permaculture

[Robyn Francis <erda@nor.com.au>]

On 1/3/06 9:46 AM, "Laurence Gaffney" <lgaffney@bigpond.com> wrote:

> Does anyone have any advice/opinions on a proposal to reticulate air from
> outside a house to the air intake of a wood fired stove to prevent 
> extraction
> of inside air.
> Can/Does this work? How do we know so?
> What are the Advantages &/or /Disadvantages?
> Any Specific Design advice?

I have a dual-purpose system in the main room of my earthbrick training
centre. It acts as a natural air conditioning system in summer and in winter
provides external air for a wood heater.

I laid a 20m length of 20cm (8") diameter pvc pipe 60cm below ground level
(goes under the foundations) with an elbow under the floor where the pipe
ends with an open grate in the floor.

In summer the pipe delivers cool air to replace hot air escaping from
clerestory windows. I designed the system primarily for cooling, however a
few years later I installed a wood heater for chilly winter evenings and
located it right next to one of the vent grates - it works well, reduces
drafting and we don't fall asleep from O2 deprivation when the fire is
burning. 
 BTW we haven't experienced any unpleasant drafting or cool air coming from
the pipes in winter when the fire's not going.

I've seen dedicated pipes for stoves and fireplaces elsewhere and of course
the pipe diameter is much smaller, usually around 35-45mm (1 1/2 inches).

Ciao
Robyn


-- 
New pathways to sustainability... education & design services
Djanbung Gardens Permaculture Education
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Contact: Robyn Francis
PH 02-6689 1755 
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robyn@permaculture.com.au