The direction that a fire can travel really has little to do with horizontal/vertical orientation. Lots to do with the intensity of the fire, available paths, temperature and pressure differentials that develop during the fire. Fires have no problem spreading sideways or even down, given the right conditions. 6 people died in this B&B. Rick
Are In-Line Duct Fans practical?
- Thread starter pring7
- 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
Don2222 said:
I was always sure you were being safe, but I also think we have to be cautious when giving advice in a public forum.
I think the forum works pretty well as it is....but there are different agenda:
1--We want to guide newbs to safe and satisfying experiences with woodburning.
2--We want to share our positive and negative outocmes as experienced woodburners.
3--We want to share the results and advise the tinkering and innovating process as 'hobbyists'.
For #1, we need to keep a simple, uniform message, e.g.
--do adhere to the manual,
--do adhere to a uniform (international) building code,
--don't use liquid accelerants,
--don't leave the door open and walk away
For #3, we **are** going to break some of the rules, and by discussing the issues together, get a good and safe outcome.
Your suggestion makes sense, but I am afraid that a lot of casual readers coming to the forum from a google search will get the #3 advice, and never see the blanket warning. I don't think the mods are trying to insult you or saying you are def doing something unsafe--I think they are 'balancing' your message in a way to make naive readers wary. And I expect that that is one of their primary mandated functions on the board, and they do it with a pretty light touch.
woodgeek said:
VERY, well said.... Sounds like something one of our Mod's would say.. We will never get away from wanting to make something better.. (That sounds bad too)..
By "Mod'ing" my Quadrafire, I sealed up all the loose joints for the OAK. Still gets some inside air.. But not a 50/50 blend. More of a 90/10 now.. Less drafty house. Can get the same heat on a lower heat setting this past winter.. Is this a job for everybody? No... Would I recommend that anyone else do it? NO...
But idea's are everywhere and they are just like opinions (We all know the joke Opinions are like______?). I always take anything read here with a grain of salt (As far as Mods) Everyone should take all advice about good Woodburning habits... Let the Fire burn down before re-loading, Be a couple/few years ahead on wood, Burn DRY Wood. But any modification talked about on here, should be looked into and talked over with your insurance agent, Fire Marshall (If you have one), and Your Spouse (See how she feels about it. Her life too).. If after all considerations are taken, and done properly, then Bravo...
As for the Horizontal Fire??? Fire goes where the oxygen is... It will go through a 50 ft long tube, if the conditions are right?? Anything will burn (Just needs the proper elements, in this case, just oxygen will do)..
Very well said..
BeGreen said:
The Damper does not have a Dayton 165 Fusible Link in it, but I could add one from Grainger if really, really needed.
Grainger sells them for only $5.73
We know the stove companies have with drawn this type of info from their manuals so I am sure they would not comment.
The insurance company is the only part left I have to do. First I need to install a new oil line for the Boiler, the original bare copper line is still buried in the concrete with no protective sleeving. But I am getting there.
The hardest part was to add a separate flue for the boiler and I finally spent $2500 for a 6" double wall stainless steel chimney that goes right thru my son's bedroom closet!! That was a big expense and I am still recovering from that. So now my pellet stove has it's own chimney and I am really glad to be conforming to code on this since it is such a big item!!
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/DAYTON-Fusible-Link-2TGJ3
Fusible Link, 165 Degrees F, Fusible Link for Round Fire Damper, 165 Degrees F Fusible Link
Grainger Item # 2TGJ3
Price (ea.) $5.73
Brand DAYTON
Mfr. Model # 2TGJ3
Ship Qty. 1
Sell Qty. (Will-Call) 1
Ship Weight (lbs.) 0.0020
Usually Ships** Today
Catalog Page No. 4423 catalog
Country of Origin
(Country of Origin is subject to change.) USA
Attachments
Well, maybe I should have titled the thread; Are In-Line duct Fans legal, or controversial?
I really appreciate the amount of input that you are all giving me on this and I am taking it all into consideration.
I actually responded to a fire, four years ago and days before Christmas, to a house within two miles of my own where the owner had ducted dryer vent to a fireplace insert on his doublewide. The blower fan was pretty much flush with his insert and he had it vented under the doublewide to various points in the home. The father woke up early because he thought he smelled smoke in the house and then saw that the living room was glowing in fire.
