We are currently doing a deep energy retrofit on the house where all the exterior sheathing and insolation is removed and spray foam is installed in the studs and around the rim joists and resetting and sealing all doors and windows. That should seal the 1938 home up nice. Right now it is all sorts of drafty and so no issues with a negative pressure in the basement with the wood furnace. I suspect I will need to install a Heat Recovery Ventilator for the rest of the house but was wondering if that would be good enough to feed the wood furnace fresh air as well or should I fab up an outdoor intake for it? Has anyone used/made an outdoor intake for the Englander 28-3500? I am trying to check all the boxes before winter comes knocking again.
Outdoor intake for Englander 28-3500
- Thread starter Junebug90
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BadgerBoilerMN
Member
No ERV or HRV is made to produce makeup or combustion air. They are IAQ devised designed for balanced flow of exhaustion and fresh air for human consumption.
http://www2.iccsafe.org/states/oregon/08_residential/PDFs/Chapter 17_Combustion Air.pdf
http://www2.iccsafe.org/states/oregon/08_residential/PDFs/Chapter 17_Combustion Air.pdf
maple1
Minister of Fire
An HRV could also do the opposite & negatively impact the draft if its flow is unbalanced enough.
Well I guess we will just wait an see after the house is sealed back up and a blower door test is preformed. Thank you for the info guys.
Wildo
Minister of Fire
There is a good chance you will need to do that. What was the result of your first blower door test? The company should have done one to establish a baseline to determine your air needs. We did the same thing and are right on the verge of needing an oak and an hrv our second test was 900cfm in a 19000cfv house (3ach) compared to 3800cfm (20ach) the first time. We got by with leaving a window cracked open on warm and low pressure days. This summer will determine whether or not we will need an hrv/erv to combat humidity.
Well we havn't had the blower door done yet. That will be after we finish sealing up the house (hopefully with in 2 months). My idea if I need to introduce make up air is to basically run a 2 inch iron pipe with a ball valve from the out side (with a neat little hood and screen and stuff on the outside) then split the 2inch pipe into two 1 inch pipes and run one into the side of the ash pan area (and just leave the ash door control closed) and the other make a secondary burn tube out of it. So it would supply the coals and the top. Each having a ball valve to control air to each area (still could use factory controls if needed as well) and then a ball valve for the main 2 inch. That should keep the cold air out of the house and still feed the fire. I will post the results of the blower door and pics of any mods I have to do.
Wildo
Minister of Fire
Well It has been a while. The house was stripped to studs from the outside and open cell spray foam was put in. We are currently adding the 2" of foam board to the outside. The rim joists and an old part of the foundation has been foamed as well. Turns out the front porch is over the basement as well. Which when tearing out rot I was standing in my basement haha. So I also sealed up that area as well. I noticed that it is rather humid in our basement in the last 2 weeks. It never was before. So I put a dehumidifier down there for now. But the point of this all is I believe I will have to add make up air for the wood furnace. I hope it also mean that the kitchen floors (right over the furnace) get a lot warmer this year too. Anyway it goes down I know it will be better than the old drafty house it was. I will get some photos up of the house when I get a chance and will put a ton of photos up if I make the make up air for the furnace.
brenndatomu
Minister of Fire
I'd go at least 4". Yukon calls for a 6" pipe for makeup air on their stuff...
Well The house has been doing good since it has been getting colder. We were gone for the weekend and turned the LP to 55 and when we came back it was 66! Friday was in the 50s out when we left, sat was high 60s, and then 50s when we got back. So the investment seems to be doing good.
As far as the make up air it has not been a problem. I did change up the make up air a bit though. For now I Teed off the make up air for the propane furnace. It is just a 2 inch PVC pipe. It just dumps into the basement for now but we will see what I can come up with in time. Only thing that has been going on is now I get some smoke coming out of the upper air control on start up. To help with that on a cold start I have been pulling the top plate forward in the furnace. This allows the smoke to travel straight up the flue pipe. Also use smaller kindling to get the fire going faster. Still get some smoke but only for about a minute. Once the smoke easily travels out the flue I slide the top plate back and it is good to go.
As far as the make up air it has not been a problem. I did change up the make up air a bit though. For now I Teed off the make up air for the propane furnace. It is just a 2 inch PVC pipe. It just dumps into the basement for now but we will see what I can come up with in time. Only thing that has been going on is now I get some smoke coming out of the upper air control on start up. To help with that on a cold start I have been pulling the top plate forward in the furnace. This allows the smoke to travel straight up the flue pipe. Also use smaller kindling to get the fire going faster. Still get some smoke but only for about a minute. Once the smoke easily travels out the flue I slide the top plate back and it is good to go.
As an update. With this winter being milder and us having alot more insulation we have used less than 2 cords so far. We are also able to not have to worry about the house losing heat to fast eather. We lost power for about 48 hrs around Christmas so we pack up and went to family. When we left the house was 78 48 hours later with no heat it was 63. So not to bad. We still have some minor things to do to finish sealing the house so still a ways off before the blower test.
So total we have spent about 1200 ish this heating season. We used about 4 cords of wood and 40% of LP of our 500g pig. So far that is about half of before we spray foamed the house\headed with wood. Also I am using the make up air for the LP furnace for the wood furnace too. No issues all winter
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