Quote:
Originally Posted by glend
I would like to remind respondents that burning wood in a device inside your house depletes oxygen from your air supply ( a wood fire needs oxygen to burn, as do gas heaters in homes). These devices also emit carbon monoxide as part of the combustion process, which can be deadly in itself. A properly designed flue system is needed to vent the combustion gases but it does not help with input air supply quality, you need to have outsude air coming in to sustain aur quality. So unless your wood heater has its own outside air source you are going to need to keep a window open. It scares me that people with young kids use these things, as these kiddies are much more susceptible to oxygen depletion and carbon monoxide buildup.
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With a properly designed wood heater I have to say that really neither of those stack up as arguments.
Burning wood (in a properly designed and maintained) combustion heater does not deplete oxygen in a house. That would require the heater to selectively intake only the oxygen and return the rest (Including combustion products) to the room. Air is taken in to support combustion, is exhausted through the flue and make up air has to flow into the house from outside. It would be an impressively airtight house that did not allow make up air to enter and I reckon you would notice a pretty sullen fire it it managed. And yes, a properly designed flue is certainly designed to exhaust combustion gasses, that goes without saying, as it does for a gas heater. At least safety wise you don't have to worry about the fuel gas as well as the combustion products.