outside air kit. Worth it?

[skinnykid]

Who runs an outside air kit? do you find it to feed your fire better and steal less air from the house?

Do you feel that the house gets/stays warmer using it?

 

[buzcranne]

I'm doing an install this weekend and I'm not planning to do the outside air kit. I'm going to keep it in mind as a possibility, but I've read conflicting ideas on how well they work, and the arguments against are pretty compelling to me. Actual practice, of course, will determine where I really stand.

I suggest you look for some info on both sides.

Good luck.

 

[cricco]

My sytem is set up with an outside air kit, which also has an inside intake. I don't really understand why or how it works, but I was having a problem with smoke being drawn back down the chimmney. This intake cured that.

 

[North of 60]

This ones been played to death. Check the search forums. It has more than just heating to do with it. Humidity controll also plays a great part also. Your climate may also make a differance. My 2 cents. Hope you find what you are looking for.

 

[Todd]

Who runs an outside air kit? do you find it to feed your fire better and steal less air from the house?

Do you feel that the house gets/stays warmer using it?

I do, and highly recommend it. It does make a difference in efficiency in my opinion.

 

[bjkjoseph]

if your house is well seeled no air leaks do it.stoves take alot of air out of your house,for example your stove and dryer are running at the same time and you have a gas hot water heater it could suck the flue gasses from the hwh or boiler into your home.

 

[johnnywarm]

how about using a vent thats in the wall. i think its called a "ventalator". I'll see if i have a pic.

 

[IK_biker]

1st season burner here, excluding about 10-year of wood-burning experience during childhood some 40-50 years ago when stoves were not EPA-rated and no one thought of using outside air.

I am pleased with the results. I don't care about the efficiency, and highly doubt it is affected at all, but the OAK gives me confidence that my clothes dryer and natural gas water heater (which is also feeding the now dormant central heat system I got) do not fight the stove for air.
Draft is just about perfect for this time of the year in Western NC, despite the very short external chimney (14.5 feet measured from the insert's top).

Just my $0.02. Search for some posts on the subject by "thechimneysweep" Tom Oyen, who opened my eyes on the basic theory and practice of OAK.

 

[branchburner]

how about using a vent thats in the wall. i think its called a "ventalator".

... also sometimes called doors or windows (and everything in between) in my antique cape!

 

[InTheRockies]

I don't have a brand new home so I don't need to worry about it being air tight. I didn't install an outside air kit and the performance of the new stove is great. If your house isn't airtight, you might consider an install without the kit. One can always be added later, if needed.

 

[Elfin]

In my state, we have a tax credit for high-efficiency stoves, but the outside air kit is required in order to get this credit ($300). So, it was kind of a no brainer to do it!

 

[johnnywarm]

how about using a vent thats in the wall. i think its called a "ventalator".

... also sometimes called doors or windows (and everything in between) in my antique cape!

Theres a chair or sofa by every window.if the ire goes out and the window is open it can get cold.this vent is next to the stove(or put there) so it will not cause a draft and will close when the fire goes out.

 

[oconnor]

Read this https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Outside_Air_Kit_-_Why/

Best article I've seen, balanced, and technically sound. Discusses when to, and when not to. IK above has other exhaust items that could overpower his draft. Good logic. Meets the logic described in the article

Look out for blanket statements implying that everyone should have one, or everyone should avoid them. Some articles aren't balanced, and some are really not technically sound. I read one on a site mentioned above that states that the heated air in the house creates a positive pressure situation, moving air out towards all the cracks. Couldn't believe it. Look for it, and you'll find it to.

My favorite resource on all things wood heat, other than here, is this book from Natural Resourses Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, "A Guide to Residential Wood Heating"
http://www.canren.gc.ca/app/filerepository/BIO-GuideToResidentialWoodHeating.pdf

 

[Chief Ryan]

I have an OAK and i think it works fine, Although i've only been burning for a week or two.

I have a large kitchen hood that use to pull the smoke down the chimney when i burned my fireplace. Now with the OAK and the stove it doesn't affect it at all. I have the hood at full blast and no smoke at all from the stove and the draft is fine.

One day when it was very humid it took longer to heat the stove up which makes sense.

 

[thechimneysweep]

I read one on a site mentioned above that states that the heated air in the house creates a positive pressure situation, moving air out towards all the cracks. Couldn’t believe it.

