electric vs gas stove + weather sealing

So this is something that has bothered me for years.  The idea that we attempt to seal our homes to keep the heat in, plus we have a gas stove that uses oxygen when it burns. 

Just to give you an idea, here is a demo of a candle burning that oxygen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPbMvchZb6A

If a kitchen is 10x10x8. That would be 800 cubic feet.

A burner uses a lot more oxygen than a candle.

If we were to say that a burner uses 10 time more than a candle, and that that glass was a .... 12 ounce glass And we could go so far as to guess that the the candle used the air in the glass in one second ....

One fluid ounce is 1.804 cubic inches ... that's 21.684 cubic inches.

1728 cubic inches in a cubic foot.

So the burner would use up all the air in one cubic foot in about 8 seconds.

6400 seconds for the whole room? 106 minutes.

So .... given all the slop and assuming an air tight kitchen and not figuring in how much oxygen the human subject is consuming, the human should be dead in about an hour and a half. (due to some sloppy measurements, maybe 30 minutes, maybe six hours)

Sound about right?

Of course, even the tightest houses leak, and there are all sorts of other variables at play here.  But the bottom line I'm thinking about is:  I don't like the idea of getting too carried away with sealing a home to keep the heat in.  Further, I don't like the idea of gas stoves:  they take oxygen out of the air I'm breathing.  At least a rocket mass heater pulls oxygen AND nitrogen out of the room - not just the oxygen. 

paul wheaton wrote:
So this is something that has bothered me for years.  The idea that we attempt to seal our homes to keep the heat in, plus we have a gas stove that uses oxygen when it burns. 

Just to give you an idea, here is a demo of a candle burning that oxygen

If a kitchen is 10x10x8. That would be 800 cubic feet.

A burner uses a lot more oxygen than a candle.

If we were to say that a burner uses 10 time more than a candle, and that that glass was a .... 12 ounce glass And we could go so far as to guess that the the candle used the air in the glass in one second ....

One fluid ounce is 1.804 cubic inches ... that's 21.684 cubic inches.

1728 cubic inches in a cubic foot.

So the burner would use up all the air in one cubic foot in about 8 seconds.

6400 seconds for the whole room? 106 minutes.

So .... given all the slop and assuming an air tight kitchen and not figuring in how much oxygen the human subject is consuming, the human should be dead in about an hour and a half. (due to some sloppy measurements, maybe 30 minutes, maybe six hours)

Sound about right?

Of course, even the tightest houses leak, and there are all sorts of other variables at play here.  But the bottom line I'm thinking about is:  I don't like the idea of getting too carried away with sealing a home to keep the heat in.  Further, I don't like the idea of gas stoves:  they take oxygen out of the air I'm breathing.   At least a rocket mass heater pulls oxygen AND nitrogen out of the room - not just the oxygen. 

Gas stoves, and one other type of small gas-powered "fireplace" for room heating, are the only combustion appliances approved to discharge into the home itself, instead of through a vent to the outdoors.

Candles, Bunsen burners, and kerosene lamps are not really appliances, and they're smaller, so I won't worry about them.

If I had a gas stove, I would want a vent hood over it.  I want one over a stove anyway, due to the fact that I can't keep my mind on the bacon when there are so many interesting questions on the Internet!

If you think about it, the human is breathing oxygen selectively too, and breathing out carbon dioxide.  You really want some airflow through your house, just like you want to poke holes in the top of the jar when you catch fireflies.  Luckily, drywall and wood aren't as airtight as glass and wax seals.

Makes a pretty good argument for keeping a healthy houseplant collection.  But even plants use oxygen at night.

Hmm....

Maybe I should be glad our house is demonstrably well ventilated.  There are even little "whoosh" lines where the attic air comes in through the cracks around the ceiling moulding.