Heat distribution to back rooms

[loneeagle15]

if putting a pass through vent with fan is unsafe why was a link posted on this site to a company that makes and sell just such an item?

 

[GrantC]

More to the point: if a passthrough is so unsafe, can I assume that everyone sleeps with their bedroom doors closed? After all, if a 6" round hole in the wall (roughly 9.5 sq in) is that dangerous, a 30" door (2340 sq in) must be 246 times more dangerous - right?

Please, someone give me a non-hyperbolic reason why a passthrough is such a no-no - and remember that bedroom door.

-=[ Grant ]=-

 

[begreen]

Not to get carried away here, but the bedroom door is not powered. The pipe into the room is. In the case of a fire, when you need to buy seconds to escape, closing the door will buy you time. Can you turn off the fan motor that is blowing smoke into the bedroom?

I think the point is that if you are going to put in systems that deliver warm air, then spend the extra time to install some safety systems that will protect you in case of an emergency. Some of these options are:
1) smoke and/or CO detector shut off of powered fans
2) put a fan switch in the room that is being fed by the fan
3) if hard ducted, consider adding a fire damper to the pipe

 

[GrantC]

Not to get carried away here, but the bedroom door is not powered. The pipe into the room is. In the case of a fire, when you need to buy seconds to escape, closing the door will buy you time. Can you turn off the fan motor that is blowing smoke into the bedroom?

I think the point is that if you are going to put in systems that deliver warm air, then spend the extra time to install some safety systems that will protect you in case of an emergency. Some of these options are:
1) smoke and/or CO detector shut off of powered fans
2) put a fan switch in the room that is being fed by the fan
3) if hard ducted, consider adding a fire damper to the pipe

Thank you - that was quite helpful.

In my case, the spare bedroom is used as an office - no one actually sleeps there. I'm thinking of putting in one of the room-to-room ducted fans, which will have the fan switch in the spare bedroom (by design.)

It sounds as if the safety concerns are not applicable in my case - correct?

-=[ Grant ]=-

 

[GrantC]

Here's a thought: would it work to put in an (unpowered) duct or register in the common wall at ceiling level, and another at floor level? The idea is that the cold air would flow downward, out the lower register, creating a partial vacuum in the room and pulling in the warm air at the top.

Opinions?

-=[ Grant ]=-

 

[Martin Strand III]

More to the point: if a passthrough is so unsafe, can I assume that everyone sleeps with their bedroom doors closed? After all, if a 6" round hole in the wall (roughly 9.5 sq in) is that dangerous, a 30" door (2340 sq in) must be 246 times more dangerous - right?

Please, someone give me a non-hyperbolic reason why a passthrough is such a no-no - and remember that bedroom door.

-=[ Grant ]=-

Grant:

What is your logic of putting a 6" hole (1/246 the size of the existing door, by your calculation) in the wall to make your bedroom warmer?

Why not try heating your bedroom up with the door open when your burn your stove during the day, add a small fan on the floor to blow cooler air out and then discontinue the fan and close the bedroom door on retiring?

As the fan forces cooler air out lower in the bedroom, it will be replaced by warmer air from the ceiling area in adjacent heated room where the stove is located.

Aye,
Marty

 

[GrantC]

What is your logic of putting a 6" hole (1/246 the size of the existing door, by your calculation) in the wall to make your bedroom warmer?

Why not try heating your bedroom up with the door open when your burn your stove during the day, add a small fan on the floor to blow cooler air out and then discontinue the fan and close the bedroom door on retiring?

As the fan forces cooler air out lower in the bedroom, it will be replaced by warmer air from the ceiling area in adjacent heated room where the stove is located.

Please see the diagram on the first page of this thread. We do that now - but the air in the hallway is significantly cooler (by 10-15 degrees) than the air in the family room, so the spare bedroom doesn't get terribly warm. Tolerable, but not warm.

I'm hoping that bringing the much warmer air near the ceiling of the family room into the spare bedroom will result in a marked improvement.

-=[ Grant ]=-

 

[drizler]

Not to get carried away here, but the bedroom door is not powered. The pipe into the room is. In the case of a fire, when you need to buy seconds to escape, closing the door will buy you time. Can you turn off the fan motor that is blowing smoke into the bedroom?

