Does OAK Make Stove Run Colder?

[krooser]

Using an OAK is more than just about the pellet stove.

You could very well deplete the oxygen in your house if using a gas stove, gas dryer, maybe a gas water heater and a pellet stove at the same time... some folks even continue to use their furnace while the pellet stove is in use. Figure all the combustion air used by these appliances, which COULD be operating at the same time in a "tight" home using INSIDE air, and you can see it's more than just about the pellet stove... it's about the safety of your family.

This scenario may not play out very often, if at all, in your house but it's something to consider....

 

[jtakeman]

Using an OAK is more than just about the pellet stove.

You could very well deplete the oxygen in your house if using a gas stove, gas dryer, maybe a gas water heater and a pellet stove at the same time... some folks even continue to use their furnace while the pellet stove is in use. Figure all the combustion air used by these appliances, which COULD be operating at the same time in a "tight" home using INSIDE air, and you can see it's more than just about the pellet stove... it's about the safety of your family.

This scenario may not play out very often, if at all, in your house but it's something to consider....

You will not get an argument out of me! I totally agree. I would prefer the same OAK you have that warms the incoming air with the exhaust heat. But I see no issues except mine sweats in the cold weather.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Back to the brews, what you need with that porter is a nice platter of sausage, in fact put some red potatoes, sauerkraut, a bread roll and a few different mustards and you'll have one of Smokey's favorite meals. Only problem is to get it all done right (In fact the only place you can get Pleasant Mountain Porter) is in Naples, Maine.

Something else that is good is some BBQ pork or brisket done using some of the other fine beverages brewed at the same establishment.

HSA you might find in CT, I don't know, as I've never gone looking for brews in CT.

There's also Tuckerman's in New Hampshire.

Now don't get me wrong Jay as I happen to like a few of the Sam Adams brews, my favorite one is their summer ale. I tend to gravitate towards a more heaver hoped brew, I like something that doesn't taste like watered down skunk pee (domestic mass market brews).

 

[becasunshine]

Hey, we don't mind if you hijack the thread to talk about beer! We home brew; are there any other home brewers in the house?

We have a gas furnace and a gas hot water heater but we try *not* to use the furnace unless it is gawd awful cold and the pellet stove needs a little help. We have replacement windows but I don't think this house is that tight. It's a brick house, literally- the real deal, not brick veneer. Most of the walls are plaster. We were told by our home inspector that we have mass as opposed to exterior wall insulation. We have an old school crawl space that is not sealed, and we have a down-draft HVAC system. The return is high in the wall, the air handler pushes returned air down through the furnace, then the heated air goes through duct work in the crawl space and comes out of registers in the baseboards.

I would love to replace the registers, because these do not close. Besides not being able to close off the spare room, I can feel the cold from the ductwork under the house when I stand next to the register. Replacing the registers would be a huge project, however, because the house is 50 years old and we can't find registers in the same size. Replacing them would mean replacing the surrounding baseboard and quarter round at least, perhaps even doing something to adjust the ductwork opening in the floor/wall at worst. Ugh. We've done a bit of renovating in the house (obviously) but I'm not sure I'm up for that project.

You're right, let's talk about beer.

Husband has, wait, an Amber, an IPA, and a Scottish Wee Heavy in the bottles and a Porter in the carboy. He has a California Common and another IPA waiting in the wings to go in primary fermentation.

Or we can talk about wine. I make wine. Or cider. We can talk about cider. I make cider.

Or we can talk about banana bread. It's done! Anyone want a slice of banana bread?

Or we can talk about OAKs.

Y'all choose.

 

[imacman]

.....but if ya ever see it try Yuengling beer, i'm sure some of the NEW YORK boys have had it, i have to go past danbury to th NY line and get it

Great beer, and the oldest brewery in the U.S.A. Yep, we got all ye want in NY.


BTW, notice that I haven't said a word about this OAK thread.....VERY tired of talking about it, and won't.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I'll pass on the good stuff (banana bread) becasunshine, as I just finished a big piece of mince and apple pie.

I've thought about doing a bit of home brew, just never got around to it. Not enough time with all of the other things.

I'm a big fan of pickles, jams, and relishes. In fact I made a big batch of my grandmother's pioneer pickles this year after finally finding a recipe to follow and one of the ingredients which I lucked upon. I had her ingredient list but there was no instructions on how it went together. I discovered the recipe in an old publication that Google had digitized. It all hinges on the brining solutions and timings.

I put up several hundred jars of good things this past fall. Been doing it for decades.

Would have done more but the tomatoes got hit with late blight.

You understand that OAKs grow in the woods and make fine floors, plywood, pellets, fire logs, and causes heated debate on this web site.