I like the ideas of contacting the insurance company, but I am also thinking that it might be a good idea to call some folks who do HVAC and the chimney sweep for consult and see if they have any knowledge of this type of venting. Maybe there are other safety considerations along with fusible links like a smoke detector shut off system.
With my install the stove would be a good 10 feet from the air intake, but maybe that isn’t an applicable code in NC anyway? I will do some consulting here with subject matter experts and let you know what I find out.
I really appreciate the amount of input that you are all giving me on this and I am taking it all into consideration.
I actually responded to a fire, four years ago and days before Christmas, to a house within two miles of my own where the owner had ducted dryer vent to a fireplace insert on his doublewide. The blower fan was pretty much flush with his insert and he had it vented under the doublewide to various points in the home. The father woke up early because he thought he smelled smoke in the house and then saw that the living room was glowing in fire.
I like the ideas of contacting the insurance company, but I am also thinking that it might be a good idea to call some folks who do HVAC and the chimney sweep for consult and see if they have any knowledge of this type of venting. Maybe there are other safety considerations along with fusible links like a smoke detector shut off system.
With my install the stove would be a good 10 feet from the air intake, but maybe that isn’t an applicable code in NC anyway? I will do some consulting here with subject matter experts and let you know what I find out.
jtakeman
Minister of Fire
Controversial seems to be the answer.
Cutting ducts into the floor and putting a register over them are not up to code. The floor ducts have to have a solid duct connected and sealed to the device providing the heat to minimize the inlet of smoke/fire. Same as a conventional forced air furnace. From what I got from my building inspector is the duct has to be sealed to the appliance its transfering heated air from. The same as a solid fuel furnace or force air furnace. This is considered firestop. Where I am still against code is the convection air intake for the solid fuel device. Mine is still too close to the unit. Furnaces have air inlet boxes that the return air duct connects to.
IF a fire starts in my basement my stoves convection fan will suck the smoke from the basement and move it upstairs. My building inspector wanted 3 smoke detectors upstairs(1 in each bed room) to combat this and a CO detector too. All of which I had. His theory was as long as there was smoke detection in the room with the outlet from my stove duct, It might actually alert me to the basement fire faster than if I had just 1 detector in the basement. Which I also have by the way.
By all means please follow code to the letter for you and your familys safety. Once I can afford a properly ducted solid fuel furnace it will replace my rag tag setup!
Cutting ducts into the floor and putting a register over them are not up to code. The floor ducts have to have a solid duct connected and sealed to the device providing the heat to minimize the inlet of smoke/fire. Same as a conventional forced air furnace. From what I got from my building inspector is the duct has to be sealed to the appliance its transfering heated air from. The same as a solid fuel furnace or force air furnace. This is considered firestop. Where I am still against code is the convection air intake for the solid fuel device. Mine is still too close to the unit. Furnaces have air inlet boxes that the return air duct connects to.
IF a fire starts in my basement my stoves convection fan will suck the smoke from the basement and move it upstairs. My building inspector wanted 3 smoke detectors upstairs(1 in each bed room) to combat this and a CO detector too. All of which I had. His theory was as long as there was smoke detection in the room with the outlet from my stove duct, It might actually alert me to the basement fire faster than if I had just 1 detector in the basement. Which I also have by the way.
By all means please follow code to the letter for you and your familys safety. Once I can afford a properly ducted solid fuel furnace it will replace my rag tag setup!
Hello Jay
I am stuck too. When I first bought my stove, I did not know if would heat my playroom let alone my whole house, but it does!!
I tried ducting my old large cat FA288CCL consolidated dutchwest federal design and even though it helped, I felt it was not enough at the time.
So I finally tried ducting my pellet stove and was amazed at how well it works!!
Now I find that there are 3 models with flanges for connecting ductwork.
I would Luv to try the Ecotek Laura, but do not have the money right now to make such a big change
http://www.ecoteck.us/wood-pellet-stoves/laura.php
http://www.ecoteck.us/ducted-heat/
Description of “Ducted Wood Pellet Stoves†from Ecoteck in above link.
The Ecoteck wood pellet stove range also includes 3 ducted units for people who want more even heat diffusion throughout the home. Ducts conveys heat from one room to another and distributes it throughout the home, spreading the stove’s warmth over as wide an area as possible.
Models equipped with the air canalization use 2 pipes, 3.15 Inches in diameter, to service other rooms. Depending on the model, the delivery of the air for canalization can be in the top or in the bottom part.