I think the point is that if you are going to put in systems that deliver warm air, then spend the extra time to install some safety systems that will protect you in case of an emergency. Some of these options are:
1) smoke and/or CO detector shut off of powered fans
2) put a fan switch in the room that is being fed by the fan
3) if hard ducted, consider adding a fire damper to the pipe

I can't agree more. Say what you want but there are many things you can do to keep from making your house into a fire trap. Point is you got to get heat there some how so do what you can to make it safer but if you are that concerned then just install electric baseboards and get out your wallet. There is some element of danger in all of this and there is just no way around it. Mitigate it as best you can using common sense and good practices or get out your wallet.................................

 

[Martin Strand III]

What is your logic of putting a 6" hole (1/246 the size of the existing door, by your calculation) in the wall to make your bedroom warmer?

Why not try heating your bedroom up with the door open when your burn your stove during the day, add a small fan on the floor to blow cooler air out and then discontinue the fan and close the bedroom door on retiring?

As the fan forces cooler air out lower in the bedroom, it will be replaced by warmer air from the ceiling area in adjacent heated room where the stove is located.

Please see the diagram on the first page of this thread. We do that now - but the air in the hallway is significantly cooler (by 10-15 degrees) than the air in the family room, so the spare bedroom doesn't get terribly warm. Tolerable, but not warm.

I'm hoping that bringing the much warmer air near the ceiling of the family room into the spare bedroom will result in a marked improvement.

-=[ Grant ]=-

That is what I suggested with using a fan on the floor to push cold air out thereby passively bringing warm air in via the open door.

How will you accomplish this with a 6" hole near the ceiling?

Aye,
Marty

 

[Ken45]

I have a similar problem. I live in a 76' mobile home and I'm having trouble getting heat down a hallway to the master B/R and bathroom. I have a fan in the top of the doorway trying to move the warm air down the hallway but it doesn't seem to work that great.

My Uncle told me to put the fan down on the floor and push the cold air into the room with the stove, and the warm air will flow down the hallway, replacing the cold air. He said its easier to move the cold air than it is to move the warm air. Does this make any sense? Should I try and put the fan down on the floor and move the cold air?

amitysanimal

You can just set a small (10-12") fan on the floor, or use a bigger box fan. Set it back a few feet from the door way blowing toward the hallway. That will send the cooler air out and automatically pull the warmer air in up high. We did that for my wife's computer room and it makes a big difference even though it's a small fan.

It's a lot easier (and I think more effective) to just set a fan on the floor than to mount it up high.

Unfortunately, MY computer room is in the basement

Ken

 

[HeatsTwice]

Has anyone used the outside air intake of their wood stoves to draw cold air from the back of the house by using a (somewhat) long supply tube running through the basement or rafters? IMHO, this would be a great way to force circulation from the stove to a cold part of the house without the use of any blowers, fans or vents. An added bonus would be to put in an inline flapper vent which could be closed in the event of a chimney fire.

I have searched all of these forums and not encountered any one mensioning that they had done this.

 

[Martin Strand III]

Has anyone used the outside air intake of their wood stoves to draw cold air from the back of the house by using a (somewhat) long supply tube running through the basement or rafters? IMHO, this would be a great way to force circulation from the stove to a cold part of the house without the use of any blowers, fans or vents. An added bonus would be to put in an inline flapper vent which could be closed in the event of a chimney fire.

I have searched all of these forums and not encountered any one mensioning that they had done this.

Just a couple problems with that idea:

1. A long tube to the back of the house is not "outside air", unless you mean "from the back of the house" outside.
2. The long tube would not warm the cold part of the house it came from, without a fan or blower, since warm air rises.
3. Most main level (first floor) wood stoves don't need outside air especially when they're dialed down to prevent over firing.

FYI: These, and other, reasons may be why you have not found anyone doing this.

