# Add-on furnace Cold Air Return Box ?



## Billster (Oct 7, 2009)

Hello Everyone,

I'm new here, and was referred here to ask my question.

What a great site this is


I bought a new wood stove for this year.. It's made by United States stove company.

Here's the stove I bought from tractor supply.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/home-i...-states-stove-co-1557m-add-on-furnace-5095270


Does anyone know about installing a "cold air return box" back to the stove ???

The stove I bought says to install the cold air return. The box goes over the blowers, and if I don't install one, then the blowers will put smoke in the house, and pick up dust.... I built a small fire in it yesterday to burn off the oil that they put on it, and I turned on my blowers and the house got a lot of smoke inside.

I installed all the duct-work from the stove to the duct-work of my home.

Do I need to put a vent in the floor and install duct-work back to the stove ???

OR,
What's the best way to get air back to the stove ???


Thanks for any help.....I would really appreciate it

Billster


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## semipro (Oct 7, 2009)

Billster, have you tried a post to the Boiler Room forum.  Maybe you could get some response there.  
Good luck.


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## Billster (Oct 8, 2009)

Semipro said:
			
		

> Billster, have you tried a post to the Boiler Room forum.  Maybe you could get some response there.
> Good luck.



Thanks for the reply!

No I never posted it there, but I will... I'm trying to find my way around here.

Thanks again


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## Billster (Oct 8, 2009)

Ghettontheball said:
			
		

> assuming u connected to the chimni correctly, the stove & chimni didnt get hot enuff to turn on the blower



Yes I installed it right.

After I built the fire and it warmed up some, then I turned the thermostat up so the blowers would come on.

All the oil from the new stove is burned off now.. I took the duct-work loose today and built a fire.

The return air is what I'm trying to figure out.

Thanks for the reply


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## jpd989 (Oct 8, 2009)

You need to hook up your return air to the box on your new furnace. That way you are creating an air circulation loop. You are pulling warmer air thru your furnace and heating it up to temp and returning it thru your ducts. Also if it has a filter you are filtering the air.


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## Billster (Oct 8, 2009)

jpd989 said:
			
		

> You need to hook up your return air to the box on your new furnace. That way you are creating an air circulation loop. You are pulling warmer air thru your furnace and heating it up to temp and returning it thru your ducts. Also if it has a filter you are filtering the air.



Thanks for the reply

I know about hooking it up to the box... I just don't know "where" in the house I need to have the vent for the return.

In the middle of the house, OR, at the farthest end of the house from the stove ???

Thanks


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## begreen (Oct 8, 2009)

It ties into the existing return air plenum at the furnace. No need to cut new holes in the floor.


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## Billster (Oct 8, 2009)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> It ties into the existing return air plenum at the furnace. No need to cut new holes in the floor.



Thanks for the reply

My new stove is in a building, and my electric furnace is inside my home.

The return air on the "electric furnace" goes through 2-filters on the furnace.


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## begreen (Oct 8, 2009)

Are both furnaces heating the same building? What is the distance between the two furnaces?


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## smokinj (Oct 8, 2009)

just because the cold air not hook up wouldnt cause it to blow smoke. is this your frist fire in it? 
http://www.usstove.com/proddetail.php?prod=1557M


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## Billster (Oct 8, 2009)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> Are both furnaces heating the same building? What is the distance between the two furnaces?



No their not heating the same building.. I put the wood stove in the building and hooked it up to the duct-work in my home.

I started to put the stove in the garage, but I would have to move a lot stuff to bring wood in with the tractor.

The distance between the two is about 30ft.

Thanks


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## Billster (Oct 8, 2009)

smokinjay said:
			
		

> just because the cold air not hook up wouldnt cause it to blow smoke. is this your frist fire in it?
> http://www.usstove.com/proddetail.php?prod=1557M



Yesterday was the first fire... It burned off some of the oil they put on it from the factory, and it smoked a lot.

I took the duct-work loose today and built a fire to heat it up good, and it burned all the oil off.

I was told that the stove would work better if I had the return hooked up.


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## mike1234 (Oct 8, 2009)

I'm a little confused, maybe we need a little more info.  What I think you are saying - You put your new wood furnace in a building 30 feet from the house, and you have ductwork running to the house.  Also, I am guessing that all the furnace air pours into one room and is not ducted throughout the house.  Now you want to get your return air from the house also, instead of just getting it from the building it's in.  And your house is electric heat, no ductwork.

If all that is right, then if you should put the return air in at the opposite end of the house as where the ducting for the furnace comes in, that would be best.  

And yes getting air from the house to warm up, instead of cold air the outside or the cold building will greatly improve you efficiency.   

If I do not understand your set up, maybe you could clear that up for us, so someone can help you out.


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## Billster (Oct 8, 2009)

mike1234 said:
			
		

> I'm a little confused, maybe we need a little more info.  What I think you are saying - You put your new wood furnace in a building 30 feet from the house, and you have ductwork running to the house.  Also, I am guessing that all the furnace air pours into one room and is not ducted throughout the house.  Now you want to get your return air from the house also, instead of just getting it from the building it's in.  And your house is electric heat, no ductwork.
> 
> If all that is right, then if you should put the return air in at the opposite end of the house as where the ducting for the furnace comes in, that would be best.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the reply

I built a building right against the end of the house... The building doesn't have a wall between the house.

The new wood-stove is about 5ft from the house....(My electric furnace inside, is 30ft from the wood-stove)

I have duct-work in my home for the electric furnace and central air... I just tied my two 8" pipes coming from the stove to the duct-work.

If you understand that... *Would it be best* to have the return from the other end of my home ???

Thanks for again...... (sorry if I confused you)

My wife wants me to call a heating & cooling guy, but I could buy another stove for what he would charge.

Thanks for (ALL) the replies

Billster


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## mike1234 (Oct 8, 2009)

I think you should just tap into the return air duct you have now for the electric furnace, that pulls air from throughout the house.  Then basically you are replacing the electric furnace with the wood furnace when you are burning wood.


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## laynes69 (Oct 8, 2009)

Ghettontheball said:
			
		

> mike1234 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thats where backdraft dampers solve the problem. My woodfurnace is tied directly into the cold air return of my Central Furnace. But depending on the setup you would be required to have backdraft dampers so the air doesn't back feed. If your furnace is on one end of the house, and you pump air into the ducting from the furnace then you push that air into the central furnace and not through the ducting. You should have a damper over the central furnace, and maybe even 2 manual 8" dampers in the line. That way when you don't use the woodfurnace, you close the lines to the woodfurnace. As far as the Return air goes, depending on the size of the home you could run a seperate return to the rear of the house, away from the furnace, or tie into like stated already. By having the 2 8" damper in the woodfurnace line, when the central furnace would run it wouldn't pull heated air backwards through the return of the central furnace, possibly damaging something. You can keep the filter box on the furnace and tie in off there with a little sheetmetal work. That way your air is filtered for the woodfurnace, and of course the central furnace. Just remember, you have a power outage, pull that filter on the woodfurnace, and open those dampers in the 2 8" lines to allow for heat to escape the jacket.


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## Billster (Oct 11, 2009)

I got my "return air" hooked up now.

I built my "return box", and made it so I can use a 20"x20"x1" filter.

Since my new wood stove is in a different place than my electric furnace, I had to install a vent in the floor... I have a 20" pipe for the return going back to the stove, and I put the vent on the opposite end of my home.

It works a lot better now since I have a circulation loop of warm air going back to the stove, and not pulling cold air like I was before.

So thanks for all the replies


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