wood stove and humidification

[begreen]

That's surprising. Out here fresh makeup air is code in new construction.

 

[Dieselhead]

That's surprising. Out here fresh makeup air is code in new construction.

That's surprising. Out here fresh makeup air is code in new construction.

I believe it was mandated in the 2012 code change. I was 2010.

 

[vatmark]

No.

Funny enough, I believe the least restrictive path of fresh air into the house is actually the wood stove. In the summer time, when the weather is right and we turn on a bathroom fan or range hood I can get a creosote smell in the house wafting towards the exhaust fan from the stove. Turn off the fan and the smell dissipates. I’ve read others have that issue too.

That is what a make air system is for. We have a high powered vent hood for our range. Makeup air is required by code here for any vent hood higher than 400 cfm. Ours is 1200 cfm. If air is being sucked out it needs to be replaced. I would rather not have it replaced by air coming from my wood stove.

 

[Dieselhead]

That is what a make air system is for. We have a high powered vent hood for our range. Makeup air is required by code here for any vent hood higher than 400 cfm. Ours is 1200 cfm. If air is being sucked out it needs to be replaced. I would rather not have it replaced by air coming from my wood stove.

No doubt about that

 

[Ashful]

So I’m not 100% sold on “wood stoves pull in dry outside air”.

Good, because it's not 100% the problem! Heated indoor air can be dry even with an OAK and in a well-sealed house. But bringing in a constant supply of outside air and then heating it will take things from bad to even worse, by constantly sweeping away some part of the humidity you manage to add from a humidifier, showers, cooking, etc.

So, it's not that only leaky houses without OAKs are dry in winter, but that those are the configuration which typically suffers even more greatly than the rest.

 

[cr0]

No.

Funny enough, I believe the least restrictive path of fresh air into the house is actually the wood stove. In the summer time, when the weather is right and we turn on a bathroom fan or range hood I can get a creosote smell in the house wafting towards the exhaust fan from the stove. Turn off the fan and the smell dissipates. I’ve read others have that issue too.

That sounds terrible! We also try to vent indoor air out in the summer, but we've never noticed that issue from our wood stove. Ours has a bypass and catalytic converter, and the bypass and stove door are both shut all summer, so maybe that keeps a downdraft from entering the house through the flue. Is your setup different, no bypass? The stove door must have a decent seal but there's the air intake I guess a backdraft could come through. Not sure how much the bypass helps but it must do something.

Also I never really thought of make up air. Never lived in very well sealed houses! I have no doubt any air I pull out of the house is getting pulled in plentifully through various drafts...seems like a problem but maybe it spares us issues of needing a makeup air system or something.

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

We have 12 dogs that provide a fair amount of moist air to our house. Although the cost on them vs a humidifier..........................

 

[stovelark]

Here in SE CT, humidity is a concern. Since we've had our wood stove, we have a whole house humidifier I try to keep humidity at 40ish percent. On a dry day, thats a gallon or two refill at least. Stove steamers don't help a lot, but they are decorative. Keep warm everybody, been cold for December so far here.

 

[MRD1985]

I have a large humidifier in the stove room set to 45%. 2-3 gallons refill of water daily in the winter

 

[Burnin Since 1991]

I have a large humidifier in the stove room set to 45%. 2-3 gallons refill of water daily in the winter

yep, me too. Every little bit helps

 

[vatmark]

I have a large humidifier in the stove room set to 45%. 2-3 gallons refill of water daily in the winter

I just bought a new humidifier. Was using 2 smaller ones. The new one holds 6 gallons of water. I have a very open floor plan. The livingroom, dining room and kitchen are all open to each other with the woodstove in the living room. The new humidifier is able to humidify the whole area.

 

[MRD1985]

I just bought a new humidifier. Was using 2 smaller ones. The new one holds 6 gallons of water. I have a very open floor plan. The livingroom, dining room and kitchen are all open to each other with the woodstove in the living room. The new humidifier is able to humidify the whole area.

I have a very similar layout with tall ceilings in the living room