We offer an array of gas fireplace models to accommodate any of your heating desires, from zonal heating to whole house heating. Which helps with air distribution as well in moving stale bathroom air out. Trying to mitigate chimney effectHELP! The tissue paper sticks to the vents. The unique design of the delicate lace pattern concealing the air intake and heat exchanger, and the arches have identified Fireplace Xtrordinair to thousands of discovering homeowners all over North America. P.S. Two 50 cfm bath fans would induce a 50 Pa pressure difference across such a house. I have a client with thisI have a client with this exact same issue weve been trying to fix for over a year without luck yet. Why is a Fireplace Xtrordinair wood fireplace more efficient, producing more heat than the open fireplace I grew up with? With the house operating at what you suspect is a negative pressure, go to a door and open it just a bit. https://www.treehugger.com/energy-efficiency/we-dont-have-energy-problem-we-have-exergy-problem.html, 10 Building Science Lies to Watch out for, My Undersized Mini-Split Heat Pump in a Heat Wave, Make It a Mechanical Room, Not Just a Closet, Introduction to Whole-House Electricity Monitoring, Air Conditioner Sizing: Load Calculations vs Rules of Thumb, Five Fun Facts About Dew Point Temperature, Efficient Hot Water Delivery With a Simple Tool. Another item Are you saying this started when COVID19 got traction and people left their condos for other locations? Can I install a TV above my Fireplace Xtrordinair gas fireplace? Add the optional black painted, nickel plated face or hand-hammered Artisan face and door for a dramatic flair. If not, why would it make the IAQ worse? No. How often should I service my fireplace or insert? I ordered screens for my windows so I can more comfortably let fresh air in. The one I bought is the only that I could find with the range hood and gas log vented to the outdoors. God and nature intentionally placed every creatures nose at the opposing end of their body for a good reason. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact, 2021, Energy Vanguard | 533 West Howard Avenue, Suite E, Decatur, GA 30030. For now, I have my windows open. Yes! For floor drains, he uses a dry trap which is just a rubber flapper valve that can be inserted in the drain after construction is complete. This dramatic breakthrough is due to the effectiveness of the unique heat enhance Posi-Pressure system. Frankly, its pretty annoying, and Id like to not have to open a window during the winter when we run the dryer. 4. If your condo were at positive pressure with respect to the source (locations other than your condo) then the smell would not enter your condo. The reason I am also focusing now on how to improve (or fix and also understand ventilation and vent pipes) is because the smell (more subtle but still the same smell) appears in my bedroom which is next door to the bathroom and by morning with the windows closed, I smell it.i figure it is coming slightly through the HVAC vent because that is the only opening in the bedroom. So many questions. My initial thoughts are that it is not the ventilation system unless the vents in the bathrooms are bringing air into the condo. By the time my handy man came, the smell was not noticable. I had to laugh this morningI had to laugh this morning as I was sitting in the space that has a rattling damper while reading this question. But that does nothing for air quality and the need for .35ACH makeup air. Most of my rattling problems are with the dryer and range hood exhaust. Now on to the make-up air issue. Yes, the basement has poor air quality. Learn more. I get no useful information from their description: "This clean-burning fireplace features our exclusive Posi-Pressure technology that uses fresh outside air to provide optimal warmth by evenly heating your entire home.". Hi! I have learned that a dedicated (non-HVAC associated) dehumidifier is a requirement here, even during the summer months as my HVAC has been sized for low sensible loads that reduces my latent load capability as well. Is this normal? However. I had the chimney cleaned really well and the damper closed and it was fine. Apart from flue gas potentially entering your home, it looks like some flue gas may be recirculated through the boiler via the concentric termination causing efficiency loss and corrosion in the combustion chamber over time. . Would it really be necessary to take out the existing flappers (rattlers)? At times, my ears block uplike I just got off a flight. I doubt the combustion air intake has anything to do with the problem. SUBSCRIBE TO THE ENERGY VANGUARD NEWSLETTER! I had done that last week but didnt smell anything (admittedly, I only smelled in the front). I NEVER want my houses to be negative as I have no firm idea where that air might be coming in, along with whatever else it wants to drag along. Upgrade your fireplace with elegant brushed nickel plating. It didnt the smell was worse. Ive been putting water in daily these past 2 weeks. So the other obvious factor was a dry drain trap somewhere. Thanks for the reply, AllisonThanks for the reply, Allison. The Elite series by Firepalce Xtrordinair is designed to maintain the aesthetic appeal of the fireplace while delivering up to 76,700 BTUs/hour through a decorative grill built into the face design, framing the fire and enhancing your home decor. My house currently has a blower door test result of 5,200 cubic feet per minute at 50 Pascals of pressure difference (5,200 cfm50). Roy No MechanicalRoy No Mechanical Ventilation? Weve been recommended to get a top closing damper at the top of the chimney as well. As I said in a reply to Karl Peer above, the same method would work with other openings, too, like the attic hatch. Great stuff. Start typing to see products you are looking for. No