Tell Me About Setting-up Warm/Cold Air Convections to the Stove

[leeave96]

My next scheme in my woodstove at each end of the house is to figure out how to gain some air movement via natural convection.

I realize that hot air rises and cool air falls and here is my set-up, thoughts and quesitons:

1. I've got the Keystone on one end of the house, main floor.

2. The Englander will be set-up in the basement part of the new addition in the basement of it - which is at the other end of the house. The old basement will be closed via door to the new basement and pretty much not heated.

3. The new addition's main floor is on the same level as the old part of the house. There is a stairwell leading up from the basement to the main floor of the new addition and a door from old to new structure. Nothing is really open - except that the stair case opens into a foyer/hallway and is adjustant to the door that goes between the old and new.

4. There are two bedrooms in the new addition and a bath on it's main floor. I feel the heat from the basement stove will easily heat that area via radiation vertically from the stove beneath and there will be an abundance of warm air traveling up the stairs via the stair case. The blower on the Englander ought to help with this air movement.

5. What lies between is the center section of the house. A kitchen, two bedrooms and a bath. The Keystone is in a living room at the end of the old part of the house.

6. Question is - how do I set-up a natural convection to draw warm air from both ends of the house to this center section?

7. I don't want to use box fans due to noise and just being in the way. As I said, the Englander will have a blower. I've got some ceiling fans in the old bedrooms, but I feel they are old and in need of replacement - so they will stay off for this year.

8. I'm thinking about putting some fused (for fire safety) floor louvers in the farther parts of each room from the stoves on either side to allow low cool air to fall to the old basement. This air would then be returned to the new addition basement via a louver on the bottom of the door between the old and new basement to complete the air movement cycle. Part of the cool air, but somewhat warm, will heat-up the old basement - which is a storage/work shop.

What do you think?

Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Bill

 

[Todd]

8. I'm thinking about putting some fused (for fire safety) floor louvers in the farther parts of each room from the stoves on either side to allow low cool air to fall to the old basement. This air would then be returned to the new addition basement via a louver on the bottom of the door between the old and new basement to complete the air movement cycle. Part of the cool air, but somewhat warm, will heat-up the old basement - which is a storage/work shop.

What do you think?

Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Bill

This is probably the best idea and works most of the time. Try to get that denser cold air moving from the furthest rooms away from the basement stove and get that convection loop going but I wouldn't do anything til you get both stoves burning and see how the natural convection goes.

Basement installs can be tricky, I've heated 4 different homes with basement installs and they all had different quirks. For example one house I had a vent right on top of the stove and you would think the hot air would pour up through it but it didn't, cool air came down and pushed all the warm air up the stairwell. This current house is kind of the opposite, I have a floor vent a few feet away from the stove and the heat goes up while the stairwell is the main cool air return.

 

[mhrischuk]

As mentioned in another thread, the thought of keeping up with a basement burner looks like more work than I would want. Going up and down stairs with loads of wood doesn't sound like something to look forward to. Just going up and down to tend the fire will get old. Also you lose heat to the basement floor and walls and only get whats left over going up. If you can put the stove where you want the heat up will be much better off.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

7. I don't want to use box fans due to noise and just being in the way. As I said, the Englander will have a blower. I've got some ceiling fans in the old bedrooms, but I feel they are old and in need of replacement - so they will stay off for this year.


Thanks!
Bill

Good words by Todd.


Box fans are not the best to use and I agree about the noise factor. What works better is a small desktop fan set on the floor blowing on the lowest setting. But don't try to blow the warm air, blow the cool air into the stove room. This will effectively move the warm air out as it is being replaced by the cooler air. That warm air moves to the cooler air behind the fan. We have a hallway leading to bedrooms and bath and if it gets cooler than we want there, we just turn on a small fan and are amazed at how quickly the rear of the house warms up. Small fan setting on the floor on low speed.

 

[leeave96]

As mentioned in another thread, the thought of keeping up with a basement burner looks like more work than I would want. Going up and down stairs with loads of wood doesn't sound like something to look forward to. Just going up and down to tend the fire will get old. Also you lose heat to the basement floor and walls and only get whats left over going up. If you can put the stove where you want the heat up will be much better off.

I don't think this new basement will loose much heat, the walls are poured concrete into a styrofoam (sp?) two inch walls. I think the R value is over 40 on these walls.

We definately want heat in the new basement as it will be a den for the family.

We'll bring and hold wood at doors next to the stoves at each floor - so no carrying wood up and down steps. But if we did, somehow that would likely be a job for my boys....

Thanks,
Bill