combustion air hole

[shredd_guy]

this might sound really crazy but in planning my summit insert install I had a thought of boring a hole thru the back corner of my fireplace into the room that is behind it. ther is allready a gas line that runs through a hole that must have been plumbed in to feed a gaslog or something.

What the H would I do that for? Well the room behind my fire place houses two gas furnaces and a water heater. It is also where the furnaces combustion air dumps in from the outside. I thought it would be a good way to pull air from a room that does not have a heat source. Then again this stuff is all pretty new to me anybody have a thought and...be gentle.

 

[Hogwildz]

Might not work so well. The insert will be competing for air with the 2 furnaces and the water heater if it also is gas fired.

 

[shredd_guy]

so wouldnt it be drawing from there any way although indirectly. I just have the 1 inlet thats 8 to 10 dia would i need more intake?

 

[Redox]

You may be setting up a dogfight for combustion air. If the furnaces have combustion fans, they will win. If the stove wins, you might start pulling air back through the water heater. It will be hard to say without trying it. Since the hard part is going to be drilling into the furnace room, why not take it all the way outside to be safe?

Chris

 

[shredd_guy]

yea thanks for all the help it doesnt sound like a good plan. i think i might need more outside air comming in as it is.does anybody know if there is a rule of thumb or a way to compute the amount of air required

 

[reaperman]

In the new homes built in my area (Minn), there is a flexible, insulated, 4 inch hose coming into the house from a vent (that looks like a cloths dryer vent on the outside of the house). And simply runs down the wall to the floor, and from the floor it runs back up the wall a few inches, like a candycane or a J, acting as a trap for cold air. This is placed near the furnace/water heater for combustion air. This allows the appliance(s) to draw as much air as is needed.

My guess is that with the fireplace, you will eliminate the need for the furnaces to run, at least not at the same time.

 

[Redox]

yea thanks for all the help it doesnt sound like a good plan. i think i might need more outside air comming in as it is.does anybody know if there is a rule of thumb or a way to compute the amount of air required

Try this:

http://www.houseofcraig.net/combustion_air_calc.html

Chris

 

[shredd_guy]

well it sounds like ill just put off getting new windows and see what happens. now i need to design my blocker plate and get her in. Thanks for the help.