Fireplace Burns As Clean As Fireplace Xtrordinair. But that infiltrating air needs a pathway to do so. I was never 100% sure if the smell was from dirty grimy drains left by previous resident and/or by dried ptrap (because was the bathroom I dont use daily, I left it to the women who helped me clean weekly to handle drains and also pouring water into each ptrap in the bathroom. Aside with potential issues with interior moisture being pushed through your walls, for a drafty house their marketing claim would seem to be valid, beyond the silly naming. the past few months it has my responsibility to cleanI do smell something so I would leave the door open and sometimes closed. Bailes, Am I required to have an electrical cord on my hearth with my Fireplace Xtrordinair gas insert? Weve taken to opening some windows by the dryer when we run it, and that helps. This is a great topic andThis is a great topic and loaded with overlapping issues. This patented technology highlights the strengths of both catalytic and non-catalytic technologies to create an advanced combustion system that burns less wood to generate the greatest heat output. This feature has been temporarily disabled during the beta site preview. A. Our damper is closed, too, so maybe its leaking? Pretty fun and a great science fair project for your kids! I hadnt noticed that similarity before, but yes, it does lokk kinda like weathered OSB, doesnt it? Positive Pressure Fireplaces Filling Homes with Pollution? First, when we talk about negative or positive pressure, were talking about the pressure difference between two places, usually indoors and outdoors. And on the chimney, too 8-). I have only had them because the previous owner had them. If I have alot of wind rushing in my windows as I leave them open now all day to let the smell vent or dissipate (??) Negative equals air infiltration and positive equals air exfiltration. Tamarack has series of non-mechanical fabric dampers that is a perfect solution for your problem. I wrote about it briefly in my stack effect article linked to in the Related Articles section above. We have five heat zones in the house (2 basement that are mostly kept low), 2 on the main floor and 1 upstairs (also that we keep off during the day when were not upstairs). The rest are incandescent. Can my Fireplace Xtrordinair gas fireplace heat multiple rooms in my home? This can be accomplished by a combination of sealing air pathways into your condo and introducing outside air directly into the condo.. 3. I kept pouring water in drain traps, but it didnt help. to see if you or someone you know may need to be concerned with the type of fireplace they have. Sealing the leaks at the top of the house definitely should have helped, though. I do tend to agree with you that the smell may be sewer smell that is coming from another apartment that is empty.maybe not my next door or below me neighbor so I will not rule that out. I am praying for your recovery and well being as I read your personal blog post. Data Collection Do the exhaust vents in the bathroom have fans that you control. Thank you again, your further reply is helpful. My residential condo buildingMy residential condo building is 10 years old. Robin: I have to run and soRobin: I have to run and so it will be a day before we can continue this discussion. Other mechanical systems that can create pressure differences are clothes dryers, heating and air conditioning ducts, powered attic ventilators, portable air conditioners, and supply-only ventilation systems. I believe there is negative pressure in my homecould this be caused by a gas leak in the street migrating to my sump pump.this is most of the moisture is? Convert to a proper gas retrofit, and get on with life! Our gas inserts are sealed, direct vent heating appliances that utilize outside combustion air for greater efficiency and have less exhaust leaving, so draft is ensured with a liner. Would negative pressure in a house cause ear problems? If youve ever looked at the damper in a typical exhaust fan, you can see that they arent meant to stop all backdrafting. Any other thoughts as to what we can try? Yeah the documents arent very clear. That being said, after 3 plumbers and huge $$$, we are still dealing with a sewer gas issue in our home and the intensity seems to be adversely affected according to wind speed and direction. Design the Fire of Your Dreams & Make Your Vision Become a Reality! Another beautiful benefit of the Elite series is the size of the logs the unit can burn: up to 32 logs in the 44 Elite model and 24 logs in the 36 Elite model. My handy man came in the past and said he didnt smell anything. I would think it would return air into the ventilation system and not blow air? Roy, you anticipated a future article there. Thanks Thomas, I will lookThanks Thomas, I will look into Tamarack. So drawing from the inside creates a negative pressure in the house.drawing from the outside creates a positive pressure which is what you want in order to prevent infiltration. Dollar for dollar, you will not dina better, more cost effective way to efficient heat your home with wood! I got a Airthings radon detector for Christmas and Im bouncing over and under the safe limit. The solution is the Fireplace Xtrordinair Elite series of wood burning fireplaces. It turned out to be 14.5 SEER. You also could use a magnehelic gauge for less than $100. Or is the problem with the outdoor air being pulled in through the basement? ". No one can figure it out. https://www.fireplacex.com/product/36-elite/, https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/designing-a-good-ventilation-system, Makeup air for an high-efficiency fireplace, Wood burning fireplace insert installation, https://www.travisindustries.com/docs/93508090.pdf, https://www.travisindustries.com/docs/98800160.pdf, http://www.fireplacesplus.com/brochures/wood/fpx_wood_brochure.pdf. Its