Wood Stoves

Rob30 · #1 12/15/05, 07:19 AM

I have a very good wood stove. I heat only with wood. It should heat 2 of my houses. However I have been told that if I take the air inlet and route it outside to draw fresh air, it would be more efficient. My house is an old small timber home that has been resided, and had some interior work many years ago. However it is still drafty. Older windows on the main floor, as well as a shallow crawlspace. Contribute to this. Half of the living room actually overhangs the crawlspace by about 5 feet. The livingroom is by far the coldest room. I can feel drafts coming from all over.
I am looking for the quickest solution to the drafts. Has anyone installed an exterior air inlet. Did it make much of a difference?
Also I am going to be installing some rock or brick work around the wood stove to increase the thermal mass. Any one seen a link to some nice designs?

stanb999 · #2 12/15/05, 07:28 AM

Well I always thought that it was bunk about the outside air intakes. But when I installed it on our new stove it worked very well. You know how if you sit on the floor in the room with the stove you can feel the air moving or some times the room is like 80 but your feet are still cold. When I attached the outside air to the stove all that went away. I really don't think I'm using less wood tho. But it may be more comfortable.

Richard6br · #3 12/15/05, 09:16 AM

The outside air is a good idea. I used to have a mobile home with forced air oil heat. If I'm not mistaken, it used outside air for the oil burner. I am not sure about the size of intake you would need. How far will you need to go to access the outside air ? I was looking at a Harman wood burner. It had the outside air as an option. The instructions gave the size of pipe for the outside air depending on how far you needed to go to access it.

Ole Man Legrand · #4 12/15/05, 09:38 AM

In the 1950s we cured tobacco with oil burners. All of the oil burners had air piped in from outside the barn.

homebirtha · #5 12/15/05, 10:08 AM

I've never heard of this before. How would you do it? We have such cold floors, despite having it toasty warm in the house.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob30

I have been told that if I take the air inlet and route it outside to draw fresh air, it would be more efficient. My house is an old small

bgak47 · #6 12/15/05, 11:03 AM

Get some caulk & stop up those leaks.Insulation!

**fordson major** · #7 12/15/05, 11:44 AM

we have a fresh air vent for our wood stove and our furnace. however the house must be sealed or the air will still be drawn in through cracks. can be a long drawn out battle to keep the cold at bay.

Rob30 · #8 12/15/05, 12:02 PM

Well I just finished the instalation of a resh air intake. Just have to calk the seams after lunch. No noticeable difference though. I guess I will have to wait until tonight to see if my wife still needs a blanket on the couch. I can still feel lots of draft in some areas. I don't understand how it can be so drafty. I have siding ontop of styrofoam ontop of timber. On the inside it has been framed with 2x4s and insulated. No vapour barior though.
Any ideas on how to insulate windows without putting plastic over them. My wife stays at home and does not want me to plastic the windows. She says she gets 'cabin fever' when she can't see out. I have 3-4 old windows that the wind blows right through.

WisJim · #9 12/15/05, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob30

Any ideas on how to insulate windows without putting plastic over them. My wife stays at home and does not want me to plastic the windows. She says she gets 'cabin fever' when she can't see out. I have 3-4 old windows that the wind blows right through.

The plastic that installs on the inside with double-sided sticky tape, and then is shrunk to make it tight with a hair dryer, is usually clear enough to be noticable only because of reflections off the plastic. It shouldn't make looking out the window a problem. I think 3M is one of the main brands.

Silvercreek Farmer · #10 12/15/05, 12:39 PM

You are probably getting thermosiphoning, the hot air goes up and out the cracks at the top and cold air comes in the ones at the bottom. Your intake should help some, but you really need to seal eveything. You notice this air flow when you have a light fixure apart, all the dust in there is because air has been flowing out into your attic. A great place to start sealing is all the pipe and electical entries, and I mean under every room, not just where they come in the house, it sucks crawling under the house to do this, but it can make a huge difference with the drafts. Also good to do before insulating. Try the 3m plastic window kits for the windows, it is almost invisable if you do it right. I always thought I would put in an intake, but now I kind of like the idea of getting a LITTLE fresh air through the various cracks in my house. Astonishingly enough, our fire place has an intake, never noticed much difference with it open, but now I never use the fire place with the woodstove in.

Cyngbaeld · #11 12/15/05, 12:52 PM

When I used a woodstove in colorado i found it made quite a difference just cracking a window next to the stove. The stove didn't suck so much air from every nook and cranny in the house anymore.

justmyluk · #12 12/15/05, 01:06 PM

To find those drafts, just light a candle and slowly move it around your window. If the draft is bad enough the flame will fliker in the breeze. If the candle blows out you have a major air leak. Go to lowes or Home depot or Wally World and buy the widest clear plastic tape you can find and seal the major leaks and any minor ones you find. Also hold the candle around any wall outlets because this can also be a source for cold drafts. If you find the candle flame moving alot, just tape around the outside edge of the outlet. Then this spring when you take the tape off you can fix each leak in a more permanat manor (Caulk, Caulk, and more caulk)