heat distribution idea -> opinions wanted

[coppermouse]

I was thinking of doing the following to help redistribute the heat from my wood stove.

The wood stove has 4 small (1 1/2" dia) pipes running through the inside of the top of the stove. The connect to a small plenum on the rear of the stove. There is currently a blower mounted to a flange on the plenum. I was thinking of connecting a pipe (like double wall gas furnace chimney maybe 3-4") to this flange, running the pipe through the floor to the basement ceiling through a blower (to the suction side) and either into the cold air return of my furnace or into ducting leading registers on the other end of the house.

Any thoughts?

 

[Todd]

Don't think gas pipes are rated for something like that, and I think a long run to the other end of a house would cool to much to do any good.

 

[scfa99]

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Paging ELK, Dr ELK there is a cleanup on aisle 6. Please respond.

 

[Gooserider]

I was thinking of doing the following to help redistribute the heat from my wood stove.

The wood stove has 4 small (1 1/2" dia) pipes running through the inside of the top of the stove. The connect to a small plenum on the rear of the stove. There is currently a blower mounted to a flange on the plenum. I was thinking of connecting a pipe (like double wall gas furnace chimney maybe 3-4") to this flange, running the pipe through the floor to the basement ceiling through a blower (to the suction side) and either into the cold air return of my furnace or into ducting leading registers on the other end of the house.

Any thoughts?

I strongly suspect that if you look in your stove manual you will see MAJOR prohibitions against connecting the stove to any sort of air distribution system! Remember that if you have any sort of smoke leak, a setup like you describe will turn your HVAC system into a poison gas distribution system...

This is something that emphatically should NOT be done unless the manual specifically allows it, and then only in the way reccomended.

Gooserider

 

[Corey]

It's a good thought, but um.....no!

As others have (and surely will continue) to point out, you are switching the plenum around the stove from operating at a slight positive pressure from the blower outlet to a slight negative pressure by putting it on the inlet side. If there were to be a crack or leak, you would have a higher possibility of pulling smoke and combustion gases out of the stove.

But even if you were to say "I know the stove will never leak and I accept the risk" On a thermodynamics standpoint, I don't think you have much to gain either. Four 1-1/2" diameter tubes don't offer much in the way of air flow...about one 3" diameter pipe if my early morning math holds true. So that is a pretty anemic air flow to feed into your furnace ducting, have it travel through a relatively cold basement, with the associated leaks in the ducting and then hope to get any reasonable air flow down to the other end of the house.

IMHO, you would be way better off to leave the stove alone and use a couple of strategically placed fans in your living space to distribute warm air. I have what sounds like a similar set-up - with the stove at one end of the house and bedrooms at the complete opposite end. I was amazed at the difference one or two 5" diameter fans running just a couple dozen CFM made in helping heat get down there. Best of all, the heat is moving through your living space so there is minimal loss.