Fire air source

[stallau]

I have the ability to easily use outside air for combustion instead of using air that has been heated. Which is better and why? My thought is why use heated air from the house and the create a negative pressure in the house which would just pull in more cold air to be heated. Is cold air coming in not good for combustion?

Thanks for the thoughts

On a side note I just bought 2 tons today for $235 so I'm halfway stocked for the winter already. :cheese:

 

[defield]

STallau,

Do a search on the threads in this forum and you will find loads of information and opinions about outside air kits ( OAK ).

The majority opinions ( of what I have read ) seem to be that OAKs are either good or almost a necessity.

I would suggest blending that information with your stove manufacturer's instructions and those of stove shops that sell your brand.

In my case, I was going to install an OAK for my Lopi Leyden, and had paid for one, and the OAK would have been a very easy install, but the installers talked me out of it because of the design of the stove's combustion air intake. Gave it a try without the OAK and it works great. Other stoves and installations would not work great.

Gather all of the information you can before deciding and good luck.

Old Ranger

 

[rona]

I am convinced that outside air is the best as far as getting the most heat out of your stove and into your home.
But just for the sake of discussion the outside air going into your combustion chamber can have a large temperature variation. This must have a effect on how the stove burns as there is more oxygen in cold air versus hot air.
Meaning that if you burn inside air it will probably be a stable temp where outside air can range from -25 to +50.

 

[rona]

Bixby stoves use a pipe in a pipe system to preheat outside air. There is a drawback to doing this and that is you cool the exhaust down to much so that some of the exhaust stays in the pipe causing premature pipe failure due to acid ,etc in the exhaust. This is more noticeable when burning corn.

 

[Dr_Drum]

. . .I was going to install an OAK for my Lopi Leyden, and had paid for one, and the OAK would have been a very easy install, but the installers talked me out of it because of the design of the stove's combustion air intake. Gave it a try without the OAK and it works great. . . .

I can second that. My Lopi also works great without it.
Mike -

 

[imacman]

I have the ability to easily use outside air for combustion instead of using air that has been heated. Which is better and why? My thought is why use heated air from the house and the create a negative pressure in the house which would just pull in more cold air to be heated. Is cold air coming in not good for combustion?......

You have hit the nail on the head (as far as I'm concerned) with on this oft-discussed and debated topic. Cold air is FINE for combustion, and as you said, why create negative pressure inside that will try to pull cold air into the living space....the OAK is the way to go, IMO.

 

[sinnian]

On a side note I just bought 2 tons today for $235 so I'm halfway stocked for the winter already. :cheese:

Those must be the Maine Woods Athens pellets. They probably have their act together now, but you definitely want to do a search on here and find out what happened with those pellets last year.

 

[stallau]

Thanks for all the input. I went through the various discussions a for the last few years and I see this is quite a heated :cheese: topic. My stove worked OK this past winter but I figure I'll try it and see how it goes this winter. My stove is in the basement and even with adding floor vents I wasn't able to get a really good convection going to the 1st floor. I'm hoping that if I'm not pulling the air from the basement I get more heat upsstairs.

A friend I work with used the maine pellets last winter and was very happy with them so I figure I'll give them a shot. I've noticed pellets are like the discussion on outside air - some people will have a problem with a brand and others won't.

 

[imacman]

...... My stove is in the basement and even with adding floor vents I wasn't able to get a really good convection going to the 1st floor. I'm hoping that if I'm not pulling the air from the basement I get more heat upstairs.......

This is another oft-asked about and discussed topic. It seems like that the heat should make it's way upstairs (floor vents, stairwells, etc), but most of the time, it doesn't work very well. Not to say it never does, as there have been members on here who have had good success with getting the heat upstairs, but more times than not, it just doesn't work out.

Best way to heat the upstairs, is to put the stove upstairs.

 

[stallau]

I have most of the basement insulated (now). The basement was usually moderatly warm when I had just the furnace but as you said I have found that the concrete absorbs quite a bit of heat. This was also a benefit though during the ice storm last December because the house dropped just 3 - 5 degrees after a day without any kind of electricity. The plans for the summer will be to get something on the floor this summer and hope to see the benefits this winter.

I've also found it makes for a comfy cool area as we now get into the time of year you want more cool than hot.

 

[geek]

I was/am in the same boat, will be installing a pellet stove in basement soon and asked this question as well.
I am convinced I would like the OAK, however all dealers in my area keep their word saying it is NOT necessary UNLESS the house is VERY tight or built like a year ago. My house is only 8 years old and I think it is well insulated.

I actually insulated the basement myself by placing half inch pink foam boards against the concrete walls, then did the 2x4 framing, then the R13 insulation batts and finally half inch sheet rock.
I also finished installing laminate flooring.

With all this the dealers say the OAK is not needed.....go figure....

..

 

[Dr_Drum]

When I had an OAK installed it dried out the air in the house to the point I was getting nose bleeds, and the kids were coughing a lot. My house is super insulated. Though maybe not as efficient as using an OAK, allowing the stove to pull some fresh air into the house is noticeably better for us. If yours is in your basement you may be venting radon gas as well? Anyway, people need to breath obviously, a house shouldn't be sealed up completely. It's a balance between cost and comfort.
Mike -

 

[richkorn]

. . .I was going to install an OAK for my Lopi Leyden, and had paid for one, and the OAK would have been a very easy install, but the installers talked me out of it because of the design of the stove's combustion air intake. Gave it a try without the OAK and it works great. . . .

I can second that. My Lopi also works great without it.
Mike -

I third that, My Lopi also works great without it.

-rk

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Without getting into it , i agree with the poster who suggested doing a search for threads with outside air as a topic there is a lot of detailed banter about the subject. that said i personally as well as my company (england stove works) are stront proponents of outside air to me the "pro's" outweight the "con's" but i will let you be the judge it is your house and your install and if the manufacturer doent require it (we do) then its left to your option. read and learn my friend the info is definately here