I've been running my Englander for a week or two now in several different configs. I have a brand new 2000 sq ft ranch with an unfinished basement. It has blown in R-23 in the walls of the finished living floor, and R-19 insulation tucked in the floor joists (basement ceiling). The best setup I have found is the one pictured below. I have about 2/3 of the grill covered on the front of the stove with a "bonnet" that is mostly hard piped into the cold air return duct work of my Heat Pump Air handler. The walls eat up most of the heat that doesn't get sucked into the cold air return bonnet I have setup. I keep the air handler fan in the manual position to keep the air moving from the stove to all my upstair rooms.My goal has been to have the HP and the auxiliary elements inside the air handler run as little as possible obviously. There has been enough heat escape around the bonnet to keep the basement @ 55-60 ish degrees which seems to be just right for my 3 labs that we keep down there. For the most part with the stove on 5 heat I can keep the living quarters about 67-68 degrees which is an ideal temp for the family. No one is complaining about being too cold or too hot. With the temps outside from 25-35 degrees the Heat pump does not kick on at all... EVER. Anything below that and the heat pump will bring the heat back up to 68 if it falls to 66 in the house......Now my questions are will I overheat or strangle the stove by using the bonnet on it? How much energy am I using by keeping the t-stat option "fan-on" on the heat pump 24-7? The down side is we hear the blower running all the time....not too noisy though. Should I pull down all of the R-19 that is in the floor joists? If I'm running the pellet stove 24-7 I don't see a need for the basement ceiling to be insulated. Thanks for your input guys! I've learned so much by lurking here!
new to stove, uninsulated basement , pics of setup
- Thread starter rizzo20
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
- Status
jtakeman
Minister of Fire
Seeing the air handler fan is sucking air thru the system. I don't think you'll strangle the stove. If the cfm is large enough it will draw air right thru the heaterchange on the stove for you.
Curious if you measured the duct temps though? The piece of flex duct is only rated for 200ºF for continues temps. and 250ºF max.
One thing I dislike about my ducted system is I get way more dust throughout the house now! Are you getting enough heat upstairs?
Curious if you measured the duct temps though? The piece of flex duct is only rated for 200ºF for continues temps. and 250ºF max.
One thing I dislike about my ducted system is I get way more dust throughout the house now! Are you getting enough heat upstairs?
The only downfall would be how much electricity is your Heat Pump fan using running 24/7? (Much bigger blower than the pellet stove) And the next thing is the extension cord you have the stove plugged into. I would run a "hard line" to where you need it and put a GOOD surge protecter on there. Extension cords are a no no. Not trying to give you a hard time. Just pointing out what i see. I Love to look at pictures. Anyways.....Congrats on keeping the family warm.
The duct temp just above the elbow (spot of black stove paint in bottom pic) is 97 degrees. I put several paint spots along the duct to help measure with my IR gun. Speaking of dust.....no sooner did I read your post and my wife just mentioned how dusty the kitchen floor was, lol. We are 100% comfortable @ 68 degrees so far.
jtakeman
Minister of Fire
Because your upstairs is warmer than the basement. I'd keep the insulation intact. I am planning on insulating mine.
I definitely plan to get a receptacle over there ASAP. I just had rotator cuff surgery yesterday and couldn't the time to get the wire pulled since we moved in last weekend...it'll have to wait a few weeks. As far as the air handler running 24-7 ... before I put the stove in the HP ran nearly non stop with the outdoor unit running along with it. I can't say it ran 24-7 but man I rarely ever saw it off. The temps were a lot lower then however. Another thing is when the HP runs it uses the medium fan speed at least to push the air, possibly even the high speed. I changed a jumper on the control board that allows the fan speed to run on low when in the manual setting. If the hp then kicks on it overrides the low and goes to medium or whatever that speed is, I just know it way faster and louder. I'm not sure that less fan speed means less energy used or not? I definitely need to grab a good surge protector, thanks for the heads up!
Using it on low will definitely use less power. If it was running all the time before, then you shouldn't see that big of a jump in your electric bill. (Maybe even a drop, if its not hitting medium or high)
As for your shoulder. I have torn both of mine. Not fun. 3 months off of work both times. I feel for ya.
Make sure you get the surge protector sooner than later. You can at least plug the stove into it, then to the cord. For the cost you have in the stove, the $40 you will spend on the protector should be well worth it.
As for your shoulder. I have torn both of mine. Not fun. 3 months off of work both times. I feel for ya.
Make sure you get the surge protector sooner than later. You can at least plug the stove into it, then to the cord. For the cost you have in the stove, the $40 you will spend on the protector should be well worth it.
save$
Minister of Fire
Can't help but question if you had gone at a 45 degree angle vs the long horizontal run. Warm air wants to go up and that would offer less resistance and potentially more gain. Also you wouldn't have that low pipe in you way. Very innovative set up. Congrats on the new home. Hope your shoulder heals up well for you.
ironpony
Minister of Fire
You can find a programmable thermostat
which will run the HVAC blower on a scheduled cycle
mine runs approx 20 minutes per hour
3 six minute on cycles per hour
when set in the circulate mode
you might even have that setting on your thermostat now
it took me a year to figure out everything the
thermostst could be programmed to do
made a huge difference in heating and cooling efficiency
which will run the HVAC blower on a scheduled cycle
mine runs approx 20 minutes per hour
3 six minute on cycles per hour
when set in the circulate mode
you might even have that setting on your thermostat now
it took me a year to figure out everything the
thermostst could be programmed to do
made a huge difference in heating and cooling efficiency
krooser
Minister of Fire
Welcome aboard...do your exercises...it makes a big difference in healing the shoulder. It been two years since I had my right shoulder replaced...huge difference in my life.
