 cfm. I read that somewhere but i forget where.

 

[DexterDay]

X2, most pellet stoves pull 165 CFM up to 250 CFM, that is alot more! ! !

Don. The average combustion blower is 80 CFM.

Your confusing combustion with convection.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

would the same principles apply to pellet stoves?

I see a lot of opinion portrayed as scientific fact, but I see no facts displayed.
The article talks only about passive draft. Pellet stoves are all forced draft.
The article talks at length about oak not connected to the appliance. I don't understand why anybody would install an oak and not attach it to the stove air intake but that is what an installer tried to do with my insert. It makes no sense.
A lot of installs are through the wall with only a minimum rise. In these cases the vent and intake see the same wind induced pressure. Even with the vent above the roof and the oak through the wall, if his argument about loss of draft actually occurred,we would see a variable lazy flame as evidence. I never have. Has anybody else seen that?
Just because you see it in print doesn't mean that it is true or correct.