Adding humidity to your wood heated home

[Don P]

Having an outside air kit on the stove can help depending on the house. If you are using indoor air for combustion it is being made up by drafts from outdoors, which is low humidity when it warms up. Pulling your combustion air through a duct directly from outdoors to the stove helps with depressurizing the house. I need new windows and doors and a general tightening up before that would be the critical issue. 

[samandothers]

I have an outside air adapter on the upstairs stove that works fine.  The one in the basement is an issue to get it to draw.  I had to disconnect it.  The basement stove draws better without the outside air adapter.  I am not sure the issue.  It feeds under the concrete floor then rises on to exit an outside wall about 12" or so up.  There may be several elbows under the concrete.  I have ran a vacuum hose in it about 8 feet or so.  

[Don P]

It sounds like too much developed length on the intake pipe. There is enough resistance the natural draft cannot easily overcome it. It's basically shutting down the intake. If there isn't a more direct path the "solution" I've seen for making it sealed combustion is mechanical forced draft, less than ideal.

[farmfromkansas]

When I built this house 40 years ago, built my own door frames, and used Maclinburg duncan thresholds.  The rubber strips are worn out from my wife walking on them, and now can't seem to buy those rubber strips.  So my outside air for the wood stove comes from under the doors.

[Don P]

The stinkbugs are telling me there are plenty of ways in  .
MD is still around, I'd bet the millwork desk at Lowes or similar has a catalog you can pick and order from.

[KEC]

I sometimes put a pot of water on top of the woodstove. I have a large basement and the stove is down there. During the heating season I oftentimes bring in some wet wood and let it dry inside. Let's me get rid of wood that I don't want to carry over to next year. I might acquire some wood in the winter and bring it straight  inside to dry. Less work than stacking it outside and having to move it again. And it adds moisture to the air.

[doc henderson]

not running the fan when showering or letting tub water sit till it is cool helps with humidity and reclaims some of the heat.  we use a few ultrasonic "cool mist" humidifiers.  the other wick type also will get contaminated with mold and bacteria after a few weeks, like the old vaporizers.  we have a cast iron pot on top of the woodstove, in the shape of a cabin.  the steam comes out of the chimney.  we add a little Christmas smelly stuff to the water to make the house smell good.

[samandothers]

The stinkbugs are telling me there are plenty of ways in  .
MD is still around, I'd bet the millwork desk at Lowes or similar has a catalog you can pick and order from.

It sounds like too much developed length on the intake pipe. There is enough resistance the natural draft cannot easily overcome it. It's basically shutting down the intake. If there isn't a more direct path the "solution" I've seen for making it sealed combustion is mechanical forced draft, less than ideal.

I think I posted in another thread a link to a biologist who did a video on stink bugs and ways to get rid of them without insecticides.  It was pretty interesting, and he also mentioned once one finds a good hang out they release fermions to advertise the party location.


Thanks Don,
It is probably too long and or too many bends.  I had thought about forced air.  I would need to figure a method to install a fan and control it.  Not much pipe available behind the stove and it gets pretty warm back there.  There is a short section of PVC above the floor before it exits the house.  Since it is pulling air from within the house, I may let it suck for now.

[Don P]

If you can go straight up and out the band joist you may be able to use a rectangular duct to bring in fresh air. The force of natural draft is very variable as well. When there is a lot of temperature difference indoors to out and a hotter fire going, the draft will be much stronger and can pull past that static pressure vs when it is heating with a lazy fire against a low temperature differential that doesn't produce much natural draft. A taller stack if warm also produces more draft.

I watched the video, interesting. We have a group here, BRDC, that does similar videos and educational events. One caution on "natural", that doesn't necessarily mean safe. Michelle was making soap the other week and had some leftover essential oil. Having already poured it out she didn't want to contaminate the reagent so poured the leftover in a plastic bottle. she created essential oil plastic slime, it ate the plastic. Gasoline or acetone wouldn't have eaten it like that, powerful stuff! She used the chop saw one time to make bars out of a pan of soap... and didn't tell me! The next time I used the saw my eyes were burning, I couldn't figure out what was going on 

[samandothers]

If you can go straight up and out the band joist you may be able to use a rectangular duct to bring in fresh air. The force of natural draft is very variable as well. When there is a lot of temperature difference indoors to out and a hotter fire going, the draft will be much stronger and can pull past that static pressure vs when it is heating with a lazy fire against a low temperature differential that doesn't produce much natural draft. A taller stack if warm also produces more draft.

