do i need a cold air return?

cmccabe

i have a 97 year old house with steam heat and the original boiler-the house has 2 metal vents (they have about a 4 X 12 inch opening and have a metal sleeve around them as well-no more than a quarter inch larger) which go from the basement ceiling up through the first floor walls and possibly through the 2nd floor to the attic.....one was destroyed when a pantry was turned into a powder room and the other seems to have been closed off at the floor level of the 2nd floor.....someone told me they were cold air returns.....are these necessary for the kind of system i have?

Mike T., Swampeast MO

It certainly sounds as if they had an original purpose but I'm at a loss to explain.

Where are you located? Perhaps climate has something to do with it.

Dale

Combustion air

I think you are describing what was the original combustion air openings to the basement. You may or may not need them. If the old basement is big and drafty, the boiler out in the open and the boiler vents fine with the house all closed up and all the exhaust fans on for 15 minutes then you are probably OK. Combustion air needs are figured by input and size of basement.

Mijola

Sounds like these ducts were used to supply combustion air. Are there any other openings that could bring in fresh air to assure complete combustion of the fuel for the boiler? Without adequate combustion air, not only will the boiler not operate at peak efficiency, you also run the risk of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Have a heating professional check this for you, and invest in a home CO detector if you don't already have one.

Mark Hunt

Could be


an attempt at gravity warm air. I've seen this in a few homes, though they were usually just grates cut into the floor and ceiling. The attic may have been used as an "extra" room at some point.

If the vents go through to the attic, then they may also have been trying to get rid of heat.

I guess it could also be an attempt at combustion air, but it's not likely. It would be a heck of a lot easier to punch a hole through the side of the home than run ducts out the top.

You do not need "cold air returns" for your system.

Mark H

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cmccabe

i live in chicago........ok-i'm not quite sure how to respond to you all at once, so be patient here.....

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Perhaps someone in the Chicago area will have seen this before and know what it's about.

Went through all my old texts (up until the 1950s) and couldn't find a single mention of makeup air for combustion.

Maybe your basement is completely underground with no windows?

I was thinking along the lines (if it ran to the attic) that it might have been some sort of ventilation for extreme humidity in the basement. I know that a lot of area surrounding Chicago had/has a seriously high water table, so maybe...

cmccabe

okay....thank you all for your input.....i do have a CO detector...i mean with an old beast like that.......it of course was originally a coal burning unit, converted to natural gas.....the exhaust duct is interrupted by a opened bottom metal box and then continues on to the chimney-the boiler itself is cast iron and my husband and i just refurbished it.....i have to say it is quite lovely.....and our heating bills are very average for our part of the region.....further my husband's great uncle invented the mercoid switch-so we have a little sentimental attachment-its a living legend!
thanks again all-we are trying to get the system back to its intended set-up (not the coal part) and wanted to make sure this was or wasn't an integeral part of it.....

cmccabe

yes, our basement has windows.....the humidity could be a possiblity.......they are located on interior walls.....i will ask around to some of the locale heating places and post an answer if i find one........