In the Elena Airplus, the second fan for the air canalization, can be activated simply by pushing the button on the display.
In the Laura & Veronica, there is the possibility to adjust the front and back air delivery by adjusting a lever.
More info on Ecoteck Laura 11kW Ducted Stove
Ducted Heating with wood pellets
Wood pellets are one of the few truly environmentally friendly ways to heat. Ducted stoves have a two extra warm air outputs at the rear of the unit and these can be connected to aluminum ducts routed other rooms in the property. A simple mechanical flap controls the ratio of air coming into the main room compared with the air being diverted to the back. All wood pellet stoves require a 13amp electrical connection.
I am stuck too. When I first bought my stove, I did not know if would heat my playroom let alone my whole house, but it does!!
I tried ducting my old large cat FA288CCL consolidated dutchwest federal design and even though it helped, I felt it was not enough at the time.
So I finally tried ducting my pellet stove and was amazed at how well it works!!
Now I find that there are 3 models with flanges for connecting ductwork.
I would Luv to try the Ecotek Laura, but do not have the money right now to make such a big change
http://www.ecoteck.us/wood-pellet-stoves/laura.php
http://www.ecoteck.us/ducted-heat/
Description of “Ducted Wood Pellet Stoves†from Ecoteck in above link.
The Ecoteck wood pellet stove range also includes 3 ducted units for people who want more even heat diffusion throughout the home. Ducts conveys heat from one room to another and distributes it throughout the home, spreading the stove’s warmth over as wide an area as possible.
Models equipped with the air canalization use 2 pipes, 3.15 Inches in diameter, to service other rooms. Depending on the model, the delivery of the air for canalization can be in the top or in the bottom part.
In the Elena Airplus, the second fan for the air canalization, can be activated simply by pushing the button on the display.
In the Laura & Veronica, there is the possibility to adjust the front and back air delivery by adjusting a lever.
More info on Ecoteck Laura 11kW Ducted Stove
Ducted Heating with wood pellets
Wood pellets are one of the few truly environmentally friendly ways to heat. Ducted stoves have a two extra warm air outputs at the rear of the unit and these can be connected to aluminum ducts routed other rooms in the property. A simple mechanical flap controls the ratio of air coming into the main room compared with the air being diverted to the back. All wood pellet stoves require a 13amp electrical connection.
Attachments
jtakeman
Minister of Fire
Hey Don2222,
After seeing one of the Ecoteck stoves a while back was the reason I ducted my stove. And it was also how I got the inspector to see things a bit different. A sealed convection path on the Ecoteck is no different than my sealed snorkel on my Omega. If I remember correctly Englander also had a pellet stove that had a outlet on the top of one of there stoves for duct to be connected.
Those Ecoteck's are nice stoves if you can afford one. Something more affordable is the MagnuM 6500 from American Energy. With biomass fuels taking off and advancing we should see more makers adding furnaces in there line up. One can only hope. But there are a few good units out there. St Croix revolution is getting good feedback. The Endurance 50F is another unit to go check out. The Harman PF100 is another, But I hear they have big apatite's!
After seeing one of the Ecoteck stoves a while back was the reason I ducted my stove. And it was also how I got the inspector to see things a bit different. A sealed convection path on the Ecoteck is no different than my sealed snorkel on my Omega. If I remember correctly Englander also had a pellet stove that had a outlet on the top of one of there stoves for duct to be connected.
Those Ecoteck's are nice stoves if you can afford one. Something more affordable is the MagnuM 6500 from American Energy. With biomass fuels taking off and advancing we should see more makers adding furnaces in there line up. One can only hope. But there are a few good units out there. St Croix revolution is getting good feedback. The Endurance 50F is another unit to go check out. The Harman PF100 is another, But I hear they have big apatite's!
This is getting way off topic and not about woodstoves. The OP is asking about a room to room ducting system, not a heat scavenger or hood.
firemedic, a lot of folks are having better success by blowing the cool air, low and toward the stove room with a fan (ducted or not). This is safer. It cools down the stove room and the warm air from the stove room will replace the cool air in the other room.
firemedic, a lot of folks are having better success by blowing the cool air, low and toward the stove room with a fan (ducted or not). This is safer. It cools down the stove room and the warm air from the stove room will replace the cool air in the other room.
- Status
Similar threads
