Remember to supply plenty of combustion air

[in hot water]

when you start adding fuel burning appliances inside your home or shop remember they need air (O2) to burn properly. They will do everything to pull that air from SOMEWHERE. Occasionally they will pull air DOWN flue pipes on water heaters, furnaces, even their own flue, if not supplied with adequate fresh air.

Consult the NFPA Fuel Gas codebook for requirements and options for calculating and providing combustion air.

Here is an upgrade to my system using an inexpensive louver from Graingers. The louvers open as the blower on my EKO revs up. I'm adding an induction relay hoping to close the damper as the blower revs down as I leak some air through the dog door in the wall to supply air at low burn conditions.

I wonder that many of the smoking and backdrafting issues I hear, are in fact from the building being pulled negative.

I also heartily endorse CO detectors near the fuel burning appliance. Headaches and flu like symptom's are early signs of CO poisoning. The life you save may be your own!

hr

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

I wonder that many of the smoking and backdrafting issues I hear, are in fact from the building being pulled negative.

I also heartily endorse CO detectors near the fuel burning appliance.

Ditto on both counts.

Joe

 

[Badfish740]

I'm going to be installing an Englander add-on furnace in my basement and I was wondering about outside air for that. The wood furnace will be located near the oil furnace of course and the two units will sit between two basement windows. One of the windows will be taken out and the rough opening closed in with masonry in order to allow the wood burner chimney to pass through. I was thinking of removing the other window (About 20" x 36" opening) and installing a louvered vent in its place in order to make sure that both the oil furnace and the wood furnace would always have an ample supply of outside air. I would then enclose both units (plus electrical box) with a partition wall to create a utility room, segregating them from the rest of the basement which I plan to finish. Is this a good idea? The reason I'm concerned about this is because between the dryer, bathroom fans, and roof fans, I have had issues with negative pressure in the house in the past.

 

[in hot water]

Borrow or purchase (shop the online used bookstores) a National Fuel Gas Handbook NFPA 54. This handbook covers the NFPA code but goes further by explaining (in blue print) and showing drawings of the code intent. It is much, much easier to use and understand than the basic codebooks.

It will explain and show drawings of the various acceptable combustion air methods. Vertical is different from horizontal. Ducted combustion air is different from open grills, etc. Generally they require a high and low air, but there are some alternatives now accepted to the two openings.

Ther are also some powered systems "Fan in a can" that might be a better option to a large opening into your basement. These use a small fan to bring air in with an interlock switch. Fields and Tjurland (sp) manufacturer these. Some boilers have kits to bring the air right into the burner, instead of into the room.

With two fuel burning devices, and the potential for both to be firing to importance of adequate combustion air is even more important.

hr