I have a couple of comments on your setup. First, insulate your duct pipe. You are losing some heat to the cool basement on it's way upstairs. Second, give the duct pipe some rise and use a couple of 45's instead of the 90 degree elbow. This will reduce resistance so the warm air moves faster. I'm guessing that putting the stove in the living space is not an option?
Hello
Nice setup and very good pics.
I tried something similar with my wood stove years ago but cut 2 ducts myself since we have FHW with baseboard. At the time I did not have enough insulation in the attic so it did not work as well as it should. Anyways, I have a split with the pellet stove in the basement and the air scoop just above the stove now.
I have no insulation in the ceiling but I do have wallboard with insulation in the walls.
So my comment is that if you plan to finish the basement it might be better to remove the ceiling insulation and put it in the finished walls.
Otherwise it is great the way you have it now!
Nice setup and very good pics.
I tried something similar with my wood stove years ago but cut 2 ducts myself since we have FHW with baseboard. At the time I did not have enough insulation in the attic so it did not work as well as it should. Anyways, I have a split with the pellet stove in the basement and the air scoop just above the stove now.
I have no insulation in the ceiling but I do have wallboard with insulation in the walls.
So my comment is that if you plan to finish the basement it might be better to remove the ceiling insulation and put it in the finished walls.
Otherwise it is great the way you have it now!
Thanks for all the feedback everyone. With all of these tips it should work much better. I'll definitely do the 45's, surge protector, hard wire and insulation on the duct pipe. I might upgrade to a better t-stat as ironpony mentioned. Putting the stove in the living space was not an option for several reasons. I plan to keep this setup until I finish the basement in a few years then I'll have to figure something else out.
As far as the shoulder goes... it's still pretty sore and typing one handed sux! lol.
As far as the shoulder goes... it's still pretty sore and typing one handed sux! lol.
SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
rizzo20 said:
Sorry about the shoulder as for the one handed typing been there done that, wasn't any fun.
Do your exercises. I'm sure that the process works the same as it does when you do a number on a wrist. See above comment about one handed typing.
rizzo20,
If ya call your Bro-In law, he might be able to come over saturday and run you a receptacle and hook up a surge protector on that unit ..he IS a pretty decent electrician with bought 25 yrs. expierience...lol
He also likes the HARD pipe instead of the flex in your first experiment.
Hope ya on the mend from the surgery
later,
If ya call your Bro-In law, he might be able to come over saturday and run you a receptacle and hook up a surge protector on that unit ..he IS a pretty decent electrician with bought 25 yrs. expierience...lol
He also likes the HARD pipe instead of the flex in your first experiment.
Hope ya on the mend from the surgery
later,
LOL Bro, didn't know you had an account here. You know me I try not ask too many favors of people..... especially when my bro-in law just helped me move in to my house when it was well below zero outside and my wife has too much crap! I have the wire and stuff, if you aren't busy I'll take you up on that offer. Oh btw, thx for the hard pipe recommendation.... works much better 
Me an your Sis will be over Saturday mornin .....I will bring my, meter, hammer drill an Tapcons ..other than that just my hand tools ..you will need wire,recep. box,receptacle,recep cover,and surge protector..they have a nice one at Wally World .that plugs in to a standard receptacle and is not OVERLY PRICED!..other than that ...we will come in the morning in case we run into a UNFORSEEN obstacle we will have plenty of time to go on a parts run.
Since you are crippled....I guess this one can be a FREEBIE...LMAO....but when ya better ..the Road King could use a wax and polish !..hehehee
CYA Saturday
Later,
Since you are crippled....I guess this one can be a FREEBIE...LMAO....but when ya better ..the Road King could use a wax and polish !..hehehee
CYA Saturday
Later,
LOL sounds like a plan! I have all the material here ready to go, but will need to grab that surge protector. Thanks dude!
Ok, my setup has changed a lot since this post started. Here is an updated pic of the "bonnet" I fabbed up and mounted to the front. It works awesome!
SteveB
Member
Ok, my setup has changed a lot since this post started. Here is an updated pic of the "bonnet" I fabbed up and mounted to the front. It works awesome!
Interesting, did you change the rest of it any (45s, etc.)? I hope your shoulder healed up well. My wife had a dislocated shoulder a few years ago. Not good but she healed up pretty well. How did your electric bills turn out with the air handler running 24/7?
Looks like your taking 100% of the stove air now, instead of covering 2/3rds of it. ..
Just the radiant heat should warm the basement some? Any other changes? It was mentioned above by SteveB, any 45°'s? This will make it easier on the system. Much better than 90°'s.
Just the radiant heat should warm the basement some? Any other changes? It was mentioned above by SteveB, any 45°'s? This will make it easier on the system. Much better than 90°'s.
- Status
Similar threads
