If you think your HVAC unit will distribute the heat from a wood stove.. think again..

[webby3650]

Yes, I have seen a lot of crawlspace ductwork stripped of insulation by rodents, our house included. They must be using it to insulate their nests.

Crawlspaces are the most overlooked part of most homes. Do you know the difference between a crawlspace and a basement? Nothing! Except crawlspaces are full of moisture and unconditioned air. You’d never let unconditioned air feely into your basements, but it’s common in a crawl. It’s all too common.
A Mobile home doesn’t have enough air restriction to even create a damaging moist environment.

 

[redmanlcs]

Previous owners just stapled some plastic around the trailer to keep wind out.. it didn't last a month until animals clawed there way in/out.

When we moved here we were offered this dump as a last resort. I packed my belongings and moved on a whim with the trailer site unseen. We got here and saw two trailers parked pretty much side by side. A newer one (2010 model) and a very old one (1972 model).. I took for granted that the newer one was the one to move into until I saw all the black mold. Previous owners moved out and didn't shut off the water which froze and busted all the lines. Water sprayed inside the newer trailer for two months before the water company finally shut it off. It was ruined. The old trailer was the only one that was even somewhat livable.

I could visibly see the mold spores floating around in the air. I couldn't have none of that. I used the aluminum siding off the newer trailer to underpin the older one. It don't matter to me if it buckles, there is plenty of long screws to keep it in place. It stays cool under there so no worries about doing the insulating job in summer.

This trailer has the sewer lines underground so letting the water drip is fine. I never have had an issue with water dams. If the trunk is leaking much I doubt the water would ever freeze if the HVAC is running but I err on the side of caution as I don't like to do plumbing jobs in the middle of winter either. WIthout underpinning it would freeze at 27.F.

The installers were under there hooking up the return and supply lines and they said it would circulate the wood heat.

We have been here for about 6 years now and the mold in the newer trailer is pretty much to the point a person could tear out and replace the sheetrock/floors etc. and possibly have it livable, but too bad now because I used most of the outside sheeting for underpinning, and now im using about half of it as a garage, sold all the copper wiring, etc. It was really nice at one point, 3 bedroom, two bath, fireplace, huge living room... This one is old and showing its wear, 2 small bedrooms, 1 small bath but its home for this poor boy for now.

Electric bill only runs about $150 per month and I feel its not too bad considering.

One a side note, when I bought my wood stove the sales person overheard me talking to my wife about where was we going to put it in our trailer. The sales person immediately told us that the stove couldn't be installed in a trailer. My reply was "watch me".. lol. Where we live building codes are not enforced. I know several people who live in old chicken houses that have been "remodeled" so to speak. Other than the never ending smell of chicken poo, you would never think it was ever a house for chickens or a "chicken coop". Seriously.

 

[webby3650]

Previous owners just stapled some plastic around the trailer to keep wind out.. it didn't last a month until animals clawed there way in/out.

When we moved here we were offered this dump as a last resort. I packed my belongings and moved on a whim with the trailer site unseen. We got here and saw two trailers parked pretty much side by side. A newer one (2010 model) and a very old one (1972 model).. I took for granted that the newer one was the one to move into until I saw all the black mold. Previous owners moved out and didn't shut off the water which froze and busted all the lines. Water sprayed inside the newer trailer for two months before the water company finally shut it off. It was ruined. The old trailer was the only one that was even somewhat livable.

I could visibly see the mold spores floating around in the air. I couldn't have none of that. I used the aluminum siding off the newer trailer to underpin the older one. It don't matter to me if it buckles, there is plenty of long screws to keep it in place. It stays cool under there so no worries about doing the insulating job in summer.

This trailer has the sewer lines underground so letting the water drip is fine. I never have had an issue with water dams. If the trunk is leaking much I doubt the water would ever freeze if the HVAC is running but I err on the side of caution as I don't like to do plumbing jobs in the middle of winter either. WIthout underpinning it would freeze at 27.F.

The installers were under there hooking up the return and supply lines and they said it would circulate the wood heat.

We have been here for about 6 years now and the mold in the newer trailer is pretty much to the point a person could tear out and replace the sheetrock/floors etc. and possibly have it livable, but too bad now because I used most of the outside sheeting for underpinning, and now im using about half of it as a garage, sold all the copper wiring, etc. It was really nice at one point, 3 bedroom, two bath, fireplace, huge living room... This one is old and showing its wear, 2 small bedrooms, 1 small bath but its home for this poor boy for now.

Electric bill only runs about $150 per month and I feel its not too bad considering.

One a side note, when I bought my wood stove the sales person overheard me talking to my wife about where was we going to put it in our trailer. The sales person immediately told us that the stove couldn't be installed in a trailer. My reply was "watch me".. lol. Where we live building codes are not enforced. I know several people who live in old chicken houses that have been "remodeled" so to speak. Other than the never ending smell of chicken poo, you would never think it was ever a house for chickens or a "chicken coop". Seriously.

Ohh boy....

 

[webby3650]

This trailer has the sewer lines underground so letting the water drip is fine

I see a lot in your post that leads me to think you don’t know a lot about mobile homes.
All the drains are in the belly of the home just like the water lines, the the main drain line has to drop below the belly insulation and at some point goes below grade. There are no crawlspace walls to protect it in below freezing temps. Homes in 2010 didn’t have aluminum siding either. I’m not sure what part of the home you used for skirting that was aluminum but it wasn’t the siding.

So it’s not possible to distribute heat through an outdoor air handler in an uninsulated 1972 trailer is the moral of this story.