I appreciate the feedback.  I'll need to measure the length of what I have now and what a run up and over would be.  I feel it would be similar in length but may have less bends over head.  The stove vendor warned about going up from the stove versus running as level as possible. 

[SwampDonkey]

I've been using the Aircare H12600 whole home humidifier for 4 years, takes the superwick 1045 and I use the Biostat solution. I'm treating air in a 2000 sq ft house with 9 ft ceilings. I get the wicks and solution online, but not Amazon (too many scabbers over there). I keep my house around 40%, a safe range is 30-50% RH. I find below 40% is dry for me, and 50% is too much moisture for this modern house in severe cold. If I had no humidifier it would be 15% RH here and bloody nose all winter. I find the wicks last about 6 weeks, nowhere near the life they claim. But it does the job and $32 every 6 weeks is pretty cheap for good health. I probably fill the water jug twice a day when fire is running all day. 2-1/2 gallon jug. I'm not saying it is the best solution, I have no idea what is. But it suits me fine.

No static here and none in the bed sheets, zero. Bed coverings are all natural fibers, wool and cotton, even mattress cover.

[Don P]

The house is healthier on the dry side of what you can tolerate. Moisture piggybacks on heat and heat flows from hot to cold. The less moisture driven through the building and insulation the less condensing is going on somewhere in there.

The R value of insulation is tested with no moisture, try to be dry.

[samandothers]

The wood floor put down in June-ish time period is on the move!  It is 32 % humidity in our house. The room with the stove has a 13 - 14' center ridge so some heat rises. With the wood stoves going the floor, particularly near the stove, has developed some gaps.  Not terrible but for someone looking for it it is noticeable.   I think it would be more comfortable with the humidity a bit higher, but I understand the need to not moisten too much.

[SwampDonkey]

The wood floor here moves more around the heat vents in the floor, direct heat blowing on it.

Yes, don't want RH too high, it goes into the attic space. No matter how well vented and sealed. Won't keep it off the windows, even if it's just 30 % if the temp drops below 0F, a line of condensation will form. At 15% it won't, but that it too dry to live in.

[kelLOGg]

  the other wick type also will get contaminated with mold and bacteria after a few weeks, like the old vaporizers.  

Good point. We have a water softener for our well water so as the water flows over the humidifier wick and evaporates it leaves a heavy encrustation of salt. We have not noticed any effects of such bacteria/mold so maybe the salt or salt water discourages its growth.??

[doc henderson]

a bit of bleach may help like 5 drops every week or so.  the studies looked at the vaporizers that used to go in hospital rooms and a culture swab was done after a week and they all grew all sorts of bacteria and fungi.  it was not shown that harm was caused but basically this water is spewed into the air for respiratory/COPD patients to breath.  A humidifier is more evaporative and prob. leaves much behind, but it is in the tub.  especially if we just keep adding more water to the stuff left over.  we use the ultrasonic, so there is a drip of water from a tank into a small chamber with a piezoelectric transducer.  it can easily be cleaned.  that which does not kill us, makes us stronger.

[farmfromkansas]

About the thresholds, Menards and Lowes don't stock the right rubber strips.  Searched online and can't find them.  Maybe I should ask at the stores if they can get them for older thresholds.  Was thinking about making some wood thresholds, and then attaching a rubber strip to the doors for the seal.

[Don P]

  that which does not kill us, makes us stronger.

Or it's just taking its time 

[SwampDonkey]

About the thresholds, Menards and Lowes don't stock the right rubber strips.  Searched online and can't find them.  Maybe I should ask at the stores if they can get them for older thresholds.  Was thinking about making some wood thresholds, and then attaching a rubber strip to the doors for the seal.

Is the company online? I have an Anderson storm door that is 4 years old. The rubber sweeps under it wore. I think because of swelled wood it got a little tight on one corner. I got them direct from Anderson, free shipping, and they came from the USA. For me, anything crossing that line costs big money, they obviously get subsidies to ship that an individual would never see. No complaints on service, shipping or product. Maybe that's why we have to pay $50 for a $20 item, $47 goes into the subsidy pot.

[B.C.C. Lapp]

My wife also hangs laundry on wooden drying racks.
Some might think us backwards but it seems a good direction to go.

We do that as well. If it works it is not backwards at all.   Mrs. Lapp hangs the laundry in the basement in winter and outside in summer.   
Drying laundry keeps the house from drying out to much.   Simple is good.