outside combustion air update

since installing the outside combustion air intake a while ago on the magnum i no longer hear anything falling off the grate into the ash bin, but the fine ash is collecting more on the sides of the ash bin on the bottom of the stove than before.

the ash is much finer (powdery), and there seems to be less off it. as i said before in an earlier post, the outside flex leading to the combustion blower is very cold but no condensation on the flex has yet been found, and the temps have been in the teens for a couple of weeks at night.

sorry it took so long to post this.

tom

This looks interesting. Could you explain what's happening here and is this setup available for an Alaska stove with a direct vent?


Thanks

Is the end of the flex hose just pointing at the intake on the fan or is it attached somehow? If it's attached, please tell me how you did it? I've been thinking of doing that for 2 years. Looks like a great idea!

I put one on my Alaska stove but it doesn't have the direct vent. I believe Alaska makes a kit but its pretty simple to figure out how to hook one up on your own - that's what I did.

if you go to this earlier post last month it contains more information and pictures on page 2 of the post.

outside combustion air

yes the flex pipe is directly connected to the blower with a pvc adapter. all parts were bought at lowes. home depot didn't have the flex pipe.

the addition of outside air for the blower made an appreciable difference.

tom

When I first saw the stup the Harman control box threw me off. It looks like you took a vent pipe and connected it to the combustion blower. I could easily do that but I also have a Barometric damper so would that also have to get outside air or would that continue to draw from the room? Also, does taking cold air from outside cool the stove down appreciably?

Baro does not use outside air & outside combustion air does not noticeably cool stove.

as 'spc' correctly stated the barometric damper has nothing to do with this installation - it always uses indoor air or it's installation would be pointless.

as i stated in the previous post i was no longer drawing in outside air from underneath the door leading to my garage (the draft under the door stopped) and the temp on both levels of my house went up 1 degree for a cost of 15 bucks.

my pvc pipe leading outside for the supply air was already there though (for my previous propane furnace), so drilling a hole with a core drill or whatever you decide to do may take you to a nice weekend project and get you away from the 'old lady' and an enjoyable weekend (yeah man).

let me know of your progress sir!

tom

I tried an informal test. I opened a window near the stove and then put my hand over my front door which is drafty. Then I had my daughter close the window. I didn't feel less air or the velocity of the air coming into the house lessen but this is an informal test so.....................Another interesting test I did was to use a candle to see the airflow on my stairwell. When I lowered the candle, on the stairs, the return cold air almost put the candle out. When I lifted the candle the flame was being pulled slightly up the stairs. So I guess the air is circulating. What I found interesting is that when I turn my ceiling fan on at the top of the stairwell it actually created a door and doesn't allow the air to circulate properly. The the temp on the 2nd floor actually went down by 2 degrees. I also tried the fan pushing the air down the stairwell but leaving it off seemed to garner me the highest temps on the 2nd floor.