If a wood stove draws outside air, does the temperature of the fire inside the stove depend on the temperature of the outside air? I know that wood stoves have different designs and setups and the actual temperature depends on the kind of wood, but all else being equal, is a fire fed with 0-degree air 30 degrees cooler than a fire fed with 30 degree air?
In: Physics
Wood stoves don’t draw “outside” air. They draw air from the home and exhaust to the outside. Consider that wood has to reach at least 400 something degrees for combustion in ideal circumstances, and can reach several thousand degrees. Thirty degrees one way or another is negligible at that point.
Simple answer is no. Lower combustion air temperatures might make it slightly less efficient since the fire has to warm the air more, but won’t really affect the temperature of the fire. Good natural draft and well seasoned wood plays a much larger role in the heat of the fire.
Yes and no. Absolutely all else being equal, yes. The energy produced by the fire heats the air by a certain amount, not necessarily to a certain temperature. But cold air is denser, so fire being ‘fed’ colder air actually gets more oxygen by mass, which means it burns faster and creates more energy. I’m not sure exactly what that means for the temperature of the products, since you have 2 factors with opposing effects.
[removed]
Latest Answers