Carbon Monoxide

From what I understand you can actually plumb cold air into a box in the basement. The pipe come from the "band board" or rim joist and drops to the foor where you can add a box where the cold air will not escape unless there is draw. Do a search for combustion air, there are many links that discuss makeup air as well as solutions. I leave a basement window open about 1 inch until I can come up with a permanent solution

Alright. Thanks guys!

I've been browsing for the forum for combuston air topics. But I have one question. My water heater is in one part of my basement and my coal stove is in another. Do I want my air intake pipe to terminate next to the water heater or next to the coal stove?

If the problem is as you suspect the water heater pulling CO from the baro, then I would put an opening near the water heater equal to its smoke pipe, and your 2 inch pipe for the stove.

Since you have not been able to duplicate the problem it might be best to cover both bases.

I did some testing today. Running the clothes dryer reduces my flue draft about .05 inches of wc. My water heater reduces my draft about .02-.03 inches of wc. My bathroom fans in the neighborhood of .01 - .02 when both are running. With all the windows closed I was easily able to create a negative draft situation where I could feel air being drawn out of my chimney into my house through the baro.

I uncapped a 1 1/2 inch pvc pipe that was already runing through the band board. This just about equalizes the effect of the water heating running, but that's all it will cover. I guess I'll just leave a window open for now.

Thanks for the advise!

Wow, I never thought a house could be that air tight!

Lightning wrote:Wow, I never thought a house could be that air tight!

New construction homes here are that tight. Too tight if you ask me. Unhealthy air too tight. A house needs to breathe alittle. They seal every little opening as the home is being built. The holes the electrcian drills to pass wires through sills, walls etc all get a shot of expanding foam.

My house is 60 years old and even with efforts to make it more sealed, it still has lots of opportunities to breathe. I have a 4" pvc pipe through the band joist in the room with my boiler to bring in combustion air. Your home doesn't like a vacuum. If you are exhausting air outside, it's got to made up somehow. Better to manage it by purposely bringing it in where you need it rather than through every bath and kitchen fan, around windows and doors, etc.

Your right about new construction being tight. All the penetrations into my house are foamed, rim joists are all encaplulated in spray foam, all the window and door frames are sealed with foam, even the gap between the sill plate and foundation was filled with spray foam insulation.

Just noticed the new posts in this thread, so hopefully your problem has been resolved by now. The solution were used for a friend's house, and also a safety I installed in my house was a drier vent installed backwards in the wall close to the stove. That way if negative pressure develops in the basement there is a way for air to be drawn in to correct it.

In a very airtight house air exchanges are usually controlled with a mechanical device, an air exchanger/heat recuparator. If well installed, the inside the house pressure can be just a little more positive, so it compesates for the oxigen needed for the appliances and avoid to pull cold air from everywhere in the house shell.
So you get a better inside air quality, and even can stop/reduce the radon infiltrations in the house.