Duct heat from Englander 30NC upstairs

[Rendrog18]

Hello, I've been reading the forums for just about a year now. I started doing my research last winter when I decided I wanted to add a wood stove to my house. I started the chimney in summer and finished it up in the fall. Its roughly 28' tall, 6" insulated stainless rigid liner, Englander 30 in the unfinished block basement heating the house. I know the block is a heat sucker and needs insulated, but I ran out of money to do so. At this point, we've been staying moderately warm with the house staying in the mid to upper 60's. Not great but livable with some extra layers or a blanket. Now we have a cold snap and could use the heat upstairs faster and more efficiently.

My question to everyone is how I would go about ducting the heat from the top of the stove to upstairs. And if its a good idea. I have a preexisting vent cut through the floor that is probably 8' or less worth of ducting away. My initial plan is to build a 4" tall box that fits the top of the stove. Run a 6" duct up to the vent and let the blower on the back of the stove help push it up to the vent. I have the return duct off my oil furnace unhooked to let the return air come down to the basement from the other end of the house, opposite the stove, to help with a natural current already.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!! Thanks.

 

[begreen]

Unfortunately you are losing at least a third of the heat to outdoors without insulation.

Ducting the stove would be against mechanical code and not ok with the stove mfg either. Try putting a box fan, blowing down the open return into the basement to increase flow.

 

[BobUrban]

Move cold towards hot - one must have conviction to get convection. Slow and steady with a dash of patience wins this battle.

 

[KB007]

Check you local building codes. What you do depends on a) local codes and b) type of ceiling in the basement.

In our Ontario codes, with a non permanent ceiling (i.e. not drywall, unfinished) you can cut registers between floors, but there is a setback from the stove (iirc it's 6ft). The idea is a small (4X10) duct hole near the stove (but respect the setback distance) and a second hole at the other side of the room to allow cold air to fall back down to the basement. A small register fan can help move the air up a little.

If the ceiling is finished, then typically a full metal duct is required between the ceiling and the above floor. In some locales, a fusible damper is also required to shut the duct to prevent smoke movement either upstairs or into the ceiling cavity. Something like this or whatever your code needs https://www.acklandsgrainger.com/AG...balProductDetailDisplay.do?item_code=GFN2TGE1

We have a dropped ceiling in our basement, so what I did was to remove the tiles and insulation and cut a 4X10 near the stove, then removed the hvac connection from another across the room to create the circulation effect. I also used a small register fan on lowest speed. Net effect was a gradual warming upstairs. Not huge, but a few degrees most of the time. We ended up putting an insert in the LR so don't use the downstairs stove much any more, but when we did, this way it heated the whole house.

Again, I repeat, check your local building codes, that is actually find them and read them carefully. In most cases anyone in a stove shop or internet forum has never read their local building code, but will offer "factual" responses. It's painful to read (all legalese stuff), but read it and enlighten yourself.

oh yeah, and insulate that basement asap.

 

[Rendrog18]

Thanks for the tips. I looked at our local codes and didn't find anything specifically listed on this. I decided to try ducting the heat up to the existing vent. My basement is unfinished so there is no issue with that. I'm going to run to the vent with insulated flexible duct, I have to pick it up today. The heat collector on the stove works well and directs a bunch of heat without the fan running but I was worried about excess heat on the top of the stove so I keep the fan running all the time. I will post back tomorrow or the next day after the vent is hooked up and I have some results to report.

 

[KB007]

To get heat up, you also need to get cold down. You really need have a second duct farther away from the first to allow cold air to drop back down to the basement. In our codes any opening must be at least 6 ft away from the stove.

 

[begreen]

Thanks for the tips. I looked at our local codes and didn't find anything specifically listed on this. I decided to try ducting the heat up to the existing vent. My basement is unfinished so there is no issue with that. I'm going to run to the vent with insulated flexible duct, I have to pick it up today. The heat collector on the stove works well and directs a bunch of heat without the fan running but I was worried about excess heat on the top of the stove so I keep the fan running all the time. I will post back tomorrow or the next day after the vent is hooked up and I have some results to report.

Check mechanical codes with your local inspecting authority. Did you also contact Englander?

 

[Jackfre]

Look at a Tjernlund Airshare floor to floor model. It will be a lot less hassle than building the plenum and in the end less expensive, I think. I did what you are proposing years ago on my Dad's place. We put a large (as in you could walk around the boiler) sheet metal box over the stove/boiler and ran a 24x24 duct up to a heavy duty floor register in the hall way. This was actually off a boiler which I had built for him. That was piped into the baseboard heat. It was uncomfortably hot, but Mom and Dad just opened the window and smiled. Pleasant memories!

Your proposed 6" duct is to small to really move any air. It would be a max, if everything is right of 125 cfm.

 

[Rendrog18]

To get heat up, you also need to get cold down. You really need have a second duct farther away from the first to allow cold air to drop back down to the basement. In our codes any opening must be at least 6 ft away from the stove.

I have the cold air return unhooked at the furnace. All 3 returns lead into this and originate from the opposite end of the house. Also my duct is greater than 6' from the stove.

Your proposed 6" duct is to small to really move any air. It would be a max, if everything is right of 125 cfm.

I figured a 6" duct would be on the small side. But in reality I'm not trying to move 100% of the heat upstairs. I'm looking to move a little of the heat upstairs more efficiently and keep it from getting to the walls where it's being lost. Other factors were involved with te 6" duct choice as well. But I think it will move enough of the heat up to have a noticeable change. I hit the take off of the collector with an IR thermo and it was between 130-140 with the fan running on low.