 

[contramundum]

Tonight was my first night running my new insert, so forgive me if I’m still high from the paint curing.
I have a furnace and ducting for heat and plan to use the fan setting to distribute the heat. Fortunately One of my two intakes is in the livingroom right where the stove blows the hot air. BUT I measured the temp by the floor where the intake is... 67 degrees. By the ceiling? 78 degrees. So my next step is to seal the current intake and add a new one up by the ceiling. The air will simply be sucked down inside the wall between the studs. Fortunately this IS an interior wall.
This should make all the difference. My loss between average intake temp to the vents is only about 3 degrees. I’ll have to see what I do with the second intake.
In the end of the day it doesn’t really matter where the air’s coming from so long it’s inside the house. The amount of heat added by the furnace (when it runs) to the house will still be the same.
Hope that helps.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

I use my HVAC to cool down the stove room and kitchen, not to distribute heat through the house. A small desk top fan at the opposite end of the house pointed towards the stove room is what brings heat down to that end of the house. If it’s 30 and sunny it is real easy to overheat the stove room so when the kitchen thermo reads north of 75 I just turn on the furnace fan in about 29 minutes or so it is back down to a tolerable temp.

 

[rwhite]

Awe, brings back memories of living in a trailer in Montana for 10 years.most of the old ones were poorly insulated to begin with and then the underneath was covered in black celotex. Which amounts to compressed newspaper. One leaky pipe and it falls apart to reveal the old yellow miserable insulation. An old single wide could be insulated fairly cheap and you'd probably see a return before winter is out. Mine was a rental and the landlord gave me a break on rent to do it. Crawled under there with insulation, a staple gun, and a roll of jute twine and was done in a day. Moth balls will keep cats out. And plenty of pet proof rat baits helped to. The person that sold you the stove probably didn't mean you cant install it. They probably meant you shouldn't as some stoves are rated for mobile home use. I know it's done all the time but I would have never dreamed of putting a stove in mine. I was scared to let people stand by the old paneling and smoke for fear it would go up in flames. As far as moving heat with HVAC. I have heard of folks doing it but I have never been successful in the best of circumstances. Just managed to get the entire house evenly cold. Maybe if there was a variable speed air handler that would run slow enough it may work. But I haven't seen one and most just move the air to fast.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

The newer trailers are not as bad but i once bought an older one for campsite housing back in the 80s. It was literally made of furring strips up the sides with 3/4 inces of thin leaky fibreglass insulation. I thought how the hell do people ever keep heat in these things. Answer is they dont,not for long. Forget that external duct work , by the time the air get to where you want it ,its colder then the room already is. ID try to move the air internally until you can find a real home.

 

[redmanlcs]

I agree there is just way too much loss in the system. The people that told me this was evidently wrong and I am not the least bit disappointed. I myself thought that it would work but was mistaken.

I have been under this thing more times than I can count, and as posted above, one little water leak and the sawdust floors fall to crap. Most have been replaced already by me. Parts have insulation under there, parts don't and you can estimate those by walking bearfoot.

All of my main trunk is exposed to the outside air with the wind knocked off with the underpinning pretty much but there is enough heat loss from that, it keeps my lines from freezing. In the past I have thawed my pipes using the dryer vent directed under the house before the HVAC days.

Frost line is only 4-6 inches and its goes to the depth before exiting under the underpinning.

I could be mistake about the age of the other trailer. It is newer but def aluminum siding. It can't be that old. I know it can't be older than 1998 or so.. it was well taken care of... metal roof, not shingles... both of these are singlewide's.... I know it made some good trailer skirting on the cheap.

 

[begreen]

Been talking about heat loss in ductwork being a factor for over a decade, but it still gets brought up several times a year.

 

[bholler]

I agree there is just way too much loss in the system. The people that told me this was evidently wrong and I am not the least bit disappointed. I myself thought that it would work but was mistaken.

I have been under this thing more times than I can count, and as posted above, one little water leak and the sawdust floors fall to crap. Most have been replaced already by me. Parts have insulation under there, parts don't and you can estimate those by walking bearfoot.

All of my main trunk is exposed to the outside air with the wind knocked off with the underpinning pretty much but there is enough heat loss from that, it keeps my lines from freezing. In the past I have thawed my pipes using the dryer vent directed under the house before the HVAC days.

Frost line is only 4-6 inches and its goes to the depth before exiting under the underpinning.

I could be mistake about the age of the other trailer. It is newer but def aluminum siding. It can't be that old. I know it can't be older than 1998 or so.. it was well taken care of... metal roof, not shingles... both of these are singlewide's.... I know it made some good trailer skirting on the cheap.

Where are you in WV that the frost line is only 4" to 6"?

 

[john26]

We had a '72 criterion single wide as a weekend place AC was like a big duct window unit with insulated flex duct propane furnace was in the closet with sheet metal ducts underneath. It was very drafty when it got very cold we had to use kerosene heaters for supplemental heat. I know unsafe and potential for C02 and fumes but honestly is was so drafty you never noticed. Also the plumbing drain lines dropped straight out of the bathroom and kitchen to the septic in the ground in 2 different locations water supply was pvc layed on the ground underneath it to the bathroom then kitchen with no under pinning. We didn't use plumbing from October to March.

 

[webby3650]

I lived in an early 80’s mobile home for several years. It had proper skirting, all the belly insulation was intact, and the plumbing to it was installed properly. It was very easy to heat and never had a frozen water line.

Starting in the 80’s mobile homes starting improving, If they were put together properly they aren’t bad to heat/cool. With no insulation in the floor and no skirting to stop the wind, what do you expect?

 

[Blue Heron Hideaway]

Use 2 in rigid foam board around the inside of the crawlspace will make a huge difference.

 

[redmanlcs]

I don't know what the actual frost depth is, but I know that as long as you bury your waterlines at least 6-8 inches, they never freeze around here.