Very Poor Chimney Draw

[bholler]

That makes sense. From what I’ve read about pressure gradients within warm houses, the basement is almost always going to be negative pressure, and you’re basically guaranteed a backdraft until the flue is hot, unless you have an OAK or find a way to equalize the pressure with another source of fresh air.

Is that right?

Honestly in our area the majority of stoves are in the basement and most work fine without fresh air. But it absolitly can be an issue

 

[Ludlow]

Most that I know of often have difficulty starting up. Once the stove gets hot it is fine from there on.

 

[yooper08]

If you have to resort to dumping ice air into the room to make it work I would scrap that location and put it upstairs.

In some sense, sure. In my utility room (boiler, hot water heater) I have exactly what I explained. There's a vent that runs outside to supply air. It runs through the building envelope and the air warms up as it gets closer. It's never cold coming in. This can be accomplished with a stove as well. There are others that have a similar setup even when their stove is above grade.

 

[bholler]

If you have to resort to dumping ice air into the room to make it work I would scrap that location and put it upstairs.

But that means either some other heat in the basement or a cold basement and cold floors. Many of us have living space in the basement so having it unheated isnt an option.

 

[Ludlow]

In some sense, sure. In my utility room (boiler, hot water heater) I have exactly what I explained. There's a vent that runs outside to supply air. It runs through the building envelope and the air warms up as it gets closer. It's never cold coming in. This can be accomplished with a stove as well. There are others that have a similar setup even when their stove is above grade.

You can get a fresh air intake with heat exchanger, sure.

 

[Ludlow]

But that means either some other heat in the basement or a cold basement and cold floors. Many of us have living space in the basement so having it unheated isnt an option.

I never lived the lifestyle of depending solely on a fire for heat. I know a couple households that do though.

 

[brenndatomu]

If you have to resort to dumping ice air into the room to make it work I would scrap that location and put it upstairs.

Just do a cold air trap...or some call them a "Saskatoon loop". There's a number of different way to do it. It allows the stove/chimney to get air as needed, but keeps the cold air from just spilling in. More common on wood or coal furnaces due to the volume of air needed for the barometric damper on the chimney.

 

[antlerman]

Thanks guys, I'll pass this along. Sounds like, short of moving the wood stove up one level in the home, a hair dryer in the vent may be the solution. I'm surprised that the installer never mentioned that this could be a problem. Now he's invested nearly $6k and it's a pita to use? Wow.

 

[jetsam]

Thanks guys, I'll pass this along. Sounds like, short of moving the wood stove up one level in the home, a hair dryer in the vent may be the solution. I'm surprised that the installer never mentioned that this could be a problem. Now he's invested nearly $6k and it's a pita to use? Wow.

Well, if intake air does prove to be the problem, he still has the option of a fresh air duct that isn't connected directly to the stove, or maybe his stove allows below grade OAK (because it connects in a way that precludes draft reversal).

He should test it by opening a basement window. If that works, call the manufacturer's tech guys to ask about a below grade OAK. If they say no, he can still install an air supply near the stove.

No matter what the problem is, if it doesn't get less problematic as the weather gets colder, that indicates a blockage in the stove or in the flue.

 

[brenndatomu]

a hair dryer in the vent may be the solution.

A heat gun may be a bit faster as they get a lot hotter