how about vents in the 1st floor ceiling to help heat the 2nd floor?

[Sparky31]

I run a freestanding Jotul Castine in the centralized family room on the 1st floor. This room has a 9 foot ceiling. The DuraVent flue goes straight up, into attic space (enclosed by a chase), then out the roof and terminates at the proper height. I have great draft and the Jotul has always functioned wonderfully once I learned how to run it. I burn only red & white oak, seasoned 3+ years. Cut/split/stacked/covered in the sun by me and < 20% moisture confirmed by me.

The staircase is on the far end of the house, so warmed air from the stove has a long and tortuous path to get upstairs.

Question: has anyone seen or tried putting vents in the 1st floor ceiling in the stove room, which would let rising warm air go straight up into the 2nd floor? Hard to verbalize, easy to visualize. I imagine a few moderately sized grates with adjustable openings/fins.

Another idea: at the 2nd floor level the DuraVent flue is in unheated attic space, but it is enclosed in a chase that is just on the other side of the drywall to the finished 2nd floor area (all to code, I assure you). How about putting some sort of grate in that wallboard that would allow some heat from the flue to enter the 2nd floor area? I dunno if this would add much heat, or if it would violate the installation.

 

[peakbagger]

Most folks have learned that putting in vents in the floor for cold air returns work better. BTW, vents in floors may move heat but also move flame. If you are trying to move warm air into bedrooms you are taking precious time away from a persons ability to escape a fire. You can solve this with fire dampers used for HVAC purposes, they would install inside the duct you would install in the floor, the damper has a spring loaded door held open by a fusible link, if there is fire the link melts and the damper slams shut.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Gravity heating has been done for a long time. You can cut a vent 2x2 to 2x3 from 1 floor to the other.. the heat in the stove room will go right upstairs.. the stairs will probably be the cold air return.. this will be your convection loop..