permaculture

[Scott Pittman <pci@permaculture-inst.org>]

At 07:14 PM 11/21/02 -0500, you wrote:

> > > You may also want to make some provision to vent combustion air near the 
> > > stove in order not to create negative pressure in the whole house with 
> > > the stove's demand for air.
> >
> > This is misleading. As well as inaccurate--drafting isn't a simple matter 
> > of "venting combustion air near the stove" (what does that mean?).
>
> What I mean is that the stove will draw air from the house and vent it up 
> the chimney.  There is some advantage IMO to supplying this air from the 
> outdoors close to the stove, rather than drawing it from the house as a whole.
I have always brought combustion air in from the outside in an under floor 
pipe to the front of the wood stove or fireplace.  The reason was that 
rather than using warmed indoor air for combustion I was using outdoor air, 
and thereby saving energy.  Without this you have to crack open windows or 
cold air is sucked in around doors, electrical outlet boxes, and windows to 
provide combustion air.  This is where those famous "drafts" come from.  My 
great grandmother could feel a "draft" from a door six rooms away from 
where she was sitting.

Scott