OAK using ash dump on Enviro 1700

[contramundum]

Is it a bird? A plane? Why no! It’s a newb with an OAK question! Duh...

Hey guys! Just got a steal today on a new 1700 Boston insert for under 2400 shipped. Dealer tells me they’re discontinuing because of EPA regs, hence the sale. Not sure if that’s true or not; don’t shoot the messenger.

My newb question is this; Looking at the manual and reading what I can find, it would seem having and OAK with this stove is fairly pointless. The intake air seems to come from the same area as the circulated convection air; there’s no way to separate them, correct?
You see, I have an ash dump with outside cleanout door that I’m debating using for some fresh air, but then the air coming off the unit into my living space would be colder too, right? Have I found the one weak link in this insert!?
My idea was to open and close the cleanout door when needed/desired, but I suspect this is both a pro and a con.
I do see that you can buy an OAK for this stove but the manual says nothing of it and shows no knockouts to attach to.

Who can validate what I’m saying!? Thanks much in advance; this forum has been priceless already.

 

[NoGoodAtScreenNames]

I’m not sure the oak is really an option on the insert as it would be on the free standing version. I’ve never been able to find the actual air inlet on mine and even if I did I don’t see how I could have space to look up a line to it.

When burning you are releasing air out of the liner which creates negative pressure on the house. That air is coming from outside one way or another. There’s a lot of debate about whether oaks do much, if anything on a normal house (one that is not extremely tight).

Opening the ash door would probably create a path to get outside air to the stove. My guess is it would be a wash at best. You would save yourself from using preheated air for combustion but you’d also be cooling off your stove and decreasing its output by running cold air into it.

My general thought on these theoretical home efficiency things is that if you don’t have a clear problem you are trying to solve (in the case for an oak that would be a bad draft) then it’s probably not worth coming up with some homemade solution.




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[contramundum]

I’m not sure the oak is really an option on the insert as it would be on the free standing version. I’ve never been able to find the actual air inlet on mine and even if I did I don’t see how I could have space to look up a line to it.

When burning you are releasing air out of the liner which creates negative pressure on the house. That air is coming from outside one way or another. There’s a lot of debate about whether oaks do much, if anything on a normal house (one that is not extremely tight).

Opening the ash door would probably create a path to get outside air to the stove. My guess is it would be a wash at best. You would save yourself from using preheated air for combustion but you’d also be cooling off your stove and decreasing its output by running cold air into it.

My general thought on these theoretical home efficiency things is that if you don’t have a clear problem you are trying to solve (in the case for an oak that would be a bad draft) then it’s probably not worth coming up with some homemade solution.




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NotGood, thanks for that. Do you know where the air that comes off the blower actually enters the unit? Per the schematic in the manual it looks as if that’s on the back bottom lip, so what would be the very back bottom edge of the hearth. I wonder how many guys insulate thay back wall with rockwool to the point where they may be blocking a good bit of that airflow?

Regardless, if that’s indeed where the air is coming from, that’s also exactly where my outside air would be entering. I’ll take a look at my unit when it arrives but it seems I’ll be sealing my ash dump real good before sliding her into the hearth.

Thanks again

 

[kennyp2339]

For the blower the air enters at the front, depending on the stove (not familiar with the boston insert, although I really like the looks) the combustion air can be entering from the rear or side, if the air enters from the rear, you can open the ash dump and then carefully insulated the sides of the insert to the fireplace to keep ambient room air separate from the outside air.
Don't forget your insulated block off plate and insulated liner, btw you got a nice deal on the insert and I'm sure even if you don't go with the outside fresh air route you will still be very happy with the performance, cost savings and ease of use with this stove.

 

[NoGoodAtScreenNames]

NotGood, thanks for that. Do you know where the air that comes off the blower actually enters the unit? Per the schematic in the manual it looks as if that’s on the back bottom lip, so what would be the very back bottom edge of the hearth. I wonder how many guys insulate thay back wall with rockwool to the point where they may be blocking a good bit of that airflow?

Regardless, if that’s indeed where the air is coming from, that’s also exactly where my outside air would be entering. I’ll take a look at my unit when it arrives but it seems I’ll be sealing my ash dump real good before sliding her into the hearth.

Thanks again

I’m not sure exactly where the blower air enters to be honest. I think it’s actually the left side top as the blown air only comes out on the right side.

I have Roxul stuffed in the back right against the convective jacket. No issues there. I think that helped a good amount.


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[DuaeGuttae]

Our family just picked up an Enviro Kodiak at a good discount. It was hard for us to locate one, and we were told by several folks that Enviro has dropped production of its wood line.

I’ve been studying the manual for quite some time, and my impression is that the combustion air does enter from the back of the insert inside the firebox/fireplace. We have an outside air intake in our fireplace, and we hope that it will be a benefit to us and not allow additional air into the house when the insert isn’t running (which will be often given the winter daytime highs in this part of the country). Our surround will have some gaps because of a large river rock face of our fireplace, so we’ll be assessing whether the outside air flows out those gaps.

The Boston is a great-looking stove. It’s my favorite in their line up. We actually wanted a Venice as that suited our fireplace opening the best (the Boston didn’t work). We couldn’t find aVenice, and we were happy to go with our second choice at a greatly discounted price.