Fresh Air Intake

[PistonDog]

Ranch house with 10 year old Carrier furnace with Beckett AFG oil burner. Any reason not to run an air intake from the outside to supply combustion air ? I'm trying to keep the basement warmer. Any caveats to doing this ?

Any advice on method
Choice A. PVC to outside with vermin guard.
Choice B. Concentric liner in chimney with center as fresh air intake
Choice C. ?

I assume this will connect to the burner, which will have to be re-tuned for the correct 'air balance'.

Thanks for the help

PD

[jadnashua]

If you can find the installation instructions, either on-line or if you're lucky, you have it; it will define the surface area of the air supply requirements. WIthout a forced fan, a pvc pipe probably won't cut it. The best way may be to build a room around the unit - leave plenty of room to work on the thing and a big enough door to replace it when the time comes. Then, run a duct to the outside into the room of sufficient size to allow it to run properly into that new room. There are some general rules based on the BTU output and efficiency, but it's best to use what the manufacturer says. There should be no reason to readjust the burner, but it wouldn't hurt to check it; it could be off after all these years.