Brenda from Port Hardy, B.C. says that her wood burning insert smells of soot when it is not in use.The problem is obviously one of air coming down the chimney. Either the exhaust fans in the house are drawing air when there is no fire to maintain an upward draft, or the wind is twisted around on...
When the contractor installed a new furnace, he put in a great big air duct from outdoors right into the furnace room. This tends to freeze the basement floor. Can I close it off?Response:This duct is necessary in most modern homes and even in well sealed renovations to assure adequate air f...
A combustion furnace or boiler (gas, oil, coal or wood) requires air to burn and air to maintain a proper draft in the chimney. In a leaky old house with the furnace in an open basement this is never al problem. As the house becomes better sealed, several problems can arise:-- An automatic v...
Many years ago, because of the prairie enforcement of the gas code provision that you had to supply fresh air to a furnace, an inventor in Alberta began marketing the Hoyme damper. This is a motorized damper that closes off that combustion air duct from the outdoors that dumps cold air into ...
FURNACES & BOILERS
Well-sealed houses need a fresh air supply for combustion. (search keyword "Combustion Air" for the title "DOES MY FURNACE GET ENOUGH AIR?") The most common technique in basement installations, is to use an insulated duct to dump air next to the combustion intake. The gas...
Rick from New Brunswick is having problems with his wood stove backdrafting and he wants to know if it will help to box in the chimney on the outside of the house. Backdrafting or difficult starting with wood burning appliances is often a problem and there are several entries in this database ...
More and more people are asking for powerful kitchen range hoods or bathroom exhaust fans. The logic appears simple, increase the power of the exhaust fan and get rid of pollutants quicker. In more and more modern homes which have been weather-stripped and sealed against cold air leaks and heat l...
Traditional furnace rooms are nothing more than a partition designed to hide an ugly furnace. They are neither sealed nor insulated, and they obtain combustion air from the house through door or wall grills of the open floor joist area. Sealing off the drafty leaks in a house and introducing a sy...
I get a lot of complaints about cold air drafts coming in through ducts connected to the outdoors. Here are some solutions.
Butterfly dampers
Any exhaust vent that rises up and out will have a tendency to let cold air fall back down that duct. Quality butterfly dampers are available that have ...
