Floor Registers to move air upstairs?

[btbeam]

I realize this topic has been heavily debated. I am interested in putting in a couple of floor registers in my home. I want to do it the right way with a fire break in it. I see grainger has them for around $60 each. Has anyone put these in that are 4"x12" in size? Is that just to small to make a difference? I was thinking of putting one at the end of my hall which is right in front of my two bedroom doors with a return in each room to promote circulation.

I was in Home Depot today looking at the duct work I didn't see 4x12 would I have to make my own run of duct? I guess it would just be a sleeve. Ant thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[reallyte]

Passive air transfer makes a small difference. May need a small fan built into duct. All depends on the floorplan. Yes in most cases you will hav to fabricate Ur own duct.

 

[btbeam]

Also I do have a ceiling fan in the bedroom which would be about 8' away would that pull air up through it

 

[Mt Bob]

Cold air "falls" nicely.Have 2 4x12 below front windows,1 back corner of 1st floor bathroom,1 above it in bathroom upstairs,12x12 in middle of first floor with 12 slow speed fan.But basement is dirt florr(where stove is)and stairwell is wide open from basement to 2nd floor.No ductwork.Can get away with this out here,besides fire break would be usless with open stairs.Air does not move through ducts well without help,you would need duct fans,but they do not cost much to run.Ever been in older houses,remember seeing transoms that open overtop doors?They work,as do through the wall blowers/fans.Bob

 

[Jeff Lawson]

One thing I'm getting ready to do is hook up my fresh air up to a floor boot from the room above.

We have a tri-level house that is completely open. The only place we have dead air is the bedroom directly above the stove. The way the wind goes around our house, the OAK has been getting pressured up too much by the wind and pushing smoke out the glass air wash and into the house. I'm over that situation, you never know when the wind is going to change and cause a problem.

So I've disconnected the OAK and thinking drawing the combustion air from the furthest point (3rd level, end of hall bedroom) is good way to go. You don't have to worry about fans to turn on and off and such.

 

[SwineFlue]

So I've disconnected the OAK and thinking drawing the combustion air from the furthest point (3rd level, end of hall bedroom) is good way to go

I think this will take you from one extreme to the other... from too much air to too little. The combustion blower will have to force air from that stagnant (in terms of air motion, not the resident!) bedroom to the stove.

Even worse, an OAK that rises from the stove is likely to send smoke and CO into that bedroom during a power outage.

 

[Pellet-King]

Years ago when i was burning wood i cut a hole into oak flooring and installed a register, i figured the 90+ temp above the register would push heat up, well it didnt and i ruined some nice oak flooring

 

[moey]

Just remember sound goes up that hole too.

4*12 will not move much passively you need a larger register that goes thru your 4*12 fire damper.

 

[razerface]

The way the wind goes around our house, the OAK has been getting pressured up too much by the wind and pushing smoke out the glass air wash and into the house. I'm over that situation, you never know when the wind is going to change and cause a problem.

So I've disconnected the OAK and thinking drawing the combustion air from the furthest point (3rd level, end of hall bedroom) is good way to go.

why not just unhook the oak and lay it on the floor? If it is not hooked directly to the stove,,,it will still allow the combustion air to enter the room as the stove draws, but when the wind causes a problem,, it will pressurize the room instead of forcing air thru the stove,,,smoking up the room.

Remember, the purpose of the OAK is to get air from outside the house when needed for combustion.

 

[razerface]

Has anyone put these in that are 4"x12" in size? Is that just to small to make a difference? I was thinking of putting one at the end of my hall which is right in front of my two bedroom doors with a return in each room to promote circulation.

my house is heated by my stove in the basement. I use the stairs which are right beside the stove to move air upstairs. At the top of the stairs, is a dutch door. I leave the top open for heat transfer, and the bottom closed to prevent little people from falling down the stairs. I also have cut a hole in the drywall next to the stove to allow the heat to travel thru the wall into the stairway.I have a 12 x 14 register a few feet away above the stove up between the floor joist . In the other end of the house I used 6 x 12 registers.

Passive works in my house. I also found that the stairway is letting heat up thru the open top of the dutch door ,,, and returning cool air to the basement, under the bottom closed door. I heat my back bedroom from the chimney pipe going thru a closet. I built a door that opens, exposing the class A pipe in my wife's walk-in closet, which is around 125-150 degrees, and radiantly heats the closet and bedroom when we leave the closet door open.

I do not use any fans at all. You can feel the air coming up thru the heat register holding your hand 12 inches above it, and watch the cobwebs blow around in the openings(don't tell wife I told that). When i light a bic above the return registers in the other end of the house, it pulls the flame down when i get close to the register, showing the air is moving back down to the basement. I could use 1 more register i think. When i put one in the far bedroom, it increased the temp in that room 3-5 degrees, depending on the day.

Logically, your returns should be the same size (area) as your heating registers,,,(my opinion, no facts on this)

The hardest part is cutting your floors. I experminted with my furnaces forced air ducts first, by removing the ductwork and trying them as registers. Once I knew it worked, i cut.

I have been told if you have a forced air furnace, to take the door off of the furnace and air will return thru the ductwork and furnace,,,but i leave my furnace thermostat up at 70 so if i don't get home in time to service the fire,,the furnace takes over,,,so i want the furnace to be ready and not dismantled.

You will have to fix anything that you cut if it doesn't work! Think hard! Remember it does not happen fast, there are no blowers. My house feels evenly heated everywhere but one room,,which needs the register.

Think long and hard about it first.