Trying To Move The Heat Around

[carlo]

I have a 4,000 sq ft home with a 1.7 cu ft wood burner. I also know there is no way to heat 4,000 sq ft with that stove. My stove setup warms the heck out of my living room where the stove sits, and the normal draft in the house takes the escaping heat and brings it upstairs to all the bedrooms. I actually love how the heat distributes itself in my home and don't wanna change it.

BUT .... there are times when I'd like to warm other rooms on the main level w/o ugly looking fans scattered about. My question is can I move the heat out of my living room where the stove sits by using my central air fan ? The return is right smack in the middle of my main floor, and if I can get the draft going there it should heat my main floor more and my upstairs less, which at times like when I have company or for w/e reason might be my choice.

My heat is hot water baseboard. My AC system is totally seperate. It has 2 compressors outside, 2 blowers inside, a return on each floor and various registers scattered throughout the house. If I put the fan on will the return move the warm air and then distribute it ? I've tried this for about an hour and I felt nothing. Does this work ? Shoiud I leave the fan on longer ? Or does this not work ?

 

[begreen]

Odds are the room heat was lost as it traveled through the ductwork. Put a thermometer right in the airflow at a far register to see what temp the air coming out of it reads.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I have a 4,000 sq ft home with a 1.7 cu ft wood burner. I also know there is no way to heat 4,000 sq ft with that stove. My stove setup warms the heck out of my living room where the stove sits, and the normal draft in the house takes the escaping heat and brings it upstairs to all the bedrooms. I actually love how the heat distributes itself in my home and don't wanna change it.

BUT .... there are times when I'd like to warm other rooms on the main level w/o ugly looking fans scattered about. My question is can I move the heat out of my living room where the stove sits by using my central air fan ? The return is right smack in the middle of my main floor, and if I can get the draft going there it should heat my main floor more and my upstairs less, which at times like when I have company or for w/e reason might be my choice.

My heat is hot water baseboard. My AC system is totally seperate. It has 2 compressors outside, 2 blowers inside, a return on each floor and various registers scattered throughout the house. If I put the fan on will the return move the warm air and then distribute it ? I've tried this for about an hour and I felt nothing. Does this work ? Shoiud I leave the fan on longer ? Or does this not work ?

Your stove is way over matched and no amount of fans or heat moving will remediate this. Ever.

 

[carlo]

I'll try that. Is it OK to run the compressor in the dead of winter ? Also, wouldn"t it make sense that the return on the main floor would be changing the "normal" draft in the house .... right ? Heat being lost in the duct work makes a lot of sense.

 

[Fsappo]

It's easier to move convection heat than it is radiant heat thru your ductwork. You have a good sized home with what should be a lot of ductwork. What Begreen said is true. With the tiny amount of heat that stove makes, it's probably getting lost in the ducts. I did something similar and it worked great. It was with a 3.4 ft firebox and a 1500 SF home. Took the 80-85 degree heat in the stove room and lowered it down to 75 and kept the rest of the home 70ish. What you need is an EPA certified wood furnace add on and throw it in the basement. Do eeeet! dooo eeet now! Get in the choppa!

 

[carlo]

I have a 4,000 sq ft home with a 1.7 cu ft wood burner. I also know there is no way to heat 4,000 sq ft with that stove. My stove setup warms the heck out of my living room where the stove sits, and the normal draft in the house takes the escaping heat and brings it upstairs to all the bedrooms. I actually love how the heat distributes itself in my home and don't wanna change it.

BUT .... there are times when I'd like to warm other rooms on the main level w/o ugly looking fans scattered about. My question is can I move the heat out of my living room where the stove sits by using my central air fan ? The return is right smack in the middle of my main floor, and if I can get the draft going there it should heat my main floor more and my upstairs less, which at times like when I have company or for w/e reason might be my choice.

My heat is hot water baseboard. My AC system is totally seperate. It has 2 compressors outside, 2 blowers inside, a return on each floor and various registers scattered throughout the house. If I put the fan on will the return move the warm air and then distribute it ? I've tried this for about an hour and I felt nothing. Does this work ? Shoiud I leave the fan on longer ? Or does this not work ?

Your stove is way over matched and no amount of fans or heat moving will remediate this. Ever.

I know the house is waaaay too big for the stove, but the stove does a great job for me in my living room and upstairs bedrooms. I guess my real question is ..... can I change the draft in my house when the natural tendency of heat is to rise ? Can I limit the rise of the heat to the upstairs by using the a/c return on the main floor ? I'm not sure of the physics of this.

 

[begreen]

The stove is an area heater. A single fan (can be a table fan) on the floor of the colder, first floor area, that is set so that it blows towards the stove, can change the dynamics here.

