I have been running my Austroflamm for years without a kit installed. I was wondering what you all saw for improvements when you put the kit on? Just a little curious as to what it will gain me?
Thanks
Thanks
OAK kits questions (austroflamm)
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I have been running my Integra without one since I have had it (5 yrs.) I have been thinking about running the combustion air intake down my ash dump which is in my basement garage.
The gain would be eliminating those cold drafts you feel when running your unit plus a more efficient burn of pellets.
Hope this helps.
The gain would be eliminating those cold drafts you feel when running your unit plus a more efficient burn of pellets.
Hope this helps.
Wilbur Feral
Minister of Fire
In an everage home with normal air sealing, the effect on the stove's performance itself, in terms of how well it burns, will likely not be noticeable. But that's not the reason for an OAK unless you have a very tightly sealed home. For any situation where an OAK is added, the primary benefit is a reduction in the amount and rate of air exchanged from the inside to the outside of the home.
Your combustion blower is actively pumping air from inside to outside at a continuous, relatively high rate whenever it's on. Without an OAK, the air used for combustion is air you already paid to heat, drawn from inside the home. Because your house cannot sustain a vacuum (you and the other people in the house needing to breathe, for example) that air will be replaced by colder, often drier air pulled in from the outside through all the tiny little cracks in your home. You will then need to heat that air, and the needlessly expensive cycle continues. You would not, for example, drill a two-inch wide hole in one wall of your living room in January, then drill a three-inch wide hole in the opposite wall, and put a powerful fan in that hole, and turn it on all day, every day. Yet that is what is happenening when you don't use an OAK. Your stove is powerful enough to overcome that situation, but it works much harder to do so by burning more pellets than you would otherwise need to burn. You also feel more cold drafts near the floor, caused by the outside air being pulled toward the stove.
With an OAK, that combustion air is simply pulled in through the OAK, used for combustion, and exhausted back outside. None of your heated, nicely humidifed air is needed. You spend less money, and remain more comfortable. That's a pretty good deal for just installing a small metal tube.
Thanks makes total sence to me. I will hook it up today.. Thanks.. Had the stuff just never really gave it too much thought... Now I have to find the stuff...lol
Are you referring to the temperature of the air coming out of the front of the stove? It might not be as hot as before. If your outside air isn't preheated, your hot side temperature may be lower at similar heat setting levels. Instead of heating 70 deg incoming air you're heating 20 or 30 deg air so your flue gas temperatures are probably lower, too. Using the OAK should make the house warmer overall, due to reduction of cold drafts. On my installation, the incoming air is preheated, similar to DirectTemp venting. The air coming into the stove for combustion is 115-125 deg F. This tends to make my flue gas temps higher and my room outlet temps higher at a particular heat setting.
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