Wood burning stove newbie..

[Slyandthefamilystove]

It depends. If the house is very tightly sealed then it may be necessary. Have you searched on OAK here? There is a lot of info and many threads. There is also a long discussion in the Sweep's Library in the Articles section.

Sweep's Library - Why burn outside air?

Should I burn outside combustion air in my stove or fireplace?

hearth.com

So my installer got back to me. Per them "your stove should be fine to install without an outside air kit, you would have to have the equivalent of a double wide or tiny house to need an outside air kit."

 

[bholler]

So my installer got back to me. Per them "your stove should be fine to install without an outside air kit, you would have to have the equivalent of a double wide or tiny house to need an outside air kit."

That may or may not be true. There are lots of factors

 

[Slyandthefamilystove]

That may or may not be true. There are lots of factors

When they come to do the initial evaluation for the installation, we will definitely ask again.

 

[EbS-P]

As far as the OAK goes personally I would install one if the stove was near an exterior wall. Not having one one means you have the equivalent of a 3-4” hole in your house that is sucking cold air in. When the stove is cruising it’s not trivial volume of air either. I see the point that cold combustion air will result in lower exhaust temps, so for maybe pellet stove it could reduce heat output negating any benefit wood stoves flue temp are high enough that the decreased temp is much less. Just my two cents.
Evan.

 

[begreen]

Not having one one means you have the equivalent of a 3-4” hole in your house that is sucking cold air in.

That is not quite accurate. The stove will draw a certain volume of combustion air, depending on the stage of the burn. It will draw a small volume of air. According to woodheat.org, the average air consumption of a modern wood heater is in the range of 10 - 25 cfm, which is very small compared to the natural leakage rate of houses or a tighter house's makeup air vent. This is not the equivalent of a 3-4" hole in the wall. FWIW, I am sure our old house leaks more than that, especially on a windy day.

 

[EbS-P]

That is not quite accurate. The stove will draw a certain volume of combustion air, depending on the stage of the burn. It will draw a small volume of air. According to woodheat.org, the average air consumption of a modern wood heater is in the range of 10 - 25 cfm, which is very small compared to the natural leakage rate of houses or a tighter house's makeup air vent. This is not the equivalent of a 3-4" hole in the wall. FWIW, I am sure our old house leaks more than that, especially on a windy day.

Thank you for providing some numbers. I’ve been curious. Using 25 cfm and 2000 sq ft house with 8 foot ceilings, that represents one exchange roughly every 10 hours. Which probably only matters on a really well sealed home. As a point of reference a 600 cfm range hood was required to install an outside air intake into the kitchen when my parents redid their kitchen.
Evan

 

[BCC_Burner]

We have a local adoption in our building code that requires an outside air kit to be installed on all new solid fuel appliances.

 

[begreen]

I think WA state has that for all new construction too.