Heat Circulation Suggestions

[LRF]

Stove 2006 Avalon Astoria

I'm looking for suggestions on the best way to circulate the air from my basement level throughout the house. The basement area is split in half. Half finished / Half Unfinished. The stove is in the finished section. This is also family room. A open stairway provides access upstairs.
I have the ability to attach the combustion air to a dedicated small floor register on the next level via flex pipe(?).

I guess my big question is how to use the existing ductwork to recirculate the warm air. The ducting is right on the other side of the finished wall. My original thought was to try to install a booster fan that pulled the warm air from the finished room and pushed it through the trunk line of the warm air furnace. I am thinking a booster fan might not be nearly enough to push the cfm of air needed to make a difference?

Thanks

 

[begreen]

That would be entirely code. A return duct can not be closer than 10 ft of the appliance. The stove is an area heater so the best way is to put the stove where you want heat.

But to move some more heat from downstairs, try this simple experiment :

Place a table or box fan at the top of the stairs, on the floor, pointing downstairs toward the woodstove. Run it on low speed. It will blow the cooler air down low. The denser cool air will be replaced with lighter warm air from the stove room. For a fun visual, tape a piece of toilet paper to the top of the doorway. You will feel and see the warm air pushing into the upstairs at the top of the doorway.

 

[LRF]

In this case it is not a framed doorway, but a finished open stairway with railings but I understand the concept.

 

[TLHinCanada]

I have got to ask, are your talking about hooking up the combustion air supply or the convection air (supply or return).

 

[LRF]

Both actually..

1. I was thinking of hooking the combustion air ( outside air ) to a floor register( one floor up ). Register is not hooked to furnace. Was put in as a floor register with 2 muffin fans to blow heat upstairs. Thought this might be a good cold air return.

2. My other thought was to try to use a duct booster fan to push warm air through th existing ductwork as that side of the house is pretty broken up. This would take place on the other side of the room from the stove and intake set up.

 

[boosted3g]

I have been finding not to use fans and just the air a place to travel and it works well. I put 3 return vents in my downstairs to pull heat out of the room and it was sort or working but i thought that i was using a decent amout of electric just moving air. Last night i just turned the system off and the house it feeling just as warm today with no fans running. When i feel the returns they are cold and have air being pulled into the room because of the heated air rising up my staircase. So basically my idea was completely wrong in my cutting in more returns but it works great for letting the natural draft do its thing.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Outside air goes to the combustion blower via the firebox and that lovely pellet fire and then it goes out the flue it is not a cold air return.

You totally defeat the purpose of outside air by drawing it from inside the house.

A cold air return is nothing more than a collection system for warm air that is cooling and providing it a path to the convection blower.

 

[LRF]

Ok, I understand that it is not a cold air return. I thought by pulling the colder air from this room it may help with the natural drafting of the warm air up the stairway etc. They are on opposite sides of the large room, kind of like a great room concept with a catheredal cieling.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I'd suggest that you hook up an OAK and then attend to letting the natural air flow show itself.

You can check that flow out by using a source of smoke, there are kits that will put a small puff of colored or easily seen "smoke" into the room, you can even use a candle just have to be very careful. Map out the flow and see if you can place a small fan in the cold air portion of the flow going towards the stove.

If there is a decent natural flow you may not need any assistance at all from a fan other than that provided by the convection blower on the stove.

You will likely however need to do something about the heat loss along that air flow path.