Quote:
Originally Posted by Piwoslaw
Your furnace may be tuned for a more or less constant intake air temperature (whatever your basement temp is), while feeding it fresh air from the great outdoors means that it will see a whole range of temps and humidities. If your manual says it can be done, then it should be OK.
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An excellent point. Cold, dense air from outside would lean the flame, which is adjusted for 65 degree air. The heat scavenger should bring the intake air temperature up to about basement temp. I don't really want to heat it much more than that due to the various wires and controls in the cabinet, although they must be designed for some amount of heat because they receive a good deal of radiant heat from the flames.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Piwoslaw
Having fresh air come in through the wall means that that cold air will be sucked into the house. This can be solved by putting a damper on the intake, so that it automatically closes when the burner no longer needs air.
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Another excellent point. However, if I seal the cabinet, the only airflow in when the furnace is off will be due to stack effect from the warm heat exchanger and exhaust vent. Cold air would flow in through the intake (running over the warm heat scavenger in the process), in to the heat exchanger, and out the exhaust, which is being cooled by the same intake air. No outside air should enter the house at all if I seal it up well enough, whether the furnace is running or not.