Outside Air ?

jremington wrote: ↑

Mon. Feb. 24, 2020 9:50 pm

That’s Direct Vent pipe.

. Yes it is, Direct Vent is a little noisy so to speak but it works good for my needs

So I guess the advantage of outside air would definitely be it's reduction of cold air drafts coming in from unwanted places in a drafty house. Someone who uses outside air I have a question about whether or not outdoor wind conditions have any effect on the stoves air intake by pushing and pulling as air currents outside change on a windy day. I always worried it would cause a problem vs the combined draftiness of a structure ie windows doors etc. because they sort of insulate that crazy windy day effect by their nature being only small drafts coming from many places. For example if you have a heavy gust from the West your windows and doors on that side of the house are going to get lots of drafts pushed inward suddenly pressurizing the interior there but on the other sides of the house that same outdoor gust of wind causes a temporary vacuum effect decreasing the draft into the house thereby settling things out a bit. With direct outside air coming in through a vent pipe a gust coming right at it or away from it could push or pull significantly on that one source opening. Has anyone who uses outside air direct to the stove noticed any sort of issues on a really gusty day?
Another concern I had would be if not preheated if it would affect clinkers.

I really do not have an opinion on this either way.

I have crawled in and out of WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY too many commercial boilers, and I have not seen one yet that did not have outside intake air, which is kind of understandable, they suck in a lot of air.

But every one also had preheaters for incoming air.

I am not sure what difference it makes on air density. A homeowner that is pulling in cold outside air is going to have a lot more of it under the grates then after it passes through the coal bed, but they will also have more of it available then a person who uses inside pre-heated air. But it still has to be heated to a given point to be useful.

I see no effect due to wind gusts, but my intake is in a basement window well sheltered from the wind.

Original poster here.
Lots of useful information.
The actual user experiences are invaluable, & I appreciate everyone taking the time to respond.
Part of my original question should have been. " why don't more manufacturers include an outside air kit or provision on their units?"
I originally thought it was because the coal stoves give off so much heat, that pulling air in through drafty areas doesn't matter.
I am now better understanding it is much more complicated than that.
Keep the information flowing!
Thank you.

NoSmoke wrote: ↑

Tue. Feb. 25, 2020 6:03 pm

I really do not have an opinion on this either way.

I have crawled in and out of WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY too many commercial boilers, and I have not seen one yet that did not have outside intake air, which is kind of understandable, they suck in a lot of air.

But every one also had preheaters for incoming air.

I am not sure what difference it makes on air density. A homeowner that is pulling in cold outside air is going to have a lot more of it under the grates then after it passes through the coal bed, but they will also have more of it available then a person who uses inside pre-heated air. But it still has to be heated to a given point to be useful.

Hey nosmoke. Are the boiler preheaters utilizing the boiler fire itself to preheat or are they heated by a different source of energy like electric or something. I never thought of the preheaters before but I guess that makes sense especially since air temp is part of fire chemistry and bad chemistry = clinkers. Are these mostly solid fuel boilers you have dealt with or all types?