Quick question

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oldmountvernon

Minister of Fire
Oct 27, 2011
604
SE Mass
i have 2 zone central air ( that im not using thanks to this pellet stove :) ) 1 down stairs and 1 upstairs. Should i have all the output vents and returns closed ( my returns in all locations have 1 high to the ceiling and one low to the floor on the walls )
? im thinking i am losing alot of pellet stove heat to the duct work
or maybe its actually flowing and distributing thru out, i dunno
 
There is seldom just one answer as each situation is unique. A little cardboard cutting and tape should give you a quick and accurate answer for your situation.
 
I have used the register magnets in the past along with the plastic film window sealing kits. Worked wonders. IMO
 
Thanks Dexter window film it is as i just did my upstairs windows. I have harvey windows not more then 4 years old. Boy do they suck. What a huge difference window film makes!
btw Harvey rep was here for a replacement and i told him about the draft etc of course he says their breathing LOL i told him next windows i buy will be dead !
 
oldmountvernon said:
Thanks Dexter window film it is as i just did my upstairs windows. I have harvey windows not more then 4 years old. Boy do they suck. What a huge difference window film makes!
btw Harvey rep was here for a replacement and i told him about the draft etc of course he says their breathing LOL i told him next windows i buy will be dead !

Newer windows here too. It just makes sense, even with new windows. Put your hand on the glass. Its COLD!! The plastic really helps with the heat transfer from the glass. Also have used caulking/clear silicone in every imaginable place you could think of. Inside and Outside. It has taken several years to get to the point I am at now. Installing my Fahrenheit pellet furnace within the next month. I am only using it at night to heat the bedrooms. I will be running the woodstove 24/7. So even though I am using 2 burners. I should still ise less pellets. The thermo set on the Quad during the day to help the woodstove and just the Fahrenheit at night.. I have it sealed up well enough where I should save on some pellet consumption. Our house also faces the South and has 8 large windows that provide a lot of Solar Gain. Big Help in the Winter. Blinds are Wide Open on all of those wondows. All closed in the Summer.

Good luck this Winter. Sealing up the house (and installing and OAK/if your a believer?) is the best thing you could do to help keep it warmer and use less pellets.
 
I was thinking of running my heat pump fan to distribute my pellet heat, since I have a large return 10 feet away from my stove. It might actually pump a little warmth into my basement
 
forya said:
I was thinking of running my heat pump fan to distribute my pellet heat, since I have a large return 10 feet away from my stove. It might actually pump a little warmth into my basement

That's what I do. My stove is about 10' from return as well. I have a circulate mode on my central air thermostat. The fan runs on a lower speed than normal and runs off and on about half the time. Works very well to distribute heat.
 
I noticed a lot of cold air dropping from my downstairs central air vents. Turns out the ductwork in the attic, even though insulated, was chilling the air in it, which would drop down to the lower floor, while pulling heated air out of the upstairs rooms. This was even with the return vent blocked. Sort of like leaving a window open. We now block off the vents, end of problem, downstairs much warmer. The louvers at each vent didn't stop the flow, either.
I would like to use the fan to distribute air through the house, but this situation rules that out.
 
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