$10 Airtight OAK for Quad Insert - Successful Experiment

[Dwig]

Hi All,

I had a successful experiment over the weekend that I thought I would share. My castile insert was installed last year and the dealer never even mentioned the possibility of an OAK. After reading way too many threads on this forum about how OAKs eliminate stove-induced drafts, I decided I needed to have one. Last year, I could feel a constant flow of cold air coming from the basement stairs and front door heading straight for the stove in the living room.

Quad recommends that you bore a 2 inch hole through your fireplace wall for the OAK to reach the outside. This seemed rather permanent to me (and difficult), so instead I just ran a 3 inch aluminum dryer duct up through the damper plate and made the damper as air tight as possible by tightly packing insulation around all the seams (see photo). The duct only goes up about a foot past the damper.

I connected the dryer vent to the OAK hole behind the ash pan using foil tape. I had to manipulate the 3 inch vent a bit to fit nicely with the 2 inch hole, keeping everything sealed with the foil tape.

I then sealed the entire ash pan compartment, again with foil tape (see photo), because Quadrafire stupidly designed the stove to draw air both from the outside and from inside the house through the gaps around the ash pan. I figured that unless I blocked off those gaps, the stove would probably pull most of its air from the room rather than through leaks in the chimney. Losing access to the ash pan wasn't a big deal because when cleaning I vacuum the burn pot before pulling the rod that opens the bottom of the burn pot. And if I ever want to vacuum the ash pan, I can just stick my vacuum down through the burn pot.

When I turned the stove on, I was expecting to see a weak, lazy, sooty flame as my combustion blower struggled to draw air from my sealed chimney (the top of the chimney is sealed off). Instead, the burn was just as good as when the stove was using inside air. I guess my chimney isn't very air-tight. Also, I've already noticed that the drafts are gone, and the rooms furthest from the stove (i.e., the bedrooms) are noticeably warmer. I actually turned down my thermostat by a degree or two because the high temp was no longer needed to keep the further rooms warm.

So, all in all, it was a great success, all for a $10 dryer vent and some foil tape! And I would recommend to any Quad owner with an OAK to consider sealing off the ash pan like I did.

 

[Jonkman]

I have a Castile insert and just ran an OAK, but I didn't seal off the ash pan. Also, I'm confused by the second picture, it looks like you have two pipes going in? Anyways, it looks like it works for you. I didn't think about the design pulling air in through the ash pan, I hope mine pulls most through the OAK, as I just installed it...oh well.

 

[Dwig]

One of the pipes (right) is the exhaust, which runs all the way to the top of the chimney. The second pipe (left) is my makeshift OAK, which only extends about a foot beyond the damper.

You can try sealing off your ash pan very easily by just applying some aluminum foil tape. It would take about 15 minutes. If it stifles the combustion, just remove it. I actually also found that by sealing off the ash pan, I reduced the sound coming from the burn pot, especially when the stove is just turning on.

Before I taped off the ash pan, I tested how much air was getting pulled through by holding a lighter up to the gaps. Sure enough, the flame was sucked right in.

 

[Pelleting In NJ]

Looks good...it amazes me how many stove manufacturers do not have a proper (single entry duct) OAK system...many stoves have the OAK duct just open-up into the inside of the stove cabinet...might as well just open a window and inch or two!!

 

[Jonkman]

One of the pipes (right) is the exhaust, which runs all the way to the top of the chimney. The second pipe (left) is my makeshift OAK, which only extends about a foot beyond the damper.

You can try sealing off your ash pan very easily by just applying some aluminum foil tape. It would take about 15 minutes. If it stifles the combustion, just remove it. I actually also found that by sealing off the ash pan, I reduced the sound coming from the burn pot, especially when the stove is just turning on.

Before I taped off the ash pan, I tested how much air was getting pulled through by holding a lighter up to the gaps. Sure enough, the flame was sucked right in.

Hmmm. I may have to give it a try...I wonder about gluing some rope around the outside of the edge of the ashpan so I can still use it but it "seals" around the edges when I put it in...I'll have to take a gander tonight...

 

[Dwig]

Yeah that could work. There are also a couple of other holes/gaps that you might also want to block. For example, the castile has a couple of pull tabs right above the ash pan where air can come in.

 

[Wilbur Feral]

This is a very helpful thread. I just installed a Santa Fe with an OAK, and Kap had warned me that it wasn't very air tight in terms of the OAK input, which is certainly correct. I'm also getting that "burn pot whistle" at startup, which is annoying. I think I see some foil tape or rope gasket my weekend future... Thank you for the idea.

 

[Dwig]

If I recall, my castile had a pretty loud start-up whistle when I first got it, but it largely went away after I had been burning for a month or so. Other people on these forums have also mentioned that their Santa Fes / castiles whistled more at first. I guess they just have to build up a little bit of gunk in the burnpot holes to take the sharp edges off. The tape will also help. Good luck!

 

[Jonkman]

Mine did whistle quite a bit when new, not so much any more. After looking at the ash pan I might put some rope along the top and bottom no then tape over a gap and small hole here and there to make the OAK more efficient. Then call it good enough.