Zero clearance forced air advice

[Xv20190]

Hello all

I've been getting tired of propane prices, and own about 4 acres of woods so I've decided to start burning wood to heat my house. The local fireplace dealer has talked me into the Valcourt Lafayette FP10 to replace a ventless propane fireplace that is installed inside a chase.

I'm wanting to know how best distribute the heat from the fireplace in my home. The master bed and bath is upstairs and I'm not so worried about that as my wife likes our room a little colder. My concern is my 7 month old sons room and the opposite bedroom that will be used when we have another child. I know this fireplace has the ability to force air acrossed the house, but I'd like advice on how best to set it up to keep all of the downstairs comfortable. I'm also aware that a freestanding stove would be the opinion of many here but we dontd want to give up the real estate in the house.

Here is the layout of my house

 

[jetsam]

I'd worry that a stove dealer told you that a fireplace can force air across the house....

That looks like a good layout, though. In cold weather you may need to keep the bedroom doors open. If that's not enough, put a fan in the hallway pointing towards the dining room.

 

[Xv20190]

I'd worry that a stove dealer told you that a fireplace can force air across the house....

That looks like a good layout, though. In cold weather you may need to keep the bedroom doors open. If that's not enough, put a fan in the hallway pointing towards the dining room.

The model does come with an option of a 300 CFM blower and the manual has directions to install it. By what little information I I can find on it on this site it is cable of doing so.

 

[bholler]

The model does come with an option of a 300 CFM blower and the manual has directions to install it. By what little information I I can find on it on this site it is cable of doing so.

It can be done dut running the duct work is not going to be easy because of the open area above the stove.

 

[begreen]

The warm air is going to head up thru the loft area and will pool near the ceiling peak. The upstairs will be warm. Ceiling fans can help, but even with them the 1st floor bedrooms will get the short end of the stick. Is there a basement, crawlspace or is the house on a slab?

 

[Xv20190]

The warm air is going to head up thru the loft area and will pool near the ceiling peak. The upstairs will be warm. Ceiling fans can help, but even with them the 1st floor bedrooms will get the short end of the stick. Is there a basement, crawlspace or is the house on a slab?

House is over a crawlspace. And I feel like this house was built for wood heathso imI confused as to why they went with a ventless gas burner. There is alreadyaa ceiling fan on the vaulted ceiling as well as one that sits on the underside of the loft. I should also mention that returns for the furnace blower are located in the loft, master bedroom, as well as the downstairs shared bathroom

 

[begreen]

imI confused as to why they went with a ventless gas burner.

Most likely because it was cheaper.

If the house is well insulated then the bedrooms may not get too cold.

If the crawlspace is completely vermin proof then one option would be to run heavily insulated ducts to each 1st floor bedroom from a blower that supplies heated air from the fireplace. The ductwork would need to be well insulated. A simpler option would be to put a table or box fan at the far end of the hallway, placed on the floor, pointing toward the woodstove. Run it on low speed. It will blow the cooler air down low, toward the woodstove. The denser cool air will be replaced with lighter warm air from the stove room. Running this way you should notice at least a 5F increase in the hallway temp after about 30 minutes running. The bedroom doors would need to be open to benefit from this.

 

[Xv20190]

The bedroom doors would need to be open to benefit from this.

I guess thatst what I was trying to avoid. I work 3rds and likely will for the next 10 years or so, so when I'm awake super early on days off tottry and and not be tiptoeing about.

 

[begreen]

It wouldn't take a lot of heat to keep the bedrooms warm if the house is well insulated. An oil filled heater or hydrotherm baseboard heater would do the job.

 

[HomeinPA]

Push comes to shove, put a little ceramic heater in the kids room and set it at 68 degrees. That's what we use for the upstairs bedroom and bath at the far end of the house when it gets real cold. Ceramic heaters though, not the radiant wire heater thingys. They're way to dangerous. We got a couple a Wallyworld for 20 bucks or so.