Gravity vents?

[lugoismad]

I just went and bought the stove pipe for my wood furnace today. My home currently does not have duct work, so I'm installing 4 ducts to the down stairs room of my house. However, I wasn't planning on installing them upstairs, just leaving my stair way door open and if necessary putting a fan in it.

However, I thought today, what if I put in gravity vents between the two floors. Has anyone else done this, and does it help?

 

[burntime]

Lots of these posts in the past. Bottom line is they need some type of thermal shut off for if a fire were to occur or smoke...a hole with a grate is against code.

 

[lugoismad]

Lots of these posts in the past. Bottom line is they need some type of thermal shut off for if a fire were to occur or smoke...a hole with a grate is against code.

Huh, at my old house we had probably 2 in every room between the upstairs and downstairs. I guess code has changed since it was built. How expensive are thermal shutoffs?

 

[Todd]

Why not install ducts to the upstairs? Isn't that what a wood furnace is designed for? You may want to check out the boiler forum for more advise.

 

[lugoismad]

Why not install ducts to the upstairs? Isn't that what a wood furnace is designed for? You may want to check out the boiler forum for more advise.

Well, I was thinking I was going to need to hollow out between two joists in my central wall, in order to blow air up here.

But then I realized an easier way of doing it. My bathroom shares a wall with the garage where the blower will be. I'm going to run my main trunk through the garage wall to the bathroom, then to a tee. The T will go upstairs and to the crawlspace, through holes in the floor and ceiling of the bathroom. I'll then drywall a box around the duct so it doesn't look stupid in the corner of my bathroom. From the trunk that goes to the crawlspace (down stairs) I'll split it off into three lines, to go to my living room, dining room, and spare bedroom. Then upstairs right above the bathroom is attic space, so I can right there split it off into two lines, one that feeds my bedroom and one that feeds my office. It will take a bit more time than the other way I was going to do it, but be much more effective.