definitely something though. The reason is simple, the air cooled chimney system approved for Fireplace Xtrordinair may cost 50% less than chimney systems required on other high heat output fireplaces. Thats when I tackled the drains. I simply connected its 6 inch duct to my outside air duct and Voila, I can set the cfm needed, the temp and humidity ranges allowed, completely independent of my HVAC system just like my dehumidifier is. Roy,Roy, 3. Despite the fact that the Elite line up is contracted of supers components and features, and the performance rating are supers to every other certified fireplace, the cost of the installed system is surprisingly competitive. Any chance you can explain in laymen terms, so I can think about it, I would appreciate. Thank you so much for helping me narrow this down. Installing Rigid Foam Above Roof Sheathing, Climate Activists React to Dont Look Up. On one hand, Ive read that supply ventilation only may cause moisture being forced through my envelope, but according to https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/designing-a-good-ventilation-system this isnt a problem. A negative pressure in the house means the indoor pressure is lower than the outdoor pressure, which can cause air to move from outdoors to indoors. No more sewer smell. Lloyd, your exhaust fan wall cap may well be the entry port for the furnace exhaust. I am trying to narrow down the causes of this smell (which wakes me up in the morning as it comes back more strongly with the windows closed over night and has me feeling very concerned). Other heat-circulating fireplaces require large unsightly louvers or highly visible vent boxes above the fireplace opening, sacrificing the traditional hearth look. And rule things in/out. And second of all (then Ill go away :)), Allison, where did you get that photo of the home atop your always informative article? Basically, it would be a closed system with a partition between the two rooms. Many of our high efficiency gas fireplaces give you the most burn for your buck. All of our products are built in America from high quality materials and components, heavy gauge steel, and are subjected to vigorous testing standards to make fireplaces and inserts that stand up to the rigors of time. The heated air naturally seeks out and penetrates cold spaces warming the entire home evenly while sealing cracks, leaks and other drafty spots by preventing cold air infiltration. I suppose this allows your inflow to be heated. Here are my assumptions stop me where I am wrong: Help with repairs needed for gas fireplace. I put weather stripping on the door down to the basement, which helped the dusty smell, but the radon levels still increase. I don't quite understand why you wouldn't just want a closed system, and then deal with house ventilation separately. Karl, reverse stack effect is definitely a thing. Thanks.Great stuff. Besides shelling out a fortune to install central air, or always leaving a window cracked, are there other methods to stop this? Its quite easy to find out if a house is indeed running a negative pressure. One from the produce section works well. The controls for fan, air adjustment and dampers are subtly incorporated int the face of the unit itself for easy access. They are all sealed appliances that pull all of their combustion air from outside, so you are not using your heated air from inside for combustion. I want to exhaust on one end of the partition and intake on the other end of the partition. Also, the flue is contacting a brick wall, maybe the neighbours house. In addition, if any areIn addition, if any are wondering where that makeup air gets back out, the bath fan dampers are always there as pressure release if needed. One quick thing is there is essentially no difference in how long traps stay with enough water in them to block sewer gas whether the windows are open or closed. And in many cases, installing a zero clearance wood fireplace is half the cost of installing an open masonry fireplace. If windows are open, do ptraps dry out faster? Ive done everything I can do. You dont want to stop using bath fans, range hoods, and clothes dryers, though, so keeping the damper closed when the fireplace isnt being used should help. John, I read your 2nd replyJohn, I read your 2nd reply and thank you very much, your clear outline and explanation summarize what is going on and I understand it based on all the reading Ive done these past few weeks. Do your dealers service your products. Thats a lot of negative pressure for a house, which is why Passive House designers and builders worry so much about the mechanical systems they use. There are some studys from Thailand but most simply address warm building and cold climate outside. The two factors that affect the magnitude of stack effect are height and temperature difference. And the tissue paper held. If it's a distribution fan (which is very common), it also has no effect on the interior pressure, but also doesn't help with pressure differences that may cause back- drafting. Their flush appearance gives you a clean, finished look that resembles a wood fireplace and allows for more room on the hearth, while their convection chamber delivers air efficiently throughout your home. Our gas inserts are designed as complete, efficient home heating appliances. I already have a chimney. If so, should I cap my drains for now until covid has tempered and deal with this in a few months. 2) Since you have dealt with all the drains in the bathrooms, it is not sewer gas from your drains. Why do Fireplace Xtrordinair products cost more than other brands? 