Fresh air intake...

I know that this has obviously been batted around on here a few times, but anyway. So with the weather here in South Dakota just not letting up. I have begun to think of my summer projects for my house. One project I have been thinking about is adding a fresh air intake to my wood stove. If you watch videos on youtube about it, they are almost all positive. Nothing negative is hardly spoken of. So I would like to pick your brains if I may.

What might be some cons, other than having to cut another hole in my house?

 

Being in the same field as you, Place a manual damper in line somewhere. Myself, I'd put it near the outside wall-but easily accessible. Don't need any waps/hornets etc looking for a new home. And, they will.

Probably put a metal screen in it somehow at the intake of the outside air also. That'll stop those bugs!

 

Do I recall that your stove is in the basement? And its probably a fully below grade basement?
If so, you have to be careful about doing an OAK, they can actually act as a short chimney if the right (wrong) reverse draft situation arises...in some houses it can be a danged if you do, danged if you don't scenario.

 

Yes, this is great advice. From my stove's manual:

The International Residential Code (IRC) does not allow the outside air duct to terminate higher than the appliance. Some building officials restrict vertical rise in the duct’s termination. Hearthstone recommends the termination be at the same level, or lower than the air intake on the stove.

Another consideration is all that cold air within the hose itself. If you're using your stove, probably no big deal, but if you're not, that cold air could radiate out of the tubing and act to cool the area (unless there's a damper, like mentioned above).

 

Ah, yes, if I put one on there, it can't/shouldn't go up. My would go up from the stove. Ok, I need to read my manual again.

 

Steve, my buddy had a similar situation and we put a “temporary” hole in one of the foundation blocks above grade. We didn’t hook anything up to stove. It still works good and definitely can see and feel it drawing when the stove in the basement is running.
That was 14 years ago.
Lenny


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

There was a video a couple years back with some guy who had a large wood stove on his basement level and (whoops forgot to finish this thought....) he built these cold air returns from upper floors in his house to bring the cooler air down to the basement but I'm not sure if that's the issue you're having.

Hey SD Steve - are you experiencing difficulty getting the stove to perform well with your current setup?

 

I have always had one on my 30-NC, so I can't do a before and after comparison. But the outside air intake makes sense to me, and it has never caused me any trouble.

I'll also acknowledge that if I was of the opposite opinion, I would not have one, and it would probably likewise cause me no trouble.

 

No, stove works great..... as is. I have an old house with bad windows upstairs. But, below 0F nights my kid's rooms upstairs suffer. That's why I thought a fresh air intake would eliminate cold drafts upstairs.

 

Yep, high wind and low temps with make my upstairs cold

 

Roger that. For your situation w the stove location and the window issue, you’d probably get better gain by changing the window, or insulating around the sill rather than doing anything w the stove. The OAK is more for a house that’s tightly insulated and doesn’t get enough air in for the stove the operate properly.

 

Agreed...a house with leaks down low, and up high, becomes a chimney, cold air in the bottom, hot out the top, not good, sealing up at least one or the other is the beginning to stopping the chimney effect...look up Florida bungalow syndrome.

 

SD Steve Take a peek at the insulation level in the attic. While up there, take a look to find out if you can see down into any stud cavities. I lived in at least 3 houses where that was the case! Those stud cavities should have a top plate across them.

Anyway, it does sound more like an insulation/air sealing issue. If you can, have some estimates done. You will be very happy with the results.

 

You don't want the inlet air to be above the level of the attachment point at your stove due to the risk of it becoming a chimney .
This may not be addressed in a stove manual.

 

Backdraft dampers Bill......backdraft dampers.

I read where this is an oft-repeated caution. Kind of hard not to have a fresh air intake below the stove when it's in a basement though.

 

I have them in my greenhouse. Not a fan of them for a woodstove in a basement. Not aying they don't work - just not a fan.

 

Balloon framing was around until the 50's in some parts of the country. Good chance if you have a house built before the 40's you can see down the stud cavities to the basement.

 

I've been wondering about this myself but have the same problem. The intake on the stove is about 8' below grade, in the corner of the basement it's in anyway.

So far I've decided it's probably not worth doing it in direct opposition to the manual recommendation. My winter temps are a spring day compared to yours though.

 

Even though the 30NC has an OAK manifold/opening; it's not 100% outside air, it still draws inside air from the ports near the front legs. My 13NC is not that way...............OAK supplies all air to my stove.