The leaves are starting to turn here in SW Va. We've had a few mornings in the low 40's so naturally I'm starting to think about winter. I've been reading a lot about fresh air intakes on wood stoves and it seems to help with the heat. The question I have is I'm wondering how in the blue blazes I could hook up something to my Buck Stove Model 91? I looked under it yesterday and I ain't got a clue on how to do it. Has anyone out there been successful in doing so?
Some stoves have a dedicated outside air hookup, but even some of those don't source ALL their air from the OAK...if your stove does not have the option, then you'd have to figure out how many spots that it takes air in...some models have quite a few! Fabricating an OAK for the stove could be easy, or not, depends on how many different air inlets it has, and where they are. It just depends on the house if it makes any noticeable difference, or not. I know, I know...that's a lot of "depends"! I take it the reason for looking at this is to keep more heat in the house, not so much to fix a draft issue? Would you consider your house to be "drafty"?
I haven't found any info on a fresh air intake for that model buck stove. FWIW, even AI says "nope" The Buck Stove Model 91 does not have a dedicated fresh air intake system. It relies on the room's air for combustion, which is typical for many wood stoves. firepitsurplus.com buildwithrise.com Fresh Air Intake for Buck Stove Model 91 The Buck Stove Model 91 does not feature a dedicated fresh air intake system. Instead, it relies on the air available in the room for combustion, which is a common design for many wood stoves. Key Features Air Source: Uses room air for combustion Typical Design: Similar to many wood stoves without a separate intake This design means that proper ventilation in the room is essential for optimal performance and safety.
As the owner of a 91 I would say don't bother. It would only help a little maybe on startup but after you get it going it only needs about 1/4 draft which feeds in to the top of the fire.Plus it would just have to lay open in front of the stove. No way to attach.
MMmmmmm..... not drafty at all really. Just wanting to make my house stove as efficient as possible. And also getting ready to put a vapor barrier and finish the basement walls.
I crawled up under it over the weekend and the air wash inlet is on the left front. And like your saying, I ain't got a clue on how to attach an inlet to it.. Just trying to tighten up my house is the bigger reason for looking into this
An OAK on a basement stove would most likely be an illegal install, unless it is a walkout basement, and the OAK can get outside remaining at floor level. The problem with going up the wall to get above ground in a typical basement install is that the OAK can actually promote backdrafting (it can act as a short chimney) and put smoke/CO2 into the house.
There are a couple methods that are out there to get outside air to the stove area from above stove height...I've tried both and wasn't terribly impressed with either. One is often called the Saskatchewan loop...basically the air intake pipe comes down the wall and makes a loop at the floor so that the cold air just settles in the bottom of the loop (cold air trap) unless "pulled" out by the stove/chimney. The other is the same, only instead of a loop, the intake tube just terminates into an open top bucket sitting on the floor. It will give you "fresh air", but IME it does poorly at stopping any breeze/wind driven cold drafts. As soon as you connect an OAK directly to the stove, from above stove level, that's when potential problems could happen. (from my research on the subject over the years)
The vent will be on ground level next to the outside door, but like I've read, it'll be about a '14 run and with no way to directly hook up an OAK to my stove, I'm probably barking up the wrong tree. Thanks old bud!
I've had two stoves that get 100% of their combustion air through a single OAK stub on the back. Nice. My current Englander NC30 has a nice OAK stub that only feeds the primary air control through the airwash. There are three other air holes, two very hidden, that feed wide open full throttle air to the doghouse and secondary system that arguably are the major combustion air sources for a modern stove. Seems silly to connect a stove like this to outside air unless you already have it piped. In your case with no available connection I wouldn't bother. And I like OAKS!