 

[carlo]

The stove is an area heater. A single fan (can be a table fan) on the floor of the colder, first floor area, that is set so that it blows towards the stove, can change the dynamics here.

I've done that and it works to some degree. The problem is the wife doesn't want an ugly fan blowing when people come over. That's why I'm wondering if I can use my central air system to distribute. I think you're right on that the heat loss in the duct work is probably too much. I'm gonna try this for a few hours one day and see if it works. I only gave it an hour and probably a lot of that heat was lost in cold ducts.

Does anyone know if it's ok to run an a/c compressor when it's below freezing ? Don't wanna damage that thing.

 

[begreen]

You should be running the fan only, not the A/C compressor. That would be a huge waste of electricity and would further dry out the air.

 

[carlo]

I was only gonna put on the fan. I wasn't sure if the compressor was engaged in some fashion when I do this. I guess it's not which is a good thing. I'm pretty dumb when it comes to these things. Ask me about finance and I'll pretty much have the answer for you, but when it comes down to stuff around the house I'm very unsure of myself....... thanks for the help

 

[Dakotas Dad]

Have you thought about a second small stove in the part of the house this to small stove is not reaching? then you could only run it when needed...?

 

[Adkjake]

Seriously? And please, understand, I'm not trying to flame this thread or pick on the OP, but 4000 SF of house? Maybe we need more info. I hope that's because you have a very large family or perhaps inherited a big old long held family home. Or maybe are including the basement, main floor, 2nd floor and attic.

I'm a fairly recent participant on this forum, but my sense of it is that many of the posters here heat with wood to save $$ on gas or oil heating costs, have some concern over impact on the environment and carbon footprint, and probably don't live in 4000 SF homes.

I'll try and find the exact source and exact numbers, but do recall reading not too long ago, that since the 50s, the average American household has gone from 5.2 people to 2.5 people, yet the average sized house has gone from 1200 SF to 3000 SF.

Me, 1900 SF, which includes the full walk out partial finished basement and utility room

 

[carlo]

I gave a second stove some thought last year, but I decided not to put any more money in the house. My 2 kids ...... one has gone on his own and the second one has maybe 2 years before she goes off on her own. I'm looking to downsize to maybe 2200 sq ft. Even if the kids come back we'll have plenty of room.

And yes .... my house (colonial) is 4,000 sq ft, main and upstairs. Basement, attic not included. It's a beast to heat and cool, and I'm tired of the money pit it is. Insurance, landscape, taxes .... it never stops. The 1.7 cu ft Hampton stove I have though has allowed me to cut my gas bill from $800/mo a couple of years ago to $400/mo these days. I keep the main floor thermostat set low and we spend our time in the living room with the stove. When we go to other areas of the main floor it's actually refreshing when leaving the extreme warmth of the living room. My thermostat on the main floor has gone from 68 to 60 and I'm loving it. My living room is 76. It took my wife some time to adjust, but now she's fine with it. If not brutally cold the main floor will register 62 or 63 when thermostat is set at 60.

Like I said before, my upstairs warms nice because the heat leaves the living room and goes right upstairs. The heat actually kicks off the thermostat upstairs which is set @ 67. 1 1/4 face cord of wood does the trick (about $325 delivered), so my savings over the winter amounts to about $1,000 I figured..... plus the enjoyment of the stove and all associated with it.

 

[Adkjake]

Glad you didn't take offense to my post and questions. I share your concerns and situation though on a smaller scale. My Fisher keeps the main floor and the upper story very toasty, even on the coldest days. At present it is 12* outside, 75* on the main floor and 77* upstairs,with a window cracked, and the air is shut down on the stove. I bought this place back in Nov. 09 and I'm thinking the stove is oversized for the house. I too have zone heating, hot water baseboard and wish I could move some of this heat down to the finished basement.

I take the low tech approach other posters have suggested, box fan in the back bedroom on the main floor, leave the door to the basement open a few inches. Moves the heat fairly well, furnace for the basement zone has not run all day. set on 62*

 

[carlo]

Seriously? And please, understand, I'm not trying to flame this thread or pick on the OP, but 4000 SF of house? Maybe we need more info. I hope that's because you have a very large family or perhaps inherited a big old long held family home. Or maybe are including the basement, main floor, 2nd floor and attic.

I'm a fairly recent participant on this forum, but my sense of it is that many of the posters here heat with wood to save $$ on gas or oil heating costs, have some concern over impact on the environment and carbon footprint, and probably don't live in 4000 SF homes.

