Hey guys.... my thoughts on an OAK are this.....
I feel there are 2 areas (at least 2 :lol: ) of discussion regarding the OAK...
1) how well will the stove itself performs/ functions in a home with or without an OAK.
2) how does the stove and building work together to achieve what we want at the end of the day (comfort and $ savings .....among many other things).
The engineering of the stove decides 1) above. And you have to not mess with the engineering or bad stuff might happen.
As for 2) , heres my thoughts on the comfort and $$ side of things......
The exhaust blower on every pellet stove blows air/smoke outside. It gets that air from inside your home (if you don’t use an OAK (Outside Air Kit). The air in your home has been previously heated which has cost you $$ to heat it. Your are therefore blowing your $$ outside if not using an OAK.
A stove, however, isn’t smart enough to sort out the air it uses ie. warm room air ($$), or..... drafty cool air that gets sucked in through the cracks of your house (to ‘replace’ what’s blown out via the stove). Therefore it blows a mixture of both warm ($$) and cool draft air outside with the smoke.
As far as the draft goes, if you are relying solely on a draft (no OAK) for the make-up air for the stove (you need make up air in the home cause you can’t have a total vacuum in your home), I would rather localize and position the draft at the back of the stove (using an OAK) rather than say pulling it from any cracks in the wall from behind me (or anywhere) and having that cool draft pass by me on it's way to the stove…Buurrrrr! ( guess I'm saying we can eliminate most of the draft caused by the stove sucking for air, by putting the OAK at or very near the stove).
A stove using a thermostat on the wall, would come on less often using an OAK behind the stove as the room air wouldn’t be cooled as quickly by a draft , so in the long run less stove operation, which means less pellets burned, which means $$ saved.
In a nut shell, I think that by using an OAK, you will save yourself ($$) and have a less drafty and therefore more comfortable home….. as for whether your stove itself can function properly with or without an OAK, that would depend on the engineering of the specific stove. ....... there........ I'm done saying this about that...........IMHO… :cheese:
