A complicated question. Sorry. The "chimney" in my passive solar house is actually a 5'x5' vertical chase designed to move heat from the solar-heated part of the house to the rest of its rooms, mostly upstairs. It does so through an adjustable ventilator (220 cfm max) mounted in the chase and drawing air from it. The chase draws air from four registers downstairs and the ventilator distributes it through ductwork to three bedrooms and two baths. So far so good.
The chimney terminates downstairs is a "fireplace," which is to say that I welded up a quarter inch steel surround meant to look like one but actually to serve as a home for a 60kbtu/hr wood stove. The surround has glass doors and an outside air supply. It also has a plenum and a register that will move most of the radiant heat to the remote parts of the house via the chase and ventilator. My aim is genteel wood heat: everyone is fully clothed at all times, at least until they go to bed.
Belatedly I am mulling two problems involving the stove pipe, which rises 20 feet through this vertical chase. Should I be worried that ventilator, creating negative pressure in the chase, will draw smoke from the pipe? Should I be concerned it will be cooled too much for a proper draft? The stove pipe is 5", and the plenum opening is 6" so I could use duct pipe to separate chase and stove pipe. Your thoughts?
The chimney terminates downstairs is a "fireplace," which is to say that I welded up a quarter inch steel surround meant to look like one but actually to serve as a home for a 60kbtu/hr wood stove. The surround has glass doors and an outside air supply. It also has a plenum and a register that will move most of the radiant heat to the remote parts of the house via the chase and ventilator. My aim is genteel wood heat: everyone is fully clothed at all times, at least until they go to bed.
Belatedly I am mulling two problems involving the stove pipe, which rises 20 feet through this vertical chase. Should I be worried that ventilator, creating negative pressure in the chase, will draw smoke from the pipe? Should I be concerned it will be cooled too much for a proper draft? The stove pipe is 5", and the plenum opening is 6" so I could use duct pipe to separate chase and stove pipe. Your thoughts?