ASV-90 Air Supply Ventilator
How It Works

How do I know whether my house needs the air supply ventilator?

We advise it to assist your compliance with manufacturers’ safety instructions which require a source for air replenishment for any room with ventless gas stove or gas logs, kerosene heaters or any other unvented product. You should seriously consider installing at least one if a house is under construction, or built since 1980. If your house was built before 1980, we recommend you install one if the house is “weatherized”—or you’ve already learned you must sometimes open a window for proper “draw” of your fireplace or woodstove.

Many houses today are very tight, with insufficient air changes. You experience lingering odors, moisture, and generally stale air. When you add a combustion appliance, the need for fresh air becomes even more obvious. By using the Fresh air supply ventilator, you take control over how fresh air enters your home.

Can the ASV relieve negative pressure in my home?

Negative pressure results when more air is leaving your home than is coming in, creating a kind of vacuum. In winter, the heated indoor air rises up through the structure and escapes from upper level leaks. At the same time, we are constantly forcing air out of our house with kitchen and bath fans, clothes dryers, furnaces, fireplaces and water heaters, all of which contribute to the negative pressure problem.

Sometimes this can lead to annoying situations, such as fans that don't seem to work well, or a fireplace or stove that leaks smoke (or that won't draw at all). At other times, a more dangerous situation can result, such as a flow reversal in a furnace chimney that spills carbon monoxide into the house. Negative building pressure can also increase the rate of radon penetration into a home.

One way to relieve this negative pressurization is to ventilate with Condar's Air Supply Ventilator. When you control ventilation, you determine when and where air enters your home, getting the maximum benefit from the least amount of air. While no one product can deal with every house pressure problem, there is an easy test you can perform to check whether the ASV-90 will work for you. Once you've identified a pressure problem, such as a fireplace or stove that won't draw well, try cracking open a window in the room. If that helps your draft, this product will do the job.

What does it look like?

The Condar Fresh ventilator is small, and professionally-designed to look attractive in your room. The controller is 6” square (about the size of a smoke detector) which projects less than two inches out from the wall. Outside, the matching white grill (included with the product at no extra cost) is 5.5 inches square. You can mount it on brick, stucco, vinyl, wood, or any other exterior.

What’s it made of?

ABS molded white polymer. It wipes clean easily, stays looking new indefinitely. Resists conducting heat/cold. Insulated to prevent condensation.

How is it installed?

The ventilator requires a 4-inch hole drilled through an exterior wall. Its adjustable tube will fit any wall thickness up to 14”. Additional tube lengths are available. The light-weight controller mounts to your interior wall with four screws. The exterior grill may be fastened with your choice of screws or adhesives. Caulk with a quality sealant. Click here for an illustration of the installation process.

Where is the filter?

The standard filter is designed to keep insects and dust out of your house. It nestles inside the controller, cleaned or replaced merely by pulling the snap-fit controller box off the wall—no tools are necessary. You can vacuum or wash it as needed, using it for years before replacement. Optional upgrade filters are available to homeowners who wish to filter out pollen or other ultra-fine air pollutants.

Can the Fresh ventilator be shut off completely?

Yes. Condar suggests leaving the Fresh air supply ventilator open at all times to do its work, even when your hearth appliance isn’t being used. This relieves negative air pressure in rooms and provides controlled fresh air year-round. However, if you wish just shut it off anytime.

What maintenance is required?

None. Condar’s ventilator uses no batteries or electricity. Occasionally it’s a good idea to check the filter and see that no debris has blocked the tube.

Where in my room should the Fresh air supply ventilator be installed?

You have great flexibility. Generally the homeowner can choose anyplace that’s accessible. Most people want it low on the wall. You can install it in the room on the opposite side, or on the same side, as the fireplace, woodstove, or gas appliance. (It can even be in an adjacent room—so long as there’s no door to block fresh air flow into the room.) The ventilator controller shouldn’t be blocked by solid pieces of furniture.

Consider another Fresh air supply ventilator for your bedroom. It gives you all the healthy benefits of a gentle flow of fresh air without the heat loss, drafts, noise or security risks of an open window.

Are there houses where Condar’s Fresh ventilator isn’t a good idea?

No. All houses can benefit from replenishing stale inside air with controlled fresh air intake. That’s why it’s recommended to leave the Fresh ventilator operating during the summer. It costs you nothing since there’s no power used to run it.

Are these recommended for apartments or commercial buildings?

Definitely. For building managers, Condar Fresh air supply ventilators are a wise investment. Occupants are less inclined to waste energy by opening windows to get fresh air. They also help prevent “tight building syndrome” which increasingly is being recognized by architects as a problem that should be anticipated during the design phase.

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