Anyone redirect hot air?

[jtakeman]

Im wondering if running the air handlers for my heating system will really take in the warm air rising to my second floor hallway and effectively distribute the warm air to the rooms on the second floor? I had the fan running for awhile and didnt notice a change in temperature in my bedroom. Suggestions?

You'd have to discribe the conditions. How close is the stove to the intake of the air handler? Your probably going to have to really raise the heat in that area. And it will probably take awhile for the ducts heat loss to settle out(your warming the ducting volume up first) to see any heating gain upstairs.

Moving heated air is always easier when the air mover(fan) is behind the convection area.

The stove is on the first floor. The intake is on the second floor. The hallway that the intake is in (in the ceiling) does feel warm. I guess its not warm enough to raise the temperature in the rooms. Like you said the air has to warm the ducts which run through the attic. Maybe one of those through the wall fans would work better..pulling hot air into the bedroom?

Leave the fan run for a bit. You will need to warm the ducting first before you see any gain on the output. It may take awhile. Do you have a way to measure the air temp at the inlet? measure it. If its 10ºF than the room temps it may actually work. Also try to measure the air temp inside the duct at the outlets. You should slowly see it rise. If there isn't any rising? Probably not gonna work.

I have heard some say it does work and eventually evens out the house temps.

 

[cuznvin]

Im wondering if running the air handlers for my heating system will really take in the warm air rising to my second floor hallway and effectively distribute the warm air to the rooms on the second floor? I had the fan running for awhile and didnt notice a change in temperature in my bedroom. Suggestions?

You'd have to discribe the conditions. How close is the stove to the intake of the air handler? Your probably going to have to really raise the heat in that area. And it will probably take awhile for the ducts heat loss to settle out(your warming the ducting volume up first) to see any heating gain upstairs.

Moving heated air is always easier when the air mover(fan) is behind the convection area.

The stove is on the first floor. The intake is on the second floor. The hallway that the intake is in (in the ceiling) does feel warm. I guess its not warm enough to raise the temperature in the rooms. Like you said the air has to warm the ducts which run through the attic. Maybe one of those through the wall fans would work better..pulling hot air into the bedroom?

Leave the fan run for a bit. You will need to warm the ducting first before you see any gain on the output. It may take awhile. Do you have a way to measure the air temp at the inlet? measure it. If its 10ºF than the room temps it may actually work. Also try to measure the air temp inside the duct at the outlets. You should slowly see it rise. If there isn't any rising? Probably not gonna work.

I have heard some say it does work and eventually evens out the house temps.

Thanks... I was considering getting one of those Thermgards but if running the fan every so often wont warm the rooms, then whats the point....

Even so, will some warm air entering the intake help with using less oil ??

 

[DexterDay]

On a serious note. I have heard there are floor grates that have heat safeties(fire stops) in them. Just haven't found them. This would solve some issues with the vent/duct adders out there! Any one seen any?

Jay, google fusible link floor vent. Plenty out there. Also, in the Hearth Room it was discussed. Try a search at the top pf the page. It may come up..

I think most are set around 165* . Anything over that and the link is burnt and the vent/valve closes. We use fusible link oil valves at work. In case of a fire, the oil flow will stop.

As far as the room to room fans, they work great. IMO using the Air Handler, or any existing HVAC will take a lot of heat out of the warm room and may not make the adjacent rooms any warmer. May even the temps a little. But to much heat loss. IMHO. Use small fans or ceiling fans. My entire home is + or - 1* anywhere you go (several ceiling fans, through the wall fans in every bedroom)

 

[cuznvin]

On a serious note. I have heard there are floor grates that have heat safeties(fire stops) in them. Just haven't found them. This would solve some issues with the vent/duct adders out there! Any one seen any?

Jay, google fusible link floor vent. Plenty out there. Also, in the Hearth Room it was discussed. Try a search at the top pf the page. It may come up..

I think most are set around 165* . Anything over that and the link is burnt and the vent/valve closes. We use fusible link oil valves at work. In case of a fire, the oil flow will stop.

As far as the room to room fans, they work great. IMO using the Air Handler, or any existing HVAC will take a lot of heat out of the warm room and may not make the adjacent rooms any warmer. May even the temps a little. But to much heat loss. IMHO. Use small fans or ceiling fans. My entire home is + or - 1* anywhere you go (several ceiling fans, through the wall fans in every bedroom)

Thanks.. Ill look into those fans..

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Here are more pics of getting my heat up from the basement!