Aye,
Marty

 

[HeatsTwice]

Has anyone used the outside air intake of their wood stoves to draw cold air from the back of the house by using a (somewhat) long supply tube running through the basement or rafters? IMHO, this would be a great way to force circulation from the stove to a cold part of the house without the use of any blowers, fans or vents. An added bonus would be to put in an inline flapper vent which could be closed in the event of a chimney fire.

I have searched all of these forums and not encountered any one mensioning that they had done this.

Just a couple problems with that idea:

1. A long tube to the back of the house is not "outside air", unless you mean "from the back of the house" outside.
2. The long tube would not warm the cold part of the house it came from, without a fan or blower, since warm air rises.
3. Most main level (first floor) wood stoves don't need outside air especially when they're dialed down to prevent over firing.

FYI: These, and other, reasons may be why you have not found anyone doing this.

Aye,
Marty

1) True. Sorry for not being more specific.

2) Very true. I didn't even think of that.

3) Need it or not the stove I have (Napoleon 1900) has one - which I don't use. I just thought I would use it to move cold "back of the house" air out of the house, rather than from all over the place as I am doing now.

Thanks

 

[bsa0021]

how about a bathroom vent fan set up with 4 or 6 inch flex going to the bedroom. so as the air comes off the stove the vent fan in the ceiling sucks the hot air up and moves it directly to the bed room. i have been using this system for about 2 years and it seems to be doing a good job. i have about 60 feet of flex vent in my attic that goes from the stove to the bedroom via a heat vent in the ceiling. youll also need to cover the flex vent with insulation so no heat is lost. according to the thermometer my bed room is 5 deg colder than the room with the stove . i have a 1700 foot house and am able to heat the house with a quadrafire 2100. only rated for 1500 max. but the house is never cold.and i live in western ny were its always cold night temps about 10 deg or less most of the time. i draw my warm air 3 feet from the stack going through the ceiling.

Fish
What kind of fan are you using? I tried the same thing through my attic using a HD duct fan with poor results.

 

[HeatsTwice]

Has anyone used the outside air intake of their wood stoves to draw cold air from the back of the house by using a (somewhat) long supply tube running through the basement or rafters? IMHO, this would be a great way to force circulation from the stove to a cold part of the house without the use of any blowers, fans or vents. An added bonus would be to put in an inline flapper vent which could be closed in the event of a chimney fire.

I have searched all of these forums and not encountered any one mensioning that they had done this.

Just a couple problems with that idea:

1. A long tube to the back of the house is not "outside air", unless you mean "from the back of the house" outside.
2. The long tube would not warm the cold part of the house it came from, without a fan or blower, since warm air rises.
3. Most main level (first floor) wood stoves don't need outside air especially when they're dialed down to prevent over firing.

FYI: These, and other, reasons may be why you have not found anyone doing this.

Aye,
Marty

1) True. Sorry for not being more specific.

2) Very true. I didn't even think of that.

3) Need it or not the stove I have (Napoleon 1900) has one - which I don't use. I just thought I would use it to move cold "back of the house" air out of the house, rather than from all over the place as I am doing now.

Thanks

I've been thinking about number 2. I think what you are saying is that if all I do is suck cold air from near the floors of the back room, all that this will accomplish will be the replentishment of cold air from all of the "leaks" in the house and not actually suck warm air from the stove room to the back, cold rooms.

Seems logical to me. The only thing I am having trouble with is figuring in the fact that, all of that cold air leaking in will bring with it warm air as the flow is not laminar but turbulent.

whatever.

 

[Thomask9590]

My vote would be to put an un-powered floor vent in the top of the wall and the bottom with a fan in the bedroom. Think of the room as a heat exchanger. The secret is to move the air or change the cold air out with hot! Just my $.02. I spent way too many hours in an HVAC class and some of it actualy stuck. :lol:

 

[Thomask9590]

My vote would be to put an un-powered floor vent in the top of the wall and the bottom with a fan in the bedroom. Think of the room as a heat exchanger. The secret is to move the air or change the cold air out with hot! Just my $.02. I spent way too many hours in an HVAC class and some of it actually stuck. :lol:

 

[billb3]

I'd be suspicious of attic access in that room acting like a chimney.

If heat is geting to the master bedroom, it should be getting to the bedroom in between.
Unless the door is left shut.