3) It smells like sewer gas since that is what you thought it was, therefore it probably is. We have not checked the top floor for leaks (though based on the comments here, that should be something we do). It doesn't mention anywhere that the air is directly piped into the combustion chamber. When you enter a home, whats the one thing that makes you feel instantly welcomed and relaxed: the cheery crackle and dancing warm flames of a real log fire on the hearth. Fireplace Xtrordinair utilizes the latest catalytic technology to reduce emissions by 90% compared to conventional fireplaces. All of our wood insert models feature the award-winning Hybrid-Fyre technology. Yesteday when I finally called my super, my handyman confirmed that the neighbor next door to this bathroom and the neighbor below this bathroom both are not dealing with sewer gas smell. I was looking at it more from the added bonus of not needing to add makeup air to avoid backdraft, since this already has builtin makeup air (and the makeup air is heated). The basement should be negative with respect to the floor level pressure above. It is unfinished, has a dusty (not musty, but like chaulky drywall) smell, and the radon levels are pretty high (~14pCi). Three factors are responsible for pressure differences in buildings: Wind, of course, can create pressure differences between inside and outside. Any ideas of how to improve an individual condo units/apartments ventilation system so that I dont have to always rely on windows with fresh air rushing in? But yes, the smell comes back daily with the windows closed, even when I have not added anything vinegar or cleaning products into the mix. Our optional Power Heat Duct Kit gives you the ability to redirect up to 50% of the heat from your fireplace to one or two additional rooms in your home within 20 feet of your fireplace! Please check with your local dealer to see what special consumer financing rates they are offering at this time. Granted, with it being colder outside, I have more stack effect right now than at other times, but I still wonder if I need to make changes. Dr. Bailes,Dr. I have now introduced a pressure device that provides the necessary air movement. Our Flush Wood Hybrid-Fyre Inserts are excellent heaters. I assume somehow negative pressure is forcing air back down the chimney especially when we run bathroom fans or the dryer I suspect. Until a plumber can come and remove the toilet to then properly re-install it. Oh well, to each his own. My findings have been that there is definite air movement downward in low rise condos ( 5-7 stories) that is exasperated by penetrations from plumbing (especially sewer chase), electrical and any bone headed renovator punching holes over the years. Please note: Our exclusiveGreenStart Igniteris an available option with our Apex wood fireplace models. How do I know my wood is dry enough to burn? When the temp is turned back down, the toilet paper doesnt get sucked into the Return or blown away. The confusing part is from the diagram it looks like this air channel is also exposed to the air going from the firebox to the chimney which seems like a fire and air quality risk. An electrical cord/power is required to operate our efficient convection fans and decorative Accent Lights on our gas inserts; however, it can be hidden out of sight by being routed in your fireplace with our exclusive tested and approved UL Wiring Kit. I can feel air coming in through our (original) windows and it comes down the fireplace, leading to smells in our living room. Exhaust fans in your bathrooms and kitchen, of course, will induce some negative pressure. One plumber said it was due to negative pressure, but if the system is enclosed (except for the designated external vernting), how could that be possible unless theres a leaking drainage pipe or leaking connection in the venting system. This is so interesting andThis is so interesting and timely. I kept my windows open overnight now knowing it was sewer gas to be cautious. And so, I was lax on bringing in plumbers or HVAC contactors to help me identify the smell. Become a GBA Prime member and get full access to GBA articles, enyclopedia, videos, CAD library, and more. Tape the open end of a lightweight plastic bag to the opening. But it has no central mechanical ventilation and no HERS score. And if so, is it normal and/or good to have negative pressure in the apartment? We have a direct vent gas furnace/water heater and a radon mitigation system in the basement. My building is about 30 stories and I am on floor 10. If so, the stack effect may be to blame because it increases with temperature difference and most places have bigger temperature differences in winter. However, the elite https://www.fireplacex.com/product/36-elite/ is about 2k cheaper and advertises posi-pressure. The mood it inspires sets the stage for all our fondest memories of romance, family sharing and festive gatherings around the fireplace. My building said 1 day last week a person in my line complained of food smell in their bathroom and he said a belt (I believe) required replacement in my line and that the bathroom vent was not working for that 1 day. Why do I need liners? We use the candle in the fireplace method (a 3-wicker) which seems to help on those bad-smell-days. Powered By, Burn Your Fire Cleaner & More Economically, NEHPBA Urges Gov. If nothing else seems to helpIf nothing else seems to help, and you are still pretty sure that it is sewer gas, I would sniff around between the toilet and the floor, especially if it has not been caulked there, to see if the wax ring under the toilet might have lost its seal. Warm air is less dense and thus rises when surrounded by cold air, like an air bubble in water. System Replacement In past, she would tell me there was a very bad smell (she said too much and the clean clothes she hung in there to dry from the week before would need to be rehashed). Does negative air pressureDoes negative air pressure apply to home sewer drainage systems?
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