Air exchangers

[fastmopar1k]

Hey all!!!
I was wondering if anyone can give me an idea what an air exchanger would run price wise and where you would get one. Is there a way I can build one ? I have never seen one and no one I know has one in there house.:monkey:

 

[iCreek]

What do you mean by air exchanger? Like a blower for a fireplace or insert? Or a water to air exchanger? Just let us know some more details and I am sure someone here will have some $$$ ideas for ya.

 

[reaperman]

<a href="http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj127/reapowilliams/?action=view&current=wood006.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj127/reapowilliams/wood006.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


I believe you are looking for this. A air to air exchanger. The flash got a bit bright on the picture. The inside of the unit is lined with silver colored metallic insulation, thus the reflection of the flash. I'm no expert on how they really work. But here goes. The upper left pipe is the fresh air intake. That air is routed kitty-corner to the bottom right-side pipe. That air is blown back through the return air duct in the home. The pipe on the bottom left side is the home air being routed kitty-corner to the upper right pipe and blown back outside. What happens in the center, is the incoming air is criss-crossed with the outgoing air, and the incoming air is suppose to be warmed by the exiting house air. The temperature of the fresh incoming air after being warmed by the exiting air is suppose to be 80% of the home temp. I dont know how accurate that 80% is. I remember once last winter when it was -25 one morning and the air exchanger was running, just how cold the incoming air was. I shut off the exchanger until it warmed up some. But those are extreme conditions. On a normal basis I really cant tell any temp difference, mainly because I dont pay attention. And the house is warm enough with the wood burning. The control for the unit is a switch with numbers ranging from 10%-100%, in increment's of 10's. You set it for what percent of the time you want it to run. I leave mine on about 20%. Which means it runs about 12 minutes/hour. I dont know how many times per day the air is exchanged in a home on 20%, but I'm sure there is a chart somewhere. I have never had a humidity problem in the house at 20%, but if it ever gets dry I can just turn it up a bit.

 

[fastmopar1k]

Thanks reaperman. I am looking for info on air to air exchangers. I was diagnosed with severe allergies and was told to get rid of all the firewood and the wood furnace. When I laughed and said that was not an option, I was told I needed to get one of air to air exchangers in the house.

 

[reaperman]

I really dont know the cost of a unit. The unit was part of the HVAC package that came with my home when I had it built last year. I have a Renewaire brand, model EV-130. I think you should be able to do a search on the net and find info on the units. But like most things the labor of the install is equal to the price of the unit. If memory serves, the unit alone is around $700. But then the labor and ducting comes into play. But I believe its money well spent. Especially in your circumstance. If you go onto the, Renewaire website, it goes into showing how the unit is installed, if you are the do-it-yourself kind of guy. I'm also laughing with you, when someone tells "us" we cant burn wood anymore.

 

[dstan1967]

Air to air exchangers are used in homes that are insulated with either oc or cc foam. It helps bring in outside air to the home and eliminates moisture(humidity).
I have cc foam in my attic and rim joist. It's a wonderful insulator but steps must be taken to have a dailey exchange of outside air with inside air.
I'd try and locate and owner of a foamed home and get their recommendations on exchangers. Customer opinions are fair superior to the salesmen's.
Good luck

 

[anti TC]

I recently purchased a pellet stove from Home Depot. The specifics are...

Englander
2,200 Sq. Ft. Satin Black Multifuel Corn And/Or Pellet Burning Stove
Model 10-CDV
$2,079.00

My brother-in-law said that if I purchased a decent air filter, I wouldn't need to run the stove pipe out through the wall? I'm guessing that a smoke filtration unit with these specs would suffice?

PM 400UV High Efficiency HEPA +UV Air Cleaner
High Efficiency 99.97% HEPA + Ultraviolet Lamps + 15 lbs. of carbon charcoal in a single Air Filtration Portable Package
Cost: $775.00

Here's a picture of the unit...

I asked this question when I first joined this board and was temporarily banned? I'm guessing this was a mistake?

Thanks so much!!

 

[reaperman]

Air to air exchangers are used in homes that are insulated with either oc or cc foam. It helps bring in outside air to the home and eliminates moisture(humidity).

I'm not sure they can only be used on homes with this type of insulation. Air to air exchangers are a building code here in Mn. All new homes being built have your standard fiberglass insulation in the walls, and blown insulation in the ceiling.

 

[Mountaineer]

I recently purchased a pellet stove from Home Depot. The specifics are...

Englander
2,200 Sq. Ft. Satin Black Multifuel Corn And/Or Pellet Burning Stove
Model 10-CDV
$2,079.00

My brother-in-law said that if I purchased a decent air filter, I wouldn't need to run the stove pipe out through the wall? I'm guessing that a smoke filtration unit with these specs would suffice?

PM 400UV High Efficiency HEPA +UV Air Cleaner
High Efficiency 99.97% HEPA + Ultraviolet Lamps + 15 lbs. of carbon charcoal in a single Air Filtration Portable Package
Cost: $775.00

Here's a picture of the unit...