See my slide show of the registers with a thermostat to automatically turn the fans on to bring up the heat!
http://tinyurl.com/3knkvjh

Also see how much heat pellet stove ductwork can provide!
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/71518/

See wiring diagram to turn on fans when air temp over pellet stove rises above 75 degrees!!

Click on diagram to enlarge and view

 

[jtakeman]

On a serious note. I have heard there are floor grates that have heat safeties(fire stops) in them. Just haven't found them. This would solve some issues with the vent/duct adders out there! Any one seen any?

Jay, google fusible link floor vent. Plenty out there. Also, in the Hearth Room it was discussed. Try a search at the top pf the page. It may come up..

I think most are set around 165* . Anything over that and the link is burnt and the vent/valve closes. We use fusible link oil valves at work. In case of a fire, the oil flow will stop.

Thanks for the tip dex!

I tried fusible link floor vent, But Fire dampers got better results. The catch is many stoves convect must hotter temps than 165ºF. The kicker is I have lowered mine with the oversized convection blower. But I'm still close with the good stuff(hot pellets). So other that add them could easily over power the fusible link.

AFAIK, They are not required by code in my town. I was told that as long as the duct was attached like the common furnace My duct was deemed exceptable. But I still would add them as insurance. I did find this one,

(broken link removed)

Seems it has something like a snap disc. I wonder if there are alternate links that have higher temps?

We need some peeps to blast there oil/propane forced air furnace and measure temps to see how hot they are. Just to see how far out of wack we might be with our duct temps.

I added the oversized blower for another reason, Hot vent syndrome that could burn my tootsies. And one our cats that loves to lay on the floor vents. She's always cold. We have to shoe her off or we loose convection in the room she decides to block the vent in.

 

[jtakeman]

Natural Selection is a wonderful thing.

Explain?

I was very leary on adding duct to my stove, But was eased when I saw the Drolet Eco-65 and its duct option. No larger fan, No added protection and NFPI approved. And if they can do it why can't I?

 

[cuznvin]

Im wondering if running the air handlers for my heating system will really take in the warm air rising to my second floor hallway and effectively distribute the warm air to the rooms on the second floor? I had the fan running for awhile and didnt notice a change in temperature in my bedroom. Suggestions?

You'd have to discribe the conditions. How close is the stove to the intake of the air handler? Your probably going to have to really raise the heat in that area. And it will probably take awhile for the ducts heat loss to settle out(your warming the ducting volume up first) to see any heating gain upstairs.

Moving heated air is always easier when the air mover(fan) is behind the convection area.

The stove is on the first floor. The intake is on the second floor. The hallway that the intake is in (in the ceiling) does feel warm. I guess its not warm enough to raise the temperature in the rooms. Like you said the air has to warm the ducts which run through the attic. Maybe one of those through the wall fans would work better..pulling hot air into the bedroom?

Leave the fan run for a bit. You will need to warm the ducting first before you see any gain on the output. It may take awhile. Do you have a way to measure the air temp at the inlet? measure it. If its 10ºF than the room temps it may actually work. Also try to measure the air temp inside the duct at the outlets. You should slowly see it rise. If there isn't any rising? Probably not gonna work.

I have heard some say it does work and eventually evens out the house temps.

Ok.. Hallway was 69 degrees. Bedroom 61. Ran the fan for an hour. Hallway 65, bedroom 62. I think the thru the wall fan will be a better option.. More $$$$$

 

[DexterDay]

(broken link removed)

Broan makes a 90 CFM unit thats about $40. This is what I use. They make larger units, but I think there os no need. These are big enough for us to be able to close our bedroom doors at night (1.5"-1.75" gap under door for cold air return). They are much cheaper than the Suncourt models at HD. And they sell an adjustable switch that you can use. Its rated at 57w so that you cant run ot under 50% .

Not that expensive IMO. They make noise. But compared to my Corner doorway units, they are just as loud at Full blast, but the through the wall fans seem to put out 75% more air. Oh and did I mention I can close my door??? For 3 yrs we slept with the doors open.

 

[cuznvin]

http://www.ventingdirect.com/index.cfm?page=search:browse&term=Broan+512&x=0&y=0

Broan makes a 90 CFM unit thats about $40. This is what I use. They make larger units, but I think there os no need. These are big enough for us to be able to close our bedroom doors at night (1.5"-1.75" gap under door for cold air return). They are much cheaper than the Suncourt models at HD. And they sell an adjustable switch that you can use. Its rated at 57w so that you cant run ot under 50% .

