Getting outside Air through Masonry?

[Korkel]

No, I'm not asking how to suck outside air directly through Brick (though that would be handy in this case)...

30 year old split level house with a small wood stove, & Hearth, with a 6 inch through-the-wall vent on the 1st floor (the 1st floor is at ground level, not an enclosed basement). The vent goes straight into a 25 ft chimney. Living room and bedrooms are on the second floor.

A chimney inspection found cracks in some of the flue lining so I'm transitioning to a pellet stove with vent liner up the whole chimney (to mitigate the flue cracks).

I desire to have a source of outside air (OAK) for the Pellet Stove to avoid in-door drafts (among other things), however, the pass through to the chimney is only 6 inches so there is no way to get a 4" Vent and a 3" OAK liner up the chimney together. I REALLY want to avoid punching a new 3-4 inch hole through multiple layers of masonry to get outside air, but my intuition says that is probably what would need doin if I want that fresh air.

Has anyone had a similar situation & how did you approach it, or does anyone have some other ideas?

House: 2500ish sq-ft
This is the most suitable location in the House for the Stove
Stoves considering: Enviro M55 or Harman Absolute63, Free Standing

Could always just install w/o the OAK, see how everything performs, and reassess...

Appreciate your time and input.

 

[jackman]

A hammer drill makes the job quick and easy.

 

[Talegas]

from outside, there seems to be an ash dump door at the bottom.. isn't there a trap close to the base of the hearth? or is that to clean up the chimney only? that could be your OAK entry if there is a way to get to it.

 

[Korkel]

from outside, there seems to be an ash dump door at the bottom.. isn't there a trap close to the base of the hearth? or is that to clean up the chimney only? that could be your OAK entry if there is a way to get to it.

Just a chimney clean out, the only hole on the hearth side is the 6" vent.

 

[Tim_M]

I have a similar setup for my basement stove and have been trying to figure out a way to fashion some sort of OAK for a while now. Mine is even more of a challenge than yours since it's below grade. So far it seems to work well without an outside air source, probably because my foundation isn't well sealed.

 

[Zeus]

A hammer drill makes the job quick and easy.

Yeah I had to use a hammer drill on my stove go rent a good one from your local place made the job easy

 

[Zeus]

No, I'm not asking how to suck outside air directly through Brick (though that would be handy in this case)...

30 year old split level house with a small wood stove, & Hearth, with a 6 inch through-the-wall vent on the 1st floor (the 1st floor is at ground level, not an enclosed basement). The vent goes straight into a 25 ft chimney. Living room and bedrooms are on the second floor.

A chimney inspection found cracks in some of the flue lining so I'm transitioning to a pellet stove with vent liner up the whole chimney (to mitigate the flue cracks).

I desire to have a source of outside air (OAK) for the Pellet Stove to avoid in-door drafts (among other things), however, the pass through to the chimney is only 6 inches so there is no way to get a 4" Vent and a 3" OAK liner up the chimney together. I REALLY want to avoid punching a new 3-4 inch hole through multiple layers of masonry to get outside air, but my intuition says that is probably what would need doin if I want that fresh air.

Has anyone had a similar situation & how did you approach it, or does anyone have some other ideas?

House: 2500ish sq-ft
This is the most suitable location in the House for the Stove
Stoves considering: Enviro M55 or Harman Absolute63, Free Standing

Could always just install w/o the OAK, see how everything performs, and reassess...

Appreciate your time and input.

After looking at your pics of your fireplace it would be har to hide oak pipes,it looks like your stove is out away from the wall a good distance maybe drill directly in center behind stove near the floor not sure just giving ideas

 

[corkman]

A while back I was toying with the idea of an insert and outside are was an issue. You can pop one of the outside bricks and replace it with an adjustable air vent. It's available st any masonry yard and is the exact size of a brick. You'll still have to drill thru the firebrick to acces the fireplace. I'll see if I can get a pic of one tomorrow if the supply house is open

 

[Don2222]

Hello
I had the same exact issue!
So Selkirk DT did the job for me! ⌚️
Just google Selkirk DT Masonry Chimney Conversion Kit!