OAK Question

[El Finko]

Has anyone ever contemplated modifying an OAK for a wood stove to draw cool air from the part of the house farthest from the stove?
I have a 30NC and was wondering if it made any sense to hook a long run of PVC to the end of an OAK kit, then run the PVC all the way to the other side of the house, thereby drawing in cool air and aiding circulation (albeit minimally).
Do you think the stove would still draw properly? My guess was no but it seemed like an idea...

 

[BobUrban]

I considered running an OAK into the unfinished basement for similar reasons but decided to go w/o it to start and see how she works first. Discussed it last year on here and the general concensus was that the draw was minimal so probably would not have a significant effect on circulation. If it is not too costly it may be worth a try

 

[DAKSY]

Has anyone ever contemplated modifying an OAK for a wood stove to draw cool air from the part of the house farthest from the stove?
I have a 30NC and was wondering if it made any sense to hook a long run of PVC to the end of an OAK kit, then run the PVC all the way to the other side of the house, thereby drawing in cool air and aiding circulation (albeit minimally).
Do you think the stove would still draw properly? My guess was no but it seemed like an idea...

Your stove will probably draw properly, but where do you think the replacement air for that use for the combustion will come from? Answer: It will come from OUTSIDE the envelope of your house. What does THAT mean? Answer: Cold drafts.

 

[Todd]

A wood stove only draws about 50 cfm so it wouldn't do much. Better off with a fan.

 

[El Finko]

I wouldn't expect it to aid in circulation in any appreciable way; I just figured that, unless I'm drawing outside air into the stove, it makes sense to use the coolest inside air (i.e. air from the other end of the house). My question is whether or not the long run of inlet pipe would hurt the draw on the stove. Thanks guys.

 

[Jags]

I am with Daksy - if you do what you are suggesting, the cool air that you are pulling from the "coldest" room is gonna get colder. It will try to replace the "cool" air with very cold outside air from the general area of the OAK. It may be self defeating.

To be more specific to your question...the longer the run for the OAK, the more restricted the path will be. It is similar to the laws of fluid dynamics.

 

[ScotO]

Daksy and Jags are correct. Look at your flue pipe as a vacuum. When the stove is fired, not only is your fire consuming air, but the draw up the pipe is creating a 'venturi' effect........its pulling even more air. So if you put your OAK inside your house, you're pulling quite a bit of conditioned air right up the flue. That, in turn, creates a vacuum in your house which turns into cold drafts wherever the house can pull air from. It really pays, IMO, to put your OAK where it will not create a vacuum in your house. Put it outside and your house will be that much more efficient......