Who here has one hooked up? Seriously considering one for the new stove to knock down some of the cold coming in this house. My search-foo failed.
Yes, fixed most of the leaks also, most were in the sill plate in the basement. Stove is in the basement. House is only 10 years old, and a modular, which I am told tend to be pretty "tight". I had an energy audit after all the sealing in the basement, I don't remember the numbers, but the guy said it was very tight and I might want to consider a heat recovery ventilator. That is when I decided to install the OAK. Stove operation with the OAK is much more predictable and controllable.
I've had them and not had them. It's been a long time though since I've had one. Don't recall many problems.
I have an OAK on every wood burning appliance. (pellet as well) I won't be without either. Without OAK You can pull cold air in from all the cracks and leaks of your house (making the far ends colder) and use warm air you already heated for the combustion of wood.. With OAK Pull air in from outside and put it back outside. . Allowing the heated air to be pushed further back into your home (where cold air would be infiltrating if you didnt have one). Materials can be very cheap. You may just need the 3" flex vent. I used some 3" rigid till I got down to stove level. With a pellet stove exhaust blower going at 80 CFM and a wood stove somewhere around 25 CFM, , that's over 100 Cubic feet of air per minute I would be drawing in from all the leaky points (bedroom windows, door, electrical outlets, etc). Even 25 CFM is to much.
Just what I thought Dex. I feel cool air throughout the house going toward the stove. It will take a looooong time for me to get every last crack sealed, so an OAK seemed to be a good option.
"exhaust blower going at 80 CFM and a wood stove somewhere around 25 CFM" I was a bit confused for a minute too, until I re-read this.
For every cubic foot of air you take "Out" of your house (out the flue). That air must be replaced. Plain and simple.
But the blower isn't taking out the air it is moving the existing air around. Much like a desk fan or a ceiling fan.
Wrong blower. I'm talking about the exhaust blower and the flue on a wood stove. The exhaust blower send 80 CFM of air out the Exhaust/Flue. The wood stove send 25-30 CFM of air out the Flue Nothing to do with convection/room air blowers. And once again, for every Cubic foot of air you remove (AKA Sending OUT the flue/exhaust) you must replace it (with cold air elsewhere) Makes sense?
I wonder if I would notice a difference with OAKs. For two of the stoves it would be a bear to do since I need to go through stone walls to make it happen. That's not very high up on my to do list at this point. Some day, maybe.
Makes perfect sense. Without an OAK you are counting that the house is drafty too. If its well sealed the stove won't draft well or may even backdraft if you have a bath fan, dryer, etc going.