Believe it. Air molecules expand when heated. Start with a houseful of cold air and then heat that air up, and the air pressure in the house will increase.

Until Mom Nature steps in to equalize, that is. Ever see an infrared photo demonstrating the heat loss from a house in cold weather? Those red spots around the doors and windows are heated air, flowing out.

Here's an experiment that might illuminate this phenomenon for you:
Blow up a baloon and tie it off securely. Put it in the fridge, it will shrink. Put it near a source of heat, it will expand.

Ergo: if nothing is causing negative pressurization in the house, and the wood stove is heating the air, the heated air will expand, and tend to flow out any openings in the structure.

 

[johnnywarm]

I read one on a site mentioned above that states that the heated air in the house creates a positive pressure situation, moving air out towards all the cracks. Couldn’t believe it.

Believe it. Air molecules expand when heated. Start with a houseful of cold air and then heat that air up, and the air pressure in the house will increase.

Until Mom Nature steps in to equalize, that is. Ever see an infrared photo demonstrating the heat loss from a house in cold weather? Those red spots around the doors and windows are heated air, flowing out.

Here's an experiment that might illuminate this phenomenon for you:
Blow up a baloon and tie it off securely. Put it in the fridge, it will shrink. Put it near a source of heat, it will expand.

Ergo: if nothing is causing negative pressurization in the house, and the wood stove is heating the air, the heated air will expand, and tend to flow out any openings in the structure.

Do you recommend an outside air kit?????or do you prefer none?????

 

[thechimneysweep]

I recommend outside air kits to solve a variety of problems caused by depressurization due to chimney updraft, such as hard-to-start fires, sluggish updraft, cold drafts in the house and smoke entering the breathing space. I'm located in Washington State, where outside air is mandated for every stove and fireplace installation (regardless of fuel), and have never seen or heard of any negative results.

 

[johnnywarm]

I recommend outside air kits to solve a variety of problems caused by depressurization due to chimney updraft, such as hard-to-start fires, sluggish updraft, cold drafts in the house and smoke entering the breathing space. I'm located in Washington State, where outside air is mandated for every stove and fireplace installation (regardless of fuel), and have never seen or heard of any negative results.

Thank you tom.

 

[Highbeam]

I have outside air plumbed to my stove in my fairly leaky old home. I love it both in concept and practice. Here's a different point of view: What possible harm could it do? None. Being required in my state and across the nation in many installations you know that it can't really hurt anything and will likely be very beneficial.

 

[johnnywarm]

tom

What do you think of the vent i have in the pic i posted?? do you think it will work if i install it next to the stove??

 

[fossil]

Disclaimer: I don't have an OAK on either of my stoves. Opinion: I can't think of any logical reason to not install one. Even though retrofitting my stoves would be difficult (talking lots of masonry here), I haven't completely given up on the notion. I would recommend to anyone planning a new installation to make provision for it. It's a lot easier to close it off if you don't think it's working for you than to change your mind later and decide you should have installed it. If I had it to do over again, both my stoves would be so equipped. Rick

 

[thechimneysweep]

They work and we use them, where direct connection to outside air isn't possible (house on a concrete slab, stove in center of house). Just don't locate one where your spouse's favorite chair is between it and the stove.

 

[johnnywarm]

They work and we use them, where direct connection to outside air isn't possible (house on a concrete slab, stove in center of house). Just don't locate one where your spouse's favorite chair is between it and the stove.

No, it will be in the wall that the stove is on. come to think of it?? if it keeps my wife out of my area??? 8-/

 

[fossil]

Nothing sayin' you can't just hook up a nice neat OAK to your stove, and then run a bunch of 3" duct wherever you want and caution her to stay away from it...you don't have to hook it up to anything, just hide the ends. %-P Rick

 

[johnnywarm]

Nothing sayin' you can't just hook up a nice neat OAK to your stove, and then run a bunch of 3" duct wherever you want and caution her to stay away from it...you don't have to hook it up to anything, just hide the ends. %-P Rick

This is getting interesting.she said WE should get digital cable in the castine room now its there.i said ----i thought you liked watching the tv in the media room----she says---it will be to cold in there.maybe i should buy her an electric heater for Christmas??