Older home, Harmon P68 cold air exchange question

[Jman87]

Hi everybody,

Me and my wife recently purchased a Harmon P68 pellet stove, we live in an older home, built in the 1860's, we have done allot of improvements, new insulation in walls etc, but the windows are older and it doesn't retain heat that well. We have allot of air "leaks"

So.. Should we Install cold air exchange on our pellet stove or no?

In our situation is it better to heat house with air from outside or air from inside and what would be better for our stove/heating?

Thank you much!

 

[railfanron]

If you use inside air the air leaks will be more apparent as the combustion air will be flowing in through them. By using outside air there will be less negative pressure inside the house resulting in less outside air leaking in.
Ron

 

[alternativeheat]

Hi everybody,

Me and my wife recently purchased a Harmon P68 pellet stove, we live in an older home, built in the 1860's, we have done allot of improvements, new insulation in walls etc, but the windows are older and it doesn't retain heat that well. We have allot of air "leaks"

So.. Should we Install cold air exchange on our pellet stove or no?

In our situation is it better to heat house with air from outside or air from inside and what would be better for our stove/heating?

Thank you much!

Pre heated air from outside will be the most effective all around.. How you get to that stage is another matter ! If you use house air it will be pre heated so to speak but it also needs to be replaced so all those leaks you speak of are a bit magnified because through those is where the replacement air will enter your house. In practice this amounts to more drafts and sometimes you can feel a cold wave of air along the floor entering the room the stove is in. I have this situation in my house with the P61A so this year is the year I install OAK ( outside air) but I'm doing it through my chimney so the air will be pre heated. The fire is more efficient with some pre heating of really cold outside air but you have less drafts in the house either way.. So, there is no lack of controversy over this subject !

 

[Jman87]

Thank you! I'll go with the cold air exchange. I'm new here, I want to apologize for not reviewing the forum better, there were several threads on this subject prior to mine. Thank you for taking the time and answering my questions, in the future I'll do my best to search the forum before I post.

Many thanks!

 

[BrotherBart]

No worries. Glad you found the answer. That is what the place is here for. Ask anything, any time that you need to.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

So.. Should we Install cold air exchange on our pellet stove or no?
In our situation is it better to heat house with air from outside or air from inside and what would be better for our stove/heating?

Maybe I'm picking at nits, but your question implies a misconception about outside air kits (OAK). The OAK provides outside air only for combustion. The heated convection air that is blowing into the room is always recycled room air. There is no air exchange.

 

[Jman87]

Your fine, I appreciate you explaining that. I'm still learning and that does make perfect sense to me.

Thanks again!