Just watched a video on fresh air intake. This guy was saying if you dont have Fresh air intake your stove is pulling in cold air from all your drafty windows and doors. So, should i get one or not?
I think any appliance (woodstove, gas water heater, etc.) that puts combustion by-products out a chimney should have an intake to supply the combustion air. Otherwise he is right, the cold air will be pulled through walls, leaky doors, windows, etc. and probably will result in some colder rooms.
Is your stove heating the house well? Or does it struggle when its really cold? Does the house feel "cold and drafty"? If you are not having any of these problems, then it doesn't sound like you "need" one...that said...it won't hurt anything either. Ideally your stove has a OAK connection, but you can just have a OAK nearby the stove too. The only negative issue is that it can allow cold air in beyond what the stove is "using" when the wind is from the right (wrong) direction. If you have a tight house, then a OAK can be necessary sometimes to prevent smoke from being pulled from the stove/pipe when you run a kitchen/bath fan, or a clothes dryer.
Its post and beam, built out of 4 inch foam panels so its pretty solid except needs some new windows, there is some new windows and doors though. I always put plastic on the old windows. I havnt turned my oil heat on in 8 years so i guess im doing ok, when it was real cold constant single digits we felt the cold in the basement and far end bedroom. Will the stove burn better with it?
No, unless you have a brand new very tight house. It's just to keep the stove from creating a pressure differential with the outside your house. All modern furnaces have them also. If you live in a house older than mid 80s you leak plenty, although having one can help with drafts. I would to have cut through two layers of brick and external siding, so I didn't bother.
We've had OAK before and haven't had them. At present we do not have one. If the house seems too drafty or if the stove can't seem to get enough air, then I say you need one. Otherwise, you probably don't. In addition, letting some outside air enter the house is not all bad, contrary to some reports. After all, that is the air you breath.
Humidity. All that outside air getting sucked in will lower the humidity too. It usually has very little to do with stove performance and more to do with comfort. That’s why some people think it isn’t necessary. Don’t just use the leakiness of your house as the deciding factor as much as difficulty getting the connection made. It never hurts to have an oak but the benefit might not be worth the effort. It’s often required by law such as in my home.
One more thought.... connect directly to the appliance or don’t do it at all. I do not support just dumping air into the room or near the appliance. Might as well just open a window.
Meh, I dunno it makes a lot of difference, its not like the stoves intake air tract is "sealed" on most stoves...the OAK connection just puts the air in the general vicinity of the intake...your NC30 is that way too
The blaze king and my last stove, hearthstone heritage, did have fully sealed intakes so no leaks. 100% of combustion air comes from the oak connection. Even on the nc30 the oak connection is sealed to the primary intake for the firebox so you aren’t dumping outside air into the room. The nc30 has additional air inlets so you also take room air into the stove which is less than ideal. Some other stoves have an oak connection that just pukes outside air near an inlet which is silly. Some have no oak connection at all!
Yes. I have lived in a Timberframe air tight panel house, and in an uninsulated drafty house. In both cases the OAK solved problems. Don't forget, without it you are pulling in dry air leading to static/dry air conditions. My stove also seems happier with the differential between cold air entering and hot air exhausting. But, this is still a controversial issue for some.
