fresh air intake

[grahamk]

How important is fresh air intake? I am replacing a wood stove insert that has a 20 foot chimney with a pellet stove that will have a 4 inch liner inside of the wood stove's 6 inch liner. ;-). The wood stove chimney has a history of a significant cold downdraft. I would need to open a window in the house before lighting a fire to get the draft going.

I'm not sure a pellet stove would have an issue with this since the gasses are forced out with a fan, but i am wondering if a fresh air intake from outside might help stave off any issues with lighting with a downdraft.

Thanks for any tips.

 

[elevenMracing]

As a former lp burner in both my house and shop, both now beong heated with pellet appliances I beleive an OAK (outside air kit) is hugely beneficial. In my mind the single biggest reason is that it prevent the appliance's combustion air requirements from creating a negative pressure, or vacuum in your house which will amplify and drafts you have (leaky doors, windows, foundation, etc). Using OAK's has made a major difference in how warm my house and shop stay. With that being said I will advise you to do a search on the terms 'OAK' and 'outside air' using the forums search feature. It seems like this subject, more so than any other has been discussed herein already. There's opinions going both ways, but from my extensive reading on this subject I will says most of them towards the use of an OAK, I fully concur with that opinion.

 

[bags]

X2 with what elevenMracing states.