# moving warm air; how do you do it?



## adb3 (Nov 2, 2010)

We're using ceiling fans to move air from our wood stove which has a blower.  We live in a single story home.  The heater is located in a room about 1/3 of the way from the end of the house.  How do you move the heated air?


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## KB007 (Nov 2, 2010)

You don't - you move the cool air and let the warm air move itsself.  Try a floor fan pointing in to the stove room blowing cold air from outside the room.  Give it time.


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## NH_Wood (Nov 2, 2010)

adb3 - the best way to move the warm air to cooler part of the home is by using a small fan (or fans) to blow cold air TOWARD the stove room. I have a small desk fan placed on the floor at the end of a hallway - 2 bedrooms and a bath are at that end of the house. The fan sits on the floor at the end of the hallway and blows the cold air toward the stove room. I can hold a tissue at the top of my further bedroom door and see the warm air moving into the room. This REALLY works - definitely give it a try. Soon I'll also be using a fan in the living room blowing toward the stove room and a fan at the top of the second floor stairs blowing air down to the living room. Let us know how it works out for you! Cheers!


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## ispinwool (Nov 2, 2010)

I was so excited yesterday to read these posts....I'd honestly never thought to ASK what's the
best way to move hot air (duh!).

Our woodstove is in a 'sunroom' addition to a 180 year old 3 story house.  I've been blowing
hot air into the house for 2 winters.... yesterday, after reading these posts, I brought the
box fan into the hall (2nd floor) and blew the cold air out. The smoke began to backdraft
into the room in just a few minutes.  Can I assume that the "fan blowing cold air into the warm
room technique" only works for single level houses? Or what did I do wrong?  Maybe the fan
shouldn't be too close to the doorway? I'm thinking I accentuated a Stack Effect....
.......any suggestions?


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## vvvv (Nov 2, 2010)

ispinwool said:
			
		

> I was so excited yesterday to read these posts....I'd honestly never thought to ASK what's the
> best way to move hot air (duh!).
> 
> Our woodstove is in a 'sunroom' addition to a 180 year old 3 story house.  I've been blowing
> ...


i cant think of other than enhanced stack effect of house. try running fan @ lower speed & turning off blower on stove 4 experiment, hotter chimni will have better draft & colder weather makes better draft...insert in masonry needs a blower to get the heat away from the masonry..........whats the stove & chimni setup?


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## firefighterjake (Nov 2, 2010)

ispinwool said:
			
		

> I was so excited yesterday to read these posts....I'd honestly never thought to ASK what's the
> best way to move hot air (duh!).
> 
> Our woodstove is in a 'sunroom' addition to a 180 year old 3 story house.  I've been blowing
> ...



Using the floor fan shouldn't matter if it is a one-story or two-story house and I imagine it would work on a two-story home . . . I use it on my two-story Cape . . . works very well. 

Without knowing where the stove is (story of home) and how far away you placed the fan I wouldn't even begin to hazard a guess as to what you should do differently . . . I can tell you that I position the fan in the doorway (one of two . . . either works) to my living room where the stove is located and turn the fan on low to medium . . . and it just does it's thing by establishing an air current.


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## firefighterjake (Nov 2, 2010)

adb3 said:
			
		

> We're using ceiling fans to move air from our wood stove which has a blower.  We live in a single story home.  The heater is located in a room about 1/3 of the way from the end of the house.  How do you move the heated air?



It has been said many times and in many ways . . . Merry Christmas . . . I mean . . . floor fan . . . it is cheap, easy and it works. 

Position the fan in an adjoining room pointed towards the stove . . . establishes an air current.


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## Shari (Nov 2, 2010)

ispinwool said:
			
		

> I was so excited yesterday to read these posts....I'd honestly never thought to ASK what's the
> best way to move hot air (duh!).
> 
> Our woodstove is in a 'sunroom' addition to a 180 year old 3 story house.  I've been blowing
> ...



Moving heated air:  Cold air is at floor level.  Hot air is at the top.  Put a small fan *at the bottom *of your stairs and face the fan towards the stove area.  I think part of your problem is you are using too large of a fan at high speed.  A smaller (max 12") fan, on low speed, should be sufficient.  You want a 'gentle' flow of air not a blast of air.  In our home (ranch style) we use a 6" fan to pull cooler air from the bedroom wing.  Yes, it takes a while to get the air flowing but it works.  (As I've said before, without our fan running, my toilet seat is cold.  With the fan, my toilet seat is warm.  )

Why your room filled with smoke I have no idea.  Sounds like we need more details on your chimney - where did the smoke come from?  Did it infiltrate from the outside?  Did the stove itself leak smoke?

EDIT:  I am assuming your stove is on the main living area and you are attempting to get heat to the 2nd story of your home.

Shari


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## begreen (Nov 2, 2010)

This question is asked so frequently, often several times a week, that it out to be a sticky. If I get time this weekend I will write up a Wiki article on the topic.


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## vvvv (Nov 2, 2010)

http://www.kinetikenergysolutions.com/solutions/science/stack_effect.html


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## ckarotka (Nov 2, 2010)

I want a smaller fan to do this job. Right now I use a 12" fan but would like to use a Tower fan to save some space in doorways. Any have good results with a Tower fan??


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## Backwoods Savage (Nov 2, 2010)

ckarotka, I doubt a tower fan would work as well. It seems the lower the fan the better it would work. 

We use just a small 6" fan set on low. Just measured to be sure and it is 6" diameter. It sits on the floor and takes very little room.


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## ispinwool (Nov 2, 2010)

Shari said:
			
		

> ispinwool said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...





I WISH the woodburner was in the main living area!!: actually we added on a large porch/room to the back
of the house...we liked it so much we wanted to add heat for winter use---well, we have to keep the backdoor
to the house open or we get cooked!  So we had no idea we were going to have a woodstove out there
and therefore didn't plan for it (the shape of the room is awkward for heat movement and most of the
"walls" are windows---energy efficient ones but NOT a good choice for a room with a woodstove!) 

I just put a smaller fan in the doorway and all is well---
I'll never get the main house truly warm...but any heat
coming in is a beautiful thing....the guy that built the house all those years ago
had a little "pot-bellied" stove in each room---now I know why!


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## ispinwool (Nov 2, 2010)

Thanks to all for your help!!

I wish I was "computer literate" instead of a "computer idiot" so I could post
pictures or floor plans....the "how-to computer jargon"
just can't get through my thick skull.

I appreciate all responses and will do my best to apply them
to my rather unusual situation  



Thanks again!


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