Fresh Air Make-up

[Qweaver]

Our cabin is pretty airtight and I worry about oxygen depletion when we burn the pellet stove...especially since I just had heart surgery, then pneumonia and my lungs are still a little weak.  I hate to just hook a 2" duct through the wall with no way to easily shut it off when the stove is not working.  Is there a valve/damper that can be easily wired to the stove that will open only when the stove is on? 
Quinton

[Jasperfield]

I installed two, two inch air inlets into the base of the splayed sidewalls of my Rumford fireplace when I built it fours years ago. They each have sliding gate closures that are almost airtight.

Since then I have determined that neither of the outside air inlets is really necessary. When either of them is opened more than a 1/4" crack, the fireplace becomes a forge. The heat output increase is substantial. The chimney is 34' high and sucks air like a turbine.

If I were you, I'd use a small diameter intake (if I used one at all) with a gate. You will probably find that the outside air intake is not necessary other than when lighting the stove with the chimney stack full of cold air.

[Qweaver]

This is a pellet stove and the fresh air make-up will not increase the air flow through the burn chamber.  It will just allow the stove to get it's air from outside the house.  We had a couple times last winter when it was obvious that we were getting short on fresh air.

[Jasperfield]

Withstanding my previous post; If you used the outside air source and exhaust through the wall, without a tall flue, I would think that the outside air flow would almost stop when the stove wasn't burning, which would be fine. And, since the majority of the combustion air would be coming from outside, your ambient interior air would be virtually undisturbed.

Even in consideration of this, it's worth mentioning that whatever volume of air leaves the house, via the flue or otherwise, is replaced by new air coming into the house from somewhere. In other words: air in equals air out. The air leaving the house will not leave without new air simultaneously replacing that air that has just left.

Oxygen depletion, due to combustion, will not occur outside the confines of the combustion chamber and flue. However, the house may be so "tight' as to prevent fresh oxygen-laden air from entering.

I would install the outside air tube without any sort of limiting device or valve. Just let the stove itself regulate the demand.

[beenthere]

........... Is there a valve/damper that can be easily wired to the stove that will open only when the stove is on?  
Quinton

My wood boiler has a damper that has a small motor that opens when supplied a voltage, and closes if no voltage is supplied (i.e. if the power goes off then the damper automatically closes). If the water temp is below the set point, the damper is pulled open.
So yes, there is a valve/damper that could be used to be open when outside air is wanted. Just would need to design the control and damper (I don't know of one on the market that can be purchased to do what you want).

McMaster Carr has one similar to what I'm talking about.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#damper-actuators/=ew9vip

[Knute]

We just open the patio door a crack for a little fresh air. Seems to work very well.

[submarinesailor]

Quinton,

If your house is truly tight, I would like to recommend you look at a heat-recovery ventilator (HRV) or an energy-recovery ventilator (ERV).  Check out this link:  http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/hrv-or-erv.  Basically they work by transferring the energy for the outgoing air, heating or cooling, to the incoming air so you do not have a huge energy lose.  They have become very energy efficient in the past 10-15 years.  As you well know, indoor air quality is a big problem on tight or energy efficient houses.  I recommend you look at installation one.

Some of them are real simple and others can be much more complicated.  The simple ones are just a one to one air transfer setup where the incoming air is temper be the outgoing air.  The on complicated systems can even transfer some of the outgoing moisture to the incoming air.  And if wanted you can set them up so they exhaust for places like the kitchen or bathrooms.

Bruce

[Al_Smith]

This might be of interest to history buffs .The original Franklin stove brain storm of good old Ben Franklin had an outside air source as it's original plan .

Now why considering the houses of the time period remains a good subject of debate because most likely they passed air like a  seive does water .

Old Ben was quite a thinker though .I mean he was smart enough to know what would happen in a lightning storm flying a kite so he conned his assistant to do it his stead who forever after went by the nickname of sparky .

The old boy also observed and noted surely the Gods must  like us because they gave us beer .--And so it went still chasing skirts at passed 80 years of age gout and all .At his passing there was no need to embalm as he had been pickled for the last 60 years already .It did however take three undertakers 2 days to wipe the smile off his face .