Now I don't want to get involved in a debate but I also won't burn a wood fired appliance that operates on negative pressure and has the potential to dump smoke into the house if the power is removed without an outside air kit installed. For me it is a matter of not needing any possible allergy or asthma attack triggers, let alone a pile up and burn back situation.

As the 90 degree or so possible difference in temperature inside the combustion chamber which is at a temperature many times that difference compared to sucking that same cold air into the house while at the same time sucking already heated air outside is a moot point in my mind. Air infiltration and that is what you really are making worse by not having the oak is likely the largest single heat loss you have at your house. Don't take my word for it, find a heat loss calculator and run the numbers.

There I think I've taken a shot at most of the discussion points you raised.

 

[ChandlerR]

Yuengling? Someone talking about my favorite beer? We go to PA every fall and I bring back a few cases. I love giving it to my friends who invariably look at me and ask where I got the beer. It is the best!

Jay, if you're going to do a study on the effects of OAK vs no OAK, let's talk about it. I have a few ideas on how to do it...

By the way..outside temps are at 20 degrees, I'm burning my Lignetics, the thermostat is calling and I have 257 degree discharge air. Tomorrow, we burn the Cubex.

Chan

 

[pellet burner]

OK I would never normally even jump into a thread like this but listen. I have a oil fired boiler in an 8 year old (very tight) 1800 sq foot cape with a quad AE and an OAK. I have a gas fired dryer 15 feet from my boiler and it sucks in every bit of lint and dust in the basement to the point of clogging the air intake for the burner. I can assure you that any appliance that burns fossil fuels uses a huge amount of air. My brother is a licensed propane and oil burner master tech. He asks why then all Monitor and/or Rannai heaters require outside air if they are to be installed in a residential setting? Because it is more efficient for combustion of the heater and contributes to healthier air for the occupants. A simple bathroom fan moves 150 cfm out of your house. Think about the pellet stove, the bathroom fan, the boiler/water heater, the gas dryer and the stove top hood all requiring air from inside your house at the same time! Where does it come from? Enough said !

 

[imacman]

.....if you're going to do a study on the effects of OAK vs no OAK, let's talk about it.

To heck with the OAK study....lets do a Yeungling vs no-Yeungling study instead! :cheese:

 

[HEMI]

.....if you're going to do a study on the effects of OAK vs no OAK, let's talk about it.

To heck with the OAK study....lets do a Yeungling vs no-Yeungling study instead! :cheese:

its even better on tap.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

.....if you're going to do a study on the effects of OAK vs no OAK, let's talk about it.

To heck with the OAK study....lets do a Yeungling vs no-Yeungling study instead! :cheese:

its even better on tap.

No, no, no .... beer is always better en-route to tummy.

 

[ChandlerR]

.....if you're going to do a study on the effects of OAK vs no OAK, let's talk about it.

To heck with the OAK study....lets do a Yeungling vs no-Yeungling study instead! :cheese:

its even better on tap.

Oh come on! You're killing me...Now my mouth is watering and I'm thinking how long it would take me to drive to PA and find a bar

Chan

 

[imacman]

Oh come on! You're killing me...Now my mouth is watering and I'm thinking how long it would take me to drive to PA and find a bar

Chan

Sorry Chan, no such worries....I just have to drive about 10 minutes, to either the store, or a pub that has it on tap. Yum

 

[Czech]

I just disconnected the oak, laying here with a cold Summit IPA, breathing the -10 air coming in with my feet on the front of the stove while corn is burning. If I can locate a calculator in the next few hours, I'll do some tests, wife will be more mad, but what the heck. Where did I put that IR thermom again, anyone seen that? Jeez, off to the garage again where the beer frig is again to look for that. Again, and again. I'll keep you guys posted on the results.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I just disconnected the oak, laying here with a cold Summit IPA, breathing the -10 air coming in with my feet on the front of the stove while corn is burning. If I can locate a calculator in the next few hours, I'll do some tests, wife will be more mad, but what the heck. Where did I put that IR thermom again, anyone seen that? Jeez, off to the garage again where the beer frig is again to look for that. Again, and again. I'll keep you guys posted on the results.

Will the results be singing how dry I am around midnight or so?

 

[ChandlerR]

Mac, well I'm driking one right now so it's not THAT bad Maybe that's the key. Testing while drinking beer. Get the results early...they may not be that accurate later

 

[Xena]

I'm in....on the beer talk that is.
Proud supporter of the Bring Yeungling to New England group on FB!