Not that expensive IMO. They make noise. But compared to my Corner doorway units, they are just as loud at Full blast, but the through the wall fans seem to put out 75% more air. Oh and did I mention I can close my door??? For 3 yrs we slept with the doors open.

Thanks.. I checked that same fan out on Amazon for something like $34. Then I will have to get an electrician to install. $150 more.. UGH...

 

[DexterDay]

http://www.ventingdirect.com/index.cfm?page=search:browse&term=Broan+512&x=0&y=0

Broan makes a 90 CFM unit thats about $40. This is what I use. They make larger units, but I think there os no need. These are big enough for us to be able to close our bedroom doors at night (1.5"-1.75" gap under door for cold air return). They are much cheaper than the Suncourt models at HD. And they sell an adjustable switch that you can use. Its rated at 57w so that you cant run ot under 50% .

Not that expensive IMO. They make noise. But compared to my Corner doorway units, they are just as loud at Full blast, but the through the wall fans seem to put out 75% more air. Oh and did I mention I can close my door??? For 3 yrs we slept with the doors open.

Thanks.. I checked that same fan out on Amazon for something like $34. Then I will have to get an electrician to install. $150 more.. UGH...

Really not that hard. Find where you have an existing outlet in your wall. Use a 6" hole saw and cut above that outlet (use a stud finder if your unsure of stud placement) Then cut a small hole (the size of an outlet for the On/Off switch). The instructions are very simple and the wires are all color coded (Romex only has Black, White, and Ground (bare wire)). Run the black to the black, White to white, and ground to the green screw in the fan box, run that down to the hole for your on/off switch. Then run a peice of Romex from the outlet you selected up to the same hole you ran the Romex from the Fan.

Now here is where The white wire from the bottom power outlet and the fans white wire get connected. They dont go to the on/off switch. Only the black from fan and black from outlet go to switch. Obviously ground is ground.

The wiring is pretty explanatory. It took me about an hour and a half and I am no electrician either. But do what you gotta do. Many others on here would help you along the way.

 

[Lake Girl]

Most fusible links are rated 165 F. The cost is pretty modest when you consider life safety but then I live with a 25 year career fire fighter who can reference code in the course of a casual conversation.

(broken link removed)

We have the Ecoteck Elena Air ... what they don't tell you is that the ducting recommendation is only about 10' (2.5 m) which isn't very practical with our house configuration. Still figuring out the how-to... Outside temps this AM about 10 F/-12 C

 

[jtakeman]

Thanks for the link Lake Girl, Those are the mechanical type. Spring loaded and the fusible link keeps it open until it melts. Very simple design. Do you know if the fusible link is externally mounted? Or does it go off the internal air temp of the vent stream?

The one I linked is electrical, It uses a snap disc to close it. So a power outage would render it useless. But it could be set to 212º or higher if needed.

 

[Lake Girl]

For the mechanical fusible links, internal vent temp is what triggers - link literally melts. The fire guy, sitting in his big comfy chair, mentioned that by the time the link closes in fire situation, smoke inhalation will have done its work. Smoke detectors near your stove are more critical. You can also get the smoke detector models that are linked so if the one near the stove goes off, will trigger the others in the house.

Aireshare (room to room/level to level) is an interesting concept but 75 CFMs is on the low side. They appear to afford firestop protection but higher cost. www.tjernlund.com

J- if you're using in-line duct fans, the only ones I've seen are rated 140 F. What are you using and what temps?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Natural Selection is a wonderful thing.

Explain?

I was very leary on adding duct to my stove, But was eased when I saw the Drolet Eco-65 and its duct option. No larger fan, No added protection and NFPI approved. And if they can do it why can't I?

I think thedak is saying if peeps do things without checking all of the ramifications and end up offing themselves it is fine.

 

[jtakeman]

I am using the fan on my stove. I made a sealed snorkle(duct adapter) and use the convection blower to do the dirty work. I have the smoke and CO detectors. With the largest fan I can find stuffed in the stove my vent temps are around 140ºF on medium. I can still go well over 200ºF on high! I just don't use high! I have also never seen Fire and Smoke Dampers installed on any forced air furnace.

If anyone is looking for duct fans that have higher degree ratings? Check these out.

http://www.aero-flo.com/centrifugal-fans

257/266ºF and the highest CFM's I have seen. 240 from a 6" fan. Available from 6 to 14 inches.