Where will makeup air come from?
My new apartment (new in the sense that this is my first year living there, but actually really old) has one of those old Glenwood gas on gas heater ranges as the primary, and only heat source. I never really worried much about using it, as I figured that my carbon monoxide detector was all I really needed.
The other night I put all new weather stripping around the entrance door to the apartment. It was less of an attempt to keep out cold air and was primarily intended to stop the transfer of noise between the apartment and the hallway.
I sealed the thing up good and tight and then happy with the fact that I could no longer hear my downstairs neighbor partying, I went to bed.
Then for some odd reason I started wondering where the range was getting all of the oxygen it was using for the combustion that I could hear from my bed as that puppy purred away on the high setting (can’t wait for my gas bill!)
I couldn’t get to sleep, so I went to the kitchen and cracked a window ever so slightly. I know that is probably neurotic, and counter-intuitive, but maybe not.
I have no experience with this type of heater and was wondering if giving it a source of make-up air in the form of a window nearby with a small crack would actually make it more efficient by giving it O2 to burn, or is that stupid.
All I could think is that the furnace room in the split level where I grew up has a vent in the exterior wall to let in fresh air, which is what is driving my reasoning.
I was just curious to hear what an expert would say about this. Also, does anyone have any personal experience with these things. Is there anything else I should know besides the fact that they $uck and I’ll be paying 200 a month to heat a 500 s.f. apartment.
Should I get a canary?
Edited 12/22/2005 9:13 pm ET by xosder11
Edited 12/22/2005 11:17 pm ET by xosder11
Replies
Do you mean a stove something like this?
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I'm not familiar with that type of stove; does it have a flue? (It looks like the one in the illustration is set up for a flue.
Re "makeup air"
(A loose term, I understand it to mean the air that mixes in with combustion gases in a draft hood, but I haven't found a definitive authority on this question.)
As a very general rule, to supply sufficient combustion air (the term I prefer) for gas appliances, you need 50 cubic feet of openly connected living space for every 1,000 btu of combustion: i.e., a 100,000 btu furnace would need to be connected to openly connected rooms aggregating 20 x 30 x 8' high.
That rule of thumb will vary depending on the tightness of construction of the building; older houses are more likely need less space than that rule of thumb
If you open a window, you need 1 sq in of opening for every 2,000 btu, so if you have a 100,000 btu appliance (is your stove even marked?) you'd need to open a 3' wide window 1.4" high. (assuming the stove is in a very small closed room.
The only way to know for sure if you have sufficient combustion air is to have a draft gauge test done on the flue's draw
>>Should I get a canary?
Better would be a good CO detector: as a minimum, one woth a digital readout (typically $40-50)
The best are the low level monitors, typically $125 - 150, avaialable only on the internet (http://tinyurl.com/bpso5) or through certain CO safety Analysis trained folks like me. (I sell the newer technology NSI detector, seen at http://tinyurl.com/cl4h7)
Use a battery operated one, mount it at eye level or slightly above in your bedroom, or in the room the stove is in.
Already got it. I mounted it on the wall and tested it before I would even light the pilot light. The nighthawk with the digital reading on it. I push it about once a day to see the digital readout say 0 and give me that warm and fuzzy feeling.
The first time I lit the thing up I made sure to get all the dust under it aouta there and I opened it up and made sure there were no dust bunnies floating around in their either.
It's much more modern looking then the picture you posted. I would guess it was made late 60's / early 70's. It is flued (is that a word) into teh main chimney of the building which stacks with the three other units below mine on my side of the building.
The canary thing was a joke :) although I know CO is not a joke so I am carefull to inspect it regulary and most importantly check the alarm.
These things are extremely inefficient as the heat is expected to radiate around corners through the entire apartment. It has a nameplate on it somewhere and a pretty good set of lighting instructions inside the door to the heater part, so I will look into any information about the btu.
Also, since you seem knowledgable, what can you tell me about ceiling fans in their ability to aide the spread of the heat around the apartment. I have two in two different locations. I remember hearing that they can actually help move the heat around somehow. Is that true?
Edited 12/22/2005 10:47 pm ET by xosder11
The ceiling fans should help a lot.Set them so they blow the air up towards the ceiling, which will push the warm air down along the walls, and help warm them, which will create a more comfortable environment.
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Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
Ceiling fans effect is limited to the room they are in. If you want to move heat from one room to another, you will have to use a floor fan blowing horizontally, prefferably backed against the heat source.Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Good day. In my experience makeup air is more of a term used in large buildings such as malls, factories and hotels. The make up air is the air drawn into the building to 'Make up' for treated air that has been lost to people opening or closing the doors. Negative and positive pressures come into play and variable speed fans are required etc etc. It would seem that you are wondering if your unit requires fresh air for combustion and the answer is yes. Is the air leakage in your older apartment adequate to provide it? probably not. The unit could be causing a vacuum in your apt but if you do not smell exhaust gases it could be okay. Buy a plant (african violets cant be killed by the average bachelor) if it dies get some oxygen into your unit. Later.