Woodstove Steamers?

[HerHusband]

I couldn't explain the physics behind it, but I can attest to the dry air when we use the woodstove.

We have a fairly airtight house (built in 2003/2004), but also have a fresh air ventilation system as required by Washington state building codes. So we always have fresh air entering the house.

The woodstove has it's own external air supply and doesn't take air from our living space.

It's not too bad if the weather is rainy, but if it's a cool dry day, it only takes a couple of hours before our noses start feeling dry, and we start getting lots of static shocks.

Our small woodstove puts off way more heat than we need to heat up the house comfortably, so a little heat loss to evaporate the water is a minor issue. I doubt blocking a small 6"x9" area on the top of the stove is going to make much difference anyway, since a lot of heat seems to come from the front and sides.

We only use our woodstove for supplimental heat. Mostly for the romantic aspect and for power outages. A cord of wood can last us almost two years. I'm not too worried about using a little extra firewood.

Anthony

[HerHusband]

I'm using a 5x9 pyrex baking dish, which works well for adding moisture to the air, but it's when I need to add water that I get nervous. I make sure to add water before it gets empty, and try to get the water as hot as possible from the tap before adding it, but I still worry about it cracking.

I'd also like to find something that "looks" a little nicer. :)

Anthony

[Harry K]

Same here. A gallon of water/day (about my use) adds up to a _lot_ of vapor. Here also, any loss of heat is not noticeable as the wife runs it too warm anyhow.

Harry K

[still just me]

You get your wood stove to evaporate a gallon a day?

Get rid of the wife. Solves all sorts of problems.

[Harry K]

Pretty close to a gallon (never measured it) but the stove runs 24 hours a day. shut all drafts down when I go to bed.

Harry K

[nicksanspam]

Sounds like the stove is not airtight, ergo also inefficient.

Less than 0.2 ACH, ie 4 ACH at 50 Pa with a blower door test?

You might do well to turn it off, or only turn it on when the house RH rises to 60%, automatically, using a $30 humidistat switch. A perfectly airtight house would require DEhumidification in wintertime...

If the combustion air supply goes right into the woodstove, vs into the room air surrounding the woodstove, it shouldn't lower the room air humidity,

It takes 1000 Btu to evaporate a pound of water, and dry wood makes about

10K Btu when burned, but more house airsealing raise the house RH and REDUCE vs increase the amount of wood or other fuel burning required.

I'm afraid that's irrelevant.

Nick

[HerHusband]

Nick,

The stats are fine and dandy, but what matters to me is the real world situation. When I burn wood in the woodstove, the air gets dry. Simple as that.

Our house is sealed and insulated well with good windows. The woodstove is fairly new and has good efficiency ratings. The ventilation system noticeably improves the air quality in the house.

Given a choice between setting a pan of water on the woodstove, or updating the house/woodstove/shutting off the ventilation system, I'll choose the pan of water.

Short of wrapping the house in a plastic bubble, I don't think there's much more I could do to better seal the house. We built our own home, and I paid extra attention to sealing gaps and whatnot during construction.

Anthony

[nicksanspam]

Well?

A combustion air supply that dumps into the room vs the stove itself can bring in lots of dry outdoor air and let more humid house air leave via the chimney.

Run it with a humidistat...

Ignorance is bliss :-)

An outdoor vapor barrier with soggy insulation and rotting studs? :-)

You might get a blower door test or do more airsealing on your own, with a window exhaust fan and a $60 Kestrel 1000 air velocity meter.

Nick

[Harry K]

You are coming across as a typical egg-head scientist. While your 'theory' is correct, in pratice it ain't either practical or even real. If you are worried about a an extra 1000 btu out of many thousands... especially since those 1000 btu are excess anyhow in most cases when heating with wood.

Reminds me of the guy who pointed out that science had solved the GW due to CO2 problem by treating the atmosphere which allowed the excess co2 to be absorbed rapidly in the oceans. I pointed out that what works in the lab ain't realistic when applied to thosands of cubic kilometers of atmosphere.

Harry K

[HerHusband]

So air quality is based only on humidity? OK, got it. Dry air is clean air.

Hmm... You better show me the calculations on that, and can you provide the current acceptable levels of various particulates in the average American household? I want to be sure I understand all the processes involved so I can make an informed decision.

Ignorance is providing answers that do not apply to the question.

I didn't ask what was wrong with my house or woodstove that caused the air to be dry. I asked for a source of small woodstove steamers.

It would be easier to just not use the woodstove than to apply all your suggestions.

Anthony

[nicksanspam]

You are coming across as a person who cannot spell :-)

I disagree.

Nick

[KLE]

There are a bunch of them here

Karen