rberq wrote:Let's assume for a minute that we have a completely sealed stove system, where 100% of the combustion air comes from outside and is piped directly into the stove with no leakage to the house, and there is no baro to complicate things. In effect, the stove would then be no different (for infiltration purposes) from an electric heater. It would be providing heat but not affecting air infiltration at all. So my gut feeling is, using outside air for combustion will DECREASE house turnover and result in needing less heat, less coal.
Yes I agree... A "sealed to the stove" dedicated outside combustion air source would not allow extra air into the house and therefor not effect house air turnover. I'm leery of this.. Since the pressure outside the basement wall should be slightly positive as compared to the air the stove is in. You could have a situation where the stove goes positive pressure (forcing carbon monoxide into the room) if there is a manual damper being used (instead of a baro)..
Then there's the manual pipe damper vs. baro dilemma..
Oh joy... It all boils down to what you believe is of benefit. To me, the beneficial factors of using a baro outweigh any increase in air infiltration since only part of the air that the baro and combustion use is additional infiltration.
KingCoal wrote:the neutral plain runs right thru the vertical center of 4 of my worst fitting windows (so it's pushing air out the top of them and pulling it in the bottom, again about to be remedied )
Keep in mind that positive and negative pressure just a couple feet above or below the neutral pressure plane will be very subtle. But wind will have a huge effect pushing and pulling air thru leaky windows here.. Stack effect pressures will be greatest at the lowest point in the house (negative) and then at the highest point in the house (positive).. I like where you are going with this though. Its just as important to seal where air is getting out as it is where air is getting in..
hotblast1357 wrote:Alright well I'm ahead of that step then because I consider my house to be pretty air tight
Maybe it is tight. If it was too tight the chimney would have trouble drafting. This brings me back to what I mentioned earlier. I believe a dedicated air source is only beneficial in a poor drafting situation. Otherwise its contributing to turnover of the house air.. Like when its warm out (40's - 50's) I'll open my basement window so the neutral pressure plane will fall to the basement level giving the chimney more pulling power. During warm weather burns I'm not concerned with more house air turnover. Probably need to open a window on the first floor if it gets too warm anyways..