 

[EKLawton]

drive down here to the brewry and take a tour :bug:

 

[becasunshine]

WOOT, Smokey, another favorite topic of mine, home canning! In fact I'd just settled down on the couch with the (newish) Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving- the big sister to the Blue Book. It has over 400 recipes! It's a little light on the pressure canning recipes but it has a TON of relishes, jams, jellies, pickles, and condiments of every type. I have a little list goin' on of things I want to try. There's a ginger garlic mustard and an Octoberfest beer mustard that I'd like to try, and a Thai dipping sauce, and a raspberry chocolate sauce, and several fruit ketchups on and on and on.

Just so happens that I canned the Boston Baked Beans from the Ball Blue Book last week. I feel that it's relevant to mention this since there are so many New England people on the forum. I should mention here that NOBODY MAKES BOSTON BAKED BEANS LIKE A SOUTHERN GIRL MAKES BOSTON BAKED BEANS. YEAH, I'M LOOKIN' AT YOU, BOSTON!

As you can tell, we have no problem with threads we start heading off in any direction. Bless you one and all and bring on your ideas and topics. As long as I'm learning something I'm happy. I try to stick to the topic in threads that other people start out of respect because everyone has different opinions about threads and staying on topic. Some people are trying to get a situation figured out and they need to stay on topic in that thread, etc.

As far as our stove, it's 30'F outside. We use our HVAC thermostat to monitor the temp in the house; the thermostat is in the hallway and the stove is in the study, in the far corner of the house. Technically the thermostat is just outside the doorway to the study but the heat has to turn a corner to reach the thermostat, so it's a pretty good test of how well convection is working for us. Right now it's 69'F in the hallway.

Our youngest son was here this evening and we all went in and out of the house a few times, blowing cold air into the mix, so overall I think we are doing OK. I am warm, I am happy!

 

[jtakeman]

.....if you're going to do a study on the effects of OAK vs no OAK, let's talk about it.

To heck with the OAK study....lets do a Yeungling vs no-Yeungling study instead! :cheese:

no-Yeungling I have never heard of it. Guess we have to go study that! Anyone seen any in CT?

This thread got jacked! Wow! But I like beer talk!

Chandler,
We will have to talk about it. But I don't think anyone else would listen to use techies chatting about something we or um well some of us know is good to half. Normally you start the techie talk and the squabbles stops. I was just trying to divert them tis all.

 

[ChandlerR]

Tell you what Jay...When you're ready, PM me and we'll figure out how best to do it. When we're done, we'll see if we can do a sticky. I just scored a handheld temp gun and my company just bought an infrared camera with temp readouts....I can borrow it for a day if needed.

Chan

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

becasunshine, it is well known that true baked beans were never made in Boston. What Boston baked beans are is an affront to baked beans. Now the folks at One Beanpot Circle about 19 miles from here can enlighten the fine folks in Boston, for that matter my wife can enlighten them, since she can no longer eat them I don't get any homemade ones any more.

Now a big plate of baked beans, brown bread or sourdough biscuits, and a hot tomato pickle relish is one of my favorite meals. Add a slab of homemade pie and a mug of hot coffee for desert and this bear wants to hibernate.

I've got a very long list of pickles to try. I wanted to do some pickled parsnips but the boss lady wouldn't let me pick them when I was pickling. She says they have to get good and cold first, I didn't really want to tell her that I didn't need sweet parsnips. Maybe next year, I'll sneak some when she heads to quilt club.

I'm going to try some pickled eggs and sausage as soon as Christmas cooking season is over (tomorrow should wrap up cookies and candies) daughters will be here to cook, grand daughter and grandpa have a date with the downstairs tree (non breakable ornaments) in my office. We went through several dozen eggs this week, good thing we have chickens.

Ever consider making some mead or distilled spirits?

Maybe one could modify a pellet stove into a still (must keep it related to pellet stoves, and I hope that the revenuers aren't watching).

 

[jtakeman]

I just thought of something. My OAK air is cold and my beer is warm? A light bulb hit me. I am going to put my warm beer in a cooler and have my OAK chill it for free. That out to warm up my OAK air at the same time. 2 birds even!

Just need to figure out how to keep it from freezing in this weather. Maybe a pre-chil before the fridge. Hmmm!

Bet is cools the beer quick like! Anyone need there beer chilled?

just a though. Maybe hanging with Pook got to me even. Don't think it to much beer yet.

 

[tjnamtiw]

we are talking about Yuengling Porter, right? Best beer IF you can't get real Guinness.....

 

[imacman]

.....just a though. Maybe hanging with Pook got to me even. Don't think it to much beer yet.

Oh man! I was just thinking about Pook when you put that post up....LOL! As we all know Jay, you WERE the only one that understood his language.