Floor Fan

[Lapham1790]

I am trying to distribute heat a short distance from one room to the next through doorway. I am blowing cold air towards the stove room but the heat in the cold room is dropping. There is also a staircase on the opposite side so I think most of the hot air tends to go upstairs rather than moving to the adjacent room on the same floor

 

[begreen]

That's possible. A couple of tests could confirm the hypothesis. Before using the fan, put a thermometer at the top of the stairs. Note the temperature. Check the temp again 30 minutes after the fan is turned on. Also, if there is a door threshold there, tape a 24" section of toilet paper to the top of the door frame at the top of the stairs. Then turn on the fan and watch the toilet paper as an indicator of the air flow.

 

[stoveliker]

I grew up in a home where my parents had a thick curtain in front of the stairs. It helped keep the stove heat downstairs and keep the bedrooms cooler (well, they were cool already with frost on the inside of the walls in the corner of my room...)

A curtain can help a lot, can look good, is easy to mount, and is easy to get past, open up, remove in summer.

 

[Lapham1790]

That's possible. A couple of tests could confirm the hypothesis. Before using the fan, put a thermometer at the top of the stairs. Note the temperature. Check the temp again 30 minutes after the fan is turned on. Also, if there is a door threshold there, tape a 24" section of toilet paper to the top of the door frame at the top of the stairs. Then turn on the fan and watch the toilet paper as an indicator of the air flow.

The stove is to the left of staircase. Fan is in the dark room blowing into stove room where I would like the heat to go

 

[djlew]

I have a similar layout and a similar result. Granted, my stove is small but the distance to distribute heat is short. Apologies for missing your model of stove if I did but that's something to consider. I put up some screw in hooks on the second floor with sheets and it didn't raise my temps up much but took the chill out of the air. TP trick helps to determine if your loop is working. It's good to try these things before going a DIY ducted fan route (I've been planning something like this out).

 

[begreen]

The stove is to the left of staircase. Fan is in the dark room blowing into stove room where I would like the heat to go

That'll be a challenge. The hot air will naturally rise up the open stairwell. It won't go around the corner through the narrow doorway naturally. Ducting it may be the best solution.