She said "YES!"

[Bster13]

Well tonight I took a leap of faith and told the wife my ideas for distributing heat around the house. She's already used to a few fans but last night she said "yes" to a vent so long as she can pick it out and a professional installs it so as not to mess up the plaster walls (we'll see).

This is the video of my house layout I shots months ago before I actually had my BK Insert installed:

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I have been using fans on the floor to move cold air into the living room as opposed to using fans in the living room to move heat out. It works well for the bedrooms, but I am very worried it will not get any heat into the kitchen and more importantly the sunroom.... which happens to be the room farthest from the stove and all windows. Doh!

So last night I told my wife that as it gets colder it may get more difficult to move heat into the sunroom (where the pets stay all day when we are at work). Yes, the room heats up when it is sunny out, but not enough and on a cloudy date it's going to be cold (without turning on the NG boiler).

I want to put in a vent (passive? active?) through the kitchen (about the 28 second mark of the video) to the living room (as high up on the wall to the right of the stove at the 1:03 mark) to allow how air to flow into the kitchen and sunroom area.

Questions:

- Passive or Active? Any really quiet Active you recommend?
- I have plaster and lathe walls. Am I going to put spider cracks (or worse) all over the wall my cutting into it? How much of a PIA will this vent be?

Thanks!

 

[weatherguy]

Are you putting one of these in Bster?

(broken link removed to http://www.condar.com/brv.html)

 

[Bster13]

I hadn't researched any specific models yet, but yeah something passive like that or active with a small (ultra quiet) fan?

Are you putting one of these in Bster?

(broken link removed to http://www.condar.com/brv.html)

 

[Swedishchef]

Plaster walls may make a mess indeed. It would be hard to cut out the proper shape without cracking surrounding plaster. it depends on the size of the vent and the mouldings/flashing around the vent itself (1 inch vs 4 inches).

Personally if I had to go that route I would install an active vent. Lots of places sell them, some even in aluminum ductwork, etc. I always find that the most quiet fans are computer fans. They run on 12v and are super quiet. Yet they push a good amount of air. The average size is 4-5 inches and some run at only 15-25 dB.

Andrew

 

[billb3]

Why did I think you were getting a mostly naked swedish woodstove tending maid ?

 

[Holiday]

I like the computer fans as well. Many different sizes available and quiet. The nice thing about them is you can vary the voltage anywhere from usually 6 to 12 to vary the speed. I run 2 on a lower speed instead of one and can't even hear them.

 

[Bster13]

If I run a computer fan then I need an inverter right? And to fit that all inside a wall?

I'm worried about making a mess of the plaster.

 

[Holiday]

Those small ac to dc adapters like for charging have enough capacity as the fans take very little power.

 

[Dave A.]

Have you tried a fan on the floor in the sunroom a few feet from the door to the kitchen blowing back towards the stoveroom? That should do a pretty good job of bringing heat back there, I'd think. Actually if that were my place I'd want to take down that wall between the LR and the DR and Kitchen also the short wall including the door way between the DR and kitchen and make a large great room, then you wouldn't need any fans or vents .

But I'd try the fan first before cutting any holes.

 

[Holiday]

That adapter is enough to power these 2 fans. 4 3/4 inch, 17.7db, 60cfm, 1200 rpm

 

[Fake coal burner]

You can cut plaster and lath with out cracking it. Take a variable speed on a electric jig saw set it slow speed. Use a fine tooth metal blade. Drill small holes to fit the blade in if for square hole 1 each at each corner round hole 3 or 4 holes on your line you have drawin . Set the blade in hole and turn saw on push in on saw so it doesnt start bouncing . Bouncing will crack wall some, Have some one use a shop vack hose to follow a little lower than you are cutting the plaster and lath. Go real slow with the saw don't try to force it or be in a big hurry or let the saw bounce. I have cut holes for vents or wall receptacles even with plaster and lath with wire mesh behind it.Place a drop cloth for your work on the floor under the area, Make sure nothing is behind wall wiring. pipes. 2x4s etc. Take a drill and drill a small hole in center, take old coat hanger or straight piece of wire bend it to L shape the size just a little bigger than the cut work the L shape end in the hole turn it in a circle and play with the wire to see if all is clear..Drill threw the back wall too, If bit is long enough. If not do your cut out on one side of wall then drill some really small holes from the cut out side of wall to out line the other side wall curt back of wall the same as the first cut out.from the other side, Dont try to measure from the other side if wall. You will come up with an off set to the first cut out.
I have 6x10 inch vent above door and return fan forced air return to stove, I dont gain much heat to the other room.about 10 deg f.. 78 stove room other room about 60 deg. f No hot air fan above door.

 

[akbear]

ideal (and avoiding all the plaster issues) would be if you could put cold air returns in the floor of the rooms you wish to draw air into, and run insulated ductwork under the floor to the insert (especially if you could have a metal shop fabricate a plenium that would attach to the powered air intake of the insert, which would eliminate powering the ductwork or having cold air spilling onto the floor near the insert), but then you've pretty much created a forced air furnace.

 

[Fake coal burner]

Basically that is how I have my set up with a 50 cfm bath fans running threw the floor opposite end of the house My basement is unfinished. so no problem. I used aluminum stretch dryer vent a total of 50 feet unisulated. Other thred https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/moving-cold-air-through-home-to.85016/#post-1093877 Works good still using after 20 + years