Help with outdoor combustion

[kevinmoelk]

Howdy. As some of you know I have an old stove that will eventually be upgraded. The old stove has a 6" outlet, and the hearth I am building should be plenty big enough for any stove I choose as a replacement.

Now I've got another dilema. The outside air? Apparently in WA I must have outside air to coming to the stove. My old stove is grandfathered in, so no problem there. But if I replace it, then I have to have some sort of source of outside air. My question is how do I design my hearth to be adaptable? I can easly cut some holes and get a tube of air to come to the hearth. But what do I make the tube out of? PVC? PVC, then steel for the last few feet? Where should it be located in relation to the stove? How big does this outside air tube need to be? Can I bring the air from the roof? Or does it need to come from a wall?

Any suggestions are much appreciated.

-Kevin

 

[begreen]

Grab a beer or cuppa and sit down with this thread. Lots of discussion here. It will depend on your county's interpretation. I chose not to install an OAK on the F400, but it seems our county has taken a more objective view in the spirit of the regulation instead of the literal. Check with your inspector first before cutting holes.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/2496/

 

[kevinmoelk]

Hey BeGreen. Thanks for the thread link. For some reason my search function doesn't work. Perhaps I don't have some settings right on my brand new laptop

Certainly the subject was well hashed out a few months ago, hence lack of overall response by the community. In any case, living in WA, I suppose I would be required to have one, despite having an old home, which is certainly not air tight. I don't think I'd have a pressure problem, and on the old stove there is no provision for OA. I guess I'll also have to look for a new stove since I've also learned that despite the stove already being in the home, if I move the stove it's considered a new installation. Hence, I loose my grandfathering. Ironically, I believe the new installation of the old stove would certainly be safer than the old set up. Oh well, I wanted a new stove eventually. Just have to keep my eyes peeled for a good used deal. Let me know if you see anything in WA. I'll probably be in the 5-600 dollar range to heat a 1200 sq foot space.

To sum up my overall reaction to the thread I'd say that OA is a coin toss. Clearly there are smart, good people on both sides of the fence.

When are you going to provide the answer to your brain teaser?!

-Kevin

 

[begreen]

Check with your inspector. If he/she's a reasonable person this may be a non-issue, especially if everything else is done 1st rate. Finding a small stove in your price range that won't drive you out of house and home and yet is EPA approved may be challenging, but doable. Are you looking for an EPA approved stove? If yes, a 3CB would work well I think, as would an Intrepid II. I'm assuming overnight burns are not an issue. Best bet is going to be picking up a stove between March and August. Do you have a pickup? How far are you willing to travel?

The teaser answer is pretty simple, but there is likely more than one correct way to solve it. I'm waiting for a golfer like Elk to give it a try, but I'll pm you with the answer.

 

[kevinmoelk]

Thanks for the tips on the stoves. There's one on Craigslist in Seattle for a Lopi, around $500 I think. Not sure about the brand. Truck and strong friend are not a problem. I'd be willing to travel in roughly a 4 hr radius. So Seattle, Portland, The Dalles, Tri-Cities would all be okay. As long as I can get back home in a single day.

I was also looking at the Englander stoves, as they seem well priced... not sure if they provide a OA kit however. True, I will indeed have to check with the local building dept. I may be able to get past as Yakima tends to be pretty easy going. Installation will indeed by top notch. I'm not the type to do anything without doing it well, just not in my nature.

Thanks again for your help.

-Kevin

 

[begreen]

Here's one for you to check out right away. I saw it last night. Hope it's still out there WM. $1100 for a nice Hearthstone is a steal. Only 2 yrs old.

(broken link removed to http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/hsh/243079350.html)

Lopi, Avalon, Quadrafire all made in WA state. PE is made in BC. Country (Kent, WA I think) makes some decent smaller stoves too. Good to watch for sales on them. I missed a great deal on a Quad by an hour last Sunday. They are less common at this time of year, but like with the Hearthstone Homestead, ya never know when they're going to show up.