Cold Outside Air Kit

[dougemil]

i'm installing a wood stove in a new home, that better be real tight, up here in the land of near-endless-winter. from what i've learned by searching on this forum, the benefits of drawing outside air may be negligible unless i have an existing problem with drawing air from the inside of the house.

my question is this...if the air i'm drawing from the outside is often between 20 and -20F is there any point in even considering it further?

 

[Carl]

I doubt the cold temps would effect your stove's operation at all. The firebox is very hot once it gets going. You may want to look around a little since there are pros and cons to outside air. I don't do it but think it would help in keeping your house warmer if it is very drafty. In marginal weather I will crack a window to help the fire get going good. Others on here who use it may give you more advice.

 

[Todd]

I installed an OAK last year and highly recommend it. Some people say cold outside air can lead to a dirty inefficient burn. I doubt it since the stove is hot enough to preheat that air before it reacts with the fire. Also heard the outside cold air is usually a little higher in oxygen which should help with combustion.

 

[Highbeam]

"from what i’ve learned by searching on this forum, the benefits of drawing outside air may be negligible"

Maybe keep searching, or rephrase to say that it can't hurt and it quite likely could be an excellent addition to your system. The temperature of the incoming air is of no concern to the 1500 degree fire.

I would also add that the colder the outside air temperature is the more important it is to have an OAK. You see, the stove will consume a certain volume of air. I would rather the stove suck that cold air from the outdoors and send it up the chimney than to the stove sucking my warm inside air and sucking it up the chimney which will be replaced by cold outside air leaking through the cracks in the house's envelope.

 

[fossil]

To OAK, or not to OAK...that is the question, and I think highbeam just answered it. I don't run an OAK on either of my stoves. More trouble than it's worth on my workshop stove, but I'm considering putting one in for the house stove. As highbeam said, it can't hurt, and it makes particularly good sense if you have an exceptionally tight new structure...for stove draft if nothing else. Doesn't cost much. Go for it. Rick

 

[drizler]

I ran a pellet corn burner for 4 years without one in a 1995 house. No big deal. Last year I finally put in an air intake, again no big deal. Its not at all hard to add it on later if you need one. Just keep it in mind where you will be mounting it in the future if you need it for simplicity sake. I made mine out of a simple off the shelf aluminum dryer flex vent and a gas vent terminus for the outside. Not much hassle at all if you have a hole saw that diameter. I bummed mine but if I had to I would buy one in a second before trying it with a small drill and hand jig saw. Been there done that and don't even think of cutting through an 8 inch concrete wall unless you have a gun to your head. Been there done that too................
Cold in Colorado, NO WAY you guys got SUNLIGHT. I survived the great blizzard of 82 in Littleton and it was about as exciting as an average Noreaster in NY. It did give me appreciation for road salt though. They didn't use it out there and wow, nothing happens. That crap in spite of rusting your car out really does save a whole bunch of lives every year, no doubt about it . The snow just piles up. Sure do wish we had that sunshine you guys have though, I would have solar everything.

 

[Nic36]

I installed one for my stove when I bought it this year, but can't say much more than that. I liked the idea when I first heard about it. It just seemed to make sense. I wasn't going to do it initially, but it was easy to do where I had the stove and I did not have to buy a special kit, just a 4" dryer hose and exhaust.

There are a couple of very lengthy threads on this forum about outside air if you do a search. Chimneysweeponline.com also has some info on OAKs.

I am just wondering as to how much outside air will actually be pulled in for my stove as opposed to inside air through small openings in the stove. I have already noticed that it looks like inside air can still get in my stove through the ash pan area with the OAK installed. I guess it will take the path of least resistance.

I think I will run mine hooked up and disconnected this winter just to see if I can tell a difference.

 

[Highbeam]

Not every stove pulls all of its intake air through the "Outside air kit" intake. Some stoves pull their secondary combustion air from a seperate intake or multiple ones. I know that my heritage takes 100% of its intake air though the single intake to which the ductwork is attached. Obviously those stoves that are not setup to take all of their air from the outdoors will have reduced benefits but again, it doesn't hurt to plumb it.

Oh, and my installation would have been rejected by our county inspector if I had not installed the outdoor air intake. Even though the house was built in 1963 the new stove must be installed to today's standards. You may not have a choice.

 

[savageactor7]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but from what I gathered reading this forum...an OAK is beneficial to the newer more airtight homes that may have trouble drafting. As far as the cold air theory goes...I dunno.

 

[fossil]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but from what I gathered reading this forum...an OAK is beneficial to the newer more airtight homes that may have trouble drafting. As far as the cold air theory goes...I dunno.

I'd say it doesn't really matter how tight the home (although a tighter home is better, for a lot of reasons, of course). When it comes to an OAK, I think that in a really tight home, it would be the stove draft that's a major consideration. I don't think many homes are that tight, although I've read many posts from folks who say cracking a window improves their stove draft considerably, and I've certainly experienced that when lighting up an old open fireplace. In a "loose" home, I think the primary advantage to an OAK would rest in the fact that the stove is drawing the bulk of its combustion air directly from outside, rather than from the room in which it's located...the very air you're putting a lot of effort into warming up. At least that's the way I understand it. I do know that the state of Oregon offers a tax credit to folks who install new EPA stoves...but only if they're OAK-equipped. Rick

 

[savageactor7]

Well alrighty then...thanks Rick.

 

[Nic36]

Also, one supposed advantage to an OAK is that it creates a positive pressure allowing the heat to distribute out from the stove better. Otherwise, the stove will pull air wherever it can get it and you may feel a cold draft.

 

[Noah]

I was thinking about an OAK on my new Jotul install because the old open fireplace I have used to pull air into the house through the boiler and water heater vent, not good. How do to air requirements for a stove compare to an open fire place like that?

I will probably wait until after the stove is installed and running though just because as stated a few times here it is a simple thing to add later. My stove is aginst an outside wall so punching a hole and adding the kit shouldn't be too big of a deal.

 

[begreen]

It sounds like your place is pretty tight. That's really good, but also an indicator that an OAK would help.