OK, here we go again. I'm trying to decide weather or not to instal an outside air kit.
I've been thinking of feeding my stove some outside air. This stove is in the basement. I noticed the stove was getting a lot of its air supply from a garage in a walk out portion of the basement. This garage was by far the coldest room in the house. It was poorly insulated and leaked around the overhead garage door. Last week I insulated the garage door and eliminated any air leaks. I've noticed the stove now gets a lot of its air supply from the upstairs (ground floor.) This makes the colder air upstairs be replaced by warmer air.
It makes sense to use an OAK not only for the air quality inside the house, but it would seem cost effective not to waste heated indoor air to feed a fire. In some stove installations an outside air kit is not only necessary but mandatory.
As a result of a recent thread response I started to think of some negative effects:
1. Another member posted about his negative experience with an OAK on his basement stove. His stove was burning cooler and shorter as a result of the rushing cold air.
2. The air circulation may lessen as a result of an OAK installation. The warm air may move slower to the upstairs. Instead of being pulled upstairs because of the negative pressure created by the stove sucking the cold air from up there.
I've noticed, as with all stove related questions, the answer depends on the particular home/stove. It all seems to be on a trial and error basis. What works for you may not work for someone else. However I'd like to know from some OAK users what your particular experience was with this system. It seemed almost fail safe until the recent response. I should have known it was too good to be true. It never seems to be a black or white. With the stove heating world there's always a grey area...
I've been thinking of feeding my stove some outside air. This stove is in the basement. I noticed the stove was getting a lot of its air supply from a garage in a walk out portion of the basement. This garage was by far the coldest room in the house. It was poorly insulated and leaked around the overhead garage door. Last week I insulated the garage door and eliminated any air leaks. I've noticed the stove now gets a lot of its air supply from the upstairs (ground floor.) This makes the colder air upstairs be replaced by warmer air.
It makes sense to use an OAK not only for the air quality inside the house, but it would seem cost effective not to waste heated indoor air to feed a fire. In some stove installations an outside air kit is not only necessary but mandatory.
As a result of a recent thread response I started to think of some negative effects:
1. Another member posted about his negative experience with an OAK on his basement stove. His stove was burning cooler and shorter as a result of the rushing cold air.
2. The air circulation may lessen as a result of an OAK installation. The warm air may move slower to the upstairs. Instead of being pulled upstairs because of the negative pressure created by the stove sucking the cold air from up there.
I've noticed, as with all stove related questions, the answer depends on the particular home/stove. It all seems to be on a trial and error basis. What works for you may not work for someone else. However I'd like to know from some OAK users what your particular experience was with this system. It seemed almost fail safe until the recent response. I should have known it was too good to be true. It never seems to be a black or white. With the stove heating world there's always a grey area...