I'll try and find the exact source and exact numbers, but do recall reading not too long ago, that since the 50s, the average American household has gone from 5.2 people to 2.5 people, yet the average sized house has gone from 1200 SF to 3000 SF.

Me, 1900 SF, which includes the full walk out partial finished basement and utility room

I don't use the stove to heat my house 24/7. Many people on this forum don't either. Maybe a majority do, but not all. Most posters that answer posts are probably 24/7's and have the most experience to help the novices like myself. But I bet there's many people like myself who use the stove to decrease their expenses, plus getting the enjoyment of burning. From my experience with the posters on this site I also believe that they are more than happy to help people with questions regardless of the size of their house, or how often they burn, or for what purpose they burn.

I don't care about the environment in a politically correct way. I do my part, and don't get caught up in what I believe is the green hype. I also wanna become more self sufficient as I see our political leaders spend our way into possible oblivion. I use this site to learn, like I use DYI site to learn about fix ups around the house. IMO the future is very uncertain and I just wanna prepare. What I have found out though is that I can thoroughly enjoy becoming self sufficient for a city type guy that always relied on someone else.

 

[VCBurner]

Hey Carlo,

I live in a small ranch house among 3-4000ft ² homes, in Suburbia. Though I'm the minority here, as far as home size goes, we are all in the same boat, heat cost killing us all. It makes me happy to see other people are supplementing with stoves. I burn wood as a primary source of heat.

Your stove, though small for the house, can throw enough heat to go throughout the whole house if burned for longer periods of time. Although, it would not be convenient or cost effective to try to heat the entire house with it, turning the central air fans on you will get the heat to spread out eventually. But the question is, how long would it take, to heat those ducts enough to get the heat circulating. Lots of BTU's will be waisted to heat the duct walls. But, once they are warm enough to let the warm air through, you'd see positive results. One hour as you stated may not be long enough to get the jod done. But try turning it on for longer and you could see higher temps in the cooler rooms. I would look into getting a bigger stove. Then you would see major improvements. Good luck, keep us posted and burn on!

 

[Later]

If your staircase has solid walls on both sides - not a banister with spindles - you can stop the heat from going upstairs with a spring loaded drapery rod and a drape at the bottom of the staircase. Easily removable.

 

[carlo]

Hey Carlo,

I live in a small ranch house among 3-4000ft ² homes, in Suburbia. Though I'm the minority here, as far as home size goes, we are all in the same boat, heat cost killing us all. It makes me happy to see other people are supplementing with stoves. I burn wood as a primary source of heat.

Your stove, though small for the house, can throw enough heat to go throughout the whole house if burned for longer periods of time. Although, it would not be convenient or cost effective to try to heat the entire house with it, turning the central air fans on you will get the heat to spread out eventually. But the question is, how long would it take, to heat those ducts enough to get the heat circulating. Lots of BTU's will be waisted to heat the duct walls. But, once they are warm enough to let the warm air through, you'd see positive results. One hour as you stated may not be long enough to get the jod done. But try turning it on for longer and you could see higher temps in the cooler rooms. I would look into getting a bigger stove. Then you would see major improvements. Good luck, keep us posted and burn on!

I will try for a few hours and see if I get results..... thanks

 

[carlo]

If your staircase has solid walls on both sides - not a banister with spindles - you can stop the heat from going upstairs with a spring loaded drapery rod and a drape at the bottom of the staircase. Easily removable.

Totally open foyer unfortunately

 

[cleo8857]

I have a large two story colonial with a walk out basement. The stove, Jotul Firelight, stays lit 24/7. The first and second floor have seperate hot air/AC units. The first floor is connected to the basement with vents and returns. I run the "fan only" nonstop. This helps to keep the air circulated. It does not "heat" the house, but brings up the ambient tempertaure significantly.

Probably the last reason I burn wood, is for the money. This is the by product of the process. I love:
- dropping the tree
- smelling the wood
- working in the cold
- spliting the wood with a maul
- never going to the gym
- the feeling of accomplishment with stacked wood
- the fire in the stove
- the vision of my lab laying 3" away from a 500 degree fire
- The primordial feeling of warming myself beside it
- the sight of smoke driving to my house
- the smell when I walk outside

You may be doing it for the money, but not me.
JZ

 

[VCBurner]

I love:
- dropping the tree
- smelling the wood
- working in the cold
- spliting the wood with a maul
- never going to the gym
- the feeling of accomplishment with stacked wood
- the fire in the stove
- the vision of my lab laying 3” away from a 500 degree fire
- The primordial feeling of warming myself beside it
- the sight of smoke driving to my house
- the smell when I walk outside

Amen, JZ, amen!