air tight connection to outside air

[planner steve]

I'm continuing to plan for the new house. Have decided that I will invest in good insulation and air sealing. I'd like to pick a wood stove before year end to get the $300 rebate. Our house is 1800 sq ft and the wood stove will be for emergency back up and occasional fires just to watch the flames.

I was about ready to pull the trigger and buy a PE Super 27. I like the size (certainly won't need bigger) and the fact that you can load 16 inch logs north south.

But then I read the directions for connecting outside air. I'll be coming up through a concrete slab foundation with my pipe. With a pedestal model stove, it basically says to put the stove over the duct. That doesn't seem very air tight to me. Seems like after going to the expense of sealing up the house, I'll now have a five inch opening to the outside world under my wood stove.

Do any stoves have a more air tight connection to outside air? Seems that ideal would be that outside air would only have one path out of your house and that is through the stove and out the chimney.

Thanks.

 

[Highbeam]

I'm continuing to plan for the new house. Have decided that I will invest in good insulation and air sealing. I'd like to pick a wood stove before year end to get the $300 rebate. Our house is 1800 sq ft and the wood stove will be for emergency back up and occasional fires just to watch the flames.

I was about ready to pull the trigger and buy a PE Super 27. I like the size (certainly won't need bigger) and the fact that you can load 16 inch logs north south.

But then I read the directions for connecting outside air. I'll be coming up through a concrete slab foundation with my pipe. With a pedestal model stove, it basically says to put the stove over the duct. That doesn't seem very air tight to me. Seems like after going to the expense of sealing up the house, I'll now have a five inch opening to the outside world under my wood stove.

Do any stoves have a more air tight connection to outside air? Seems that ideal would be that outside air would only have one path out of your house and that is through the stove and out the chimney.

Thanks.

Absolutely. My last two house stoves had 100% of their combustion air pulled through a sealed outdoor intake duct connection. Those were the Hearthstone heritage and the Blaze King Princess. Neither has any air openings not fed directly by OAK air and each have a nipple to be clamped to the intake duct.

It irritates me also that some manufacturers choose to defeat the purpose of an OAK by punching random intake holes all over the stove. My modern NC30 by Englander has no less than four intake holes and only one of them is fed by the outside air intake nipple!

The PE super is an otherwise excellent stove. Known for relatively long burn times for a non-cat.

 

[planner steve]

Absolutely. My last two house stoves had 100% of their combustion air pulled through a sealed outdoor intake duct connection. Those were the Hearthstone heritage and the Blaze King Princess. Neither has any air openings not fed directly by OAK air and each have a nipple to be clamped to the intake duct.

It irritates me also that some manufacturers choose to defeat the purpose of an OAK by punching random intake holes all over the stove. My modern NC30 by Englander has no less than four intake holes and only one of them is fed by the outside air intake nipple!

The PE super is an otherwise excellent stove. Known for relatively long burn times for a non-cat.

Yes there is a lot to like about the Super 27. And maybe I am not looking at this correctly. From this earlier thread I found this diagram from The Chimney Sweep that shows the methods to attach the outside air for a pedestal and leg model. I'm wondering if attaching the outside air line to the air plenum as shown in the leg model method would address my concern about air leakage from around the pedestal base? Maybe the local dealer can answer this but if any Super 27 owners have already connected an outside air duct to the air plenum from the bottom I'd appreciate hearing about your experience.

 

[kennyp2339]

hmmm - if you taking outside air and coming up from the ground up using a 3" line I don't think you'll have an air leak, cold air has a hard time rising unless there's draw, it will sink though.

 

[Sprinter]

if any Super 27 owners have already connected an outside air duct to the air plenum from the bottom I'd appreciate hearing about your experience.

Sorry if this is a bit late. Our Super 27 is a pedestal mount with OAK from the floor to the crawlspace (the best route IMO). Do not worry about any leakage. The air comes up through the plenum and into the stove. No leaks. No worries. There is a place in the back of the plenum for a side OAK installation, but it is sealed if not used.

From your description, the 27 would be an excellent choice for you. OAK leakage is simply a non-issue. Heck, if you are really worried about it, run a caulk bead around the base, but it's not necessary. OAK works....

 

[planner steve]

Sorry if this is a bit late. Our Super 27 is a pedestal mount with OAK from the floor to the crawlspace (the best route IMO). Do not worry about any leakage. The air comes up through the plenum and into the stove. No leaks. No worries. There is a place in the back of the plenum for a side OAK installation, but it is sealed if not used.

From your description, the 27 would be an excellent choice for you. OAK leakage is simply a non-issue. Heck, if you are really worried about it, run a caulk bead around the base, but it's not necessary. OAK works....

Never too late! Just so we're clear, the leakage I am worried about is cold air coming from through the outside air line and spilling into the room when the stove is not in operation. I ask because according to the manual, it appears that you just set the stove over the hole in the floor when using a pedestal. Given that the pedestal is not air tight, I was thinking air would leak out. But if I can connect the outside air line to the plenum and use some sort of gasket/seal that would seem to eliminate my concern. Sound right?

 

[Sprinter]

The base is plenty air tight. I've never once been concerned about that after four years with it. IMO, the choice between a leg support and pedestal is purely an aesthetic one. I considered the leg option, but didn't like the idea of an exposed pipe under the stove.

Either option will work well. You may want to run your concerns by whomever will be installing it.