I asked this question when I first joined this board and was temporarily banned? I'm guessing this was a mistake?

Thanks so much!!

Whoa there little lady. You gonna smother yourself if someone else don't after you smother the familly budget. It aint no big deal to get a hole saw at home depot and put in a thimble. Heck of a lot cheaper too. This aint one those ol gas fireplaces they be puttin in those McMansions up on some hill. That stove'll be puttin out a barnload a CO and CO2 that'll suffocate ya!

 

[dstan1967]

Reaperman,
That's interesting that code requires an air to air exchanger in MN. Not a bad thing to have the exchanger. They are a must if a home is foamed. Do you notice and increase on your electric bill? Thanks for the help.

 

[reaperman]

Reaperman,
That's interesting that code requires an air to air exchanger in MN. Not a bad thing to have the exchanger. They are a must if a home is foamed. Do you notice and increase on your electric bill? Thanks for the help.

I just checked the specs off the unit. The blower motor is 1/10th hp, and only draws 1.6 amps. So amps x volts= watts. 1.6x110= 176 watts. So if the exchanger runs for 12 minutes per hour x 24 hrs = 288 minutes or 4.8 hours x 176 watts would = 845 watts per day. Which is just under 1 kilowatt (1000 watts) per day. My kilowatt per hour (kwt) rate is 9.2 cents. So to run the air exchanger cost me under 10 cents per day.

 

[czeigler]

I recently purchased a pellet stove from Home Depot. The specifics are...

Englander
2,200 Sq. Ft. Satin Black Multifuel Corn And/Or Pellet Burning Stove
Model 10-CDV
$2,079.00

My brother-in-law said that if I purchased a decent air filter, I wouldn't need to run the stove pipe out through the wall? I'm guessing that a smoke filtration unit with these specs would suffice?

PM 400UV High Efficiency HEPA +UV Air Cleaner
High Efficiency 99.97% HEPA + Ultraviolet Lamps + 15 lbs. of carbon charcoal in a single Air Filtration Portable Package
Cost: $775.00

Here's a picture of the unit...

I asked this question when I first joined this board and was temporarily banned? I'm guessing this was a mistake?

Thanks so much!!

I own a pellet stove and you still need to power vent the exhaust outside!

Like mountaineer said, you will be suffocating yourself with all of that CO.

He might have been thinking the fresh air intake... that's another story. They make about a 1-2" pipe that you run from the bottom of the stove to outside. If you have pretty good air circulation you don't necessarily have to hook that up and run outside. I just left mine alone.

But you must run the exhaust outside! Also, make sure if you are installing it yourself that you use the right stove pipe made for pellet stoves. It's a little pricey, at least here in pa. I have my stove in the basement for the past 4 years and have had no problems with heating 2500 square feet.

It is also an englander with a max BTU of 58,000.

Any questions please don't hesitate to ask. I think all of us here will try to help. We would hate to see anyone smothered by CO! It is odorless.

Also make sure you purchase a CO detector. They are relatively inexpensive but invaluable.

Save your money on the air cleaner, you'll need it for your pipe!

 

[kd460]

Check out a "skuttle" model 216. I believe this is a highly recommended reasonably priced air exchanger for really tight homes.

Sorry, I would post a link and provide more info, but I am at work and most websites are blocked (websense), KD

 

[Mountaineer]

I own a pellet stove and you still need to power vent the exhaust outside!

Like mountaineer said, you will be suffocating yourself with all of that CO.

He might have been thinking the fresh air intake... that's another story. They make about a 1-2" pipe that you run from the bottom of the stove to outside. If you have pretty good air circulation you don't necessarily have to hook that up and run outside. I just left mine alone.

But you must run the exhaust outside! Also, make sure if you are installing it yourself that you use the right stove pipe made for pellet stoves. It's a little pricey, at least here in pa. I have my stove in the basement for the past 4 years and have had no problems with heating 2500 square feet.

It is also an englander with a max BTU of 58,000.

Any questions please don't hesitate to ask. I think all of us here will try to help. We would hate to see anyone smothered by CO! It is odorless.

Also make sure you purchase a CO detector. They are relatively inexpensive but invaluable.

Save your money on the air cleaner, you'll need it for your pipe!

That's right zeigler, that aint your daddy's stove pipe. It's special insulated double-wall. It'll run ya all of $40/ft up in these here parts. But heck, ya only need a few feet to get through the wall. With the forced exhaust you don't need no flu - ceptin some special cases, I rekon.

I aint got no fresh air intake on my ol stove but like ya said you can hook up a 2" or so pipe and run that out yer wall. That there fresh air pipe is supposed to keep ya from drawin cold air in through all the cracks and crevices - keeps yer far rooms from gettin cold as a porch and keeps yer house from gettin dry as a tinder box.