How to get enough heat from our Jotul Castine? (floor plan included)

[Propane_Poor]

Hello,

We're trying to determine the best fan placement location for our single floor ranch. It's about 1000 sq ft, on a crawl space, built in 1960. I've attached a floor plan (marked up somewhat poorly.) The red lines between rooms are doorways (only the bedrooms and bath have doors though.)
We do have a ceiling fan in the living room. Any suggestions?

My goal was to burn 24/7 and heat exclusively with wood. Surprisingly the Jotul Castine is having some trouble keeping up in the 20 and 30 degree weather (12 deg with wind chill tonight though.) The tiered baffle makes it hard to load, it's very narrow so I've got to be selective if I want 2 large splits to fit side by side, and when I do get it cranking, it's either full of coals or full of ash after a day and a half.

I'm regretting not getting the F500 Oslo since we're also thinking of adding on to the home in the future. My wife says we'll get the hang of it since it's only been a couple of weeks, but I'm almost wondering if we should ask the dealer if there's some way we can pay to trade in/upgrade before too much time passes. I'd be surprised if such was possible though... I realize stoves aren't really a returnable item.

Ah, the sting of buyer's remorse.

 

[jetsam]

When you add to your house, add another stove. Buyer's remorse solved!

That is a tough layout to make a loop with. I would put a floor fan blowing from the bedroom hallway into the living room and another one in the doorway from the livingroom to the stove room, and see how that goes.

When you remodel, think about opening up some spaces. Big open doorways and archways really help a woodstove reach further.

 

[kborndale]

How is the insulation in the house? Back in the 60's houses weren't insulated to much so that may be your biggest issue. How old are the windows? Is your wood dry? After that I agree with jetsam, open the house up. With fan placement remember it is easier to blow cold air towards the stove than warm air away from it.

 

[Propane_Poor]

Thanks Jetsam. I'd like to try that. Do you know how high or low the fan needs to be? The reason being, we have a 1 year old. Floor fans are a no-no until after bedtime.

I'm not too sure about the insulation. It probably isn't great.The house is not drafty but I really don't know too much about insulation. The crawl space is un-insulated but again, not sure if that's normal? I'd sure like to warm the floor up some. We put in an attic ladder this summer and I need to insulate that doorway better. There's some flooring in the attic for storage but much of it is uncovered loose fiberglass insulation.

I wish I knew the age of the windows. They're essentially all white aluminum frame; does that date them at all? They operate well and I doubt they're original.

I went around with the I.R. thermometer yesterday and it was 72 degrees in the living room, with about 60-65 degrees at some of the windows/door frames, and a 30 degree outside temp.

 

[bholler]

Thanks Jetsam. I'd like to try that. Do you know how high or low the fan needs to be? The reason being, we have a 1 year old. Floor fans are a no-no until after bedtime.

I'm not too sure about the insulation. It probably isn't great.The house is not drafty but I really don't know too much about insulation. The crawl space is un-insulated but again, not sure if that's normal? I'd sure like to warm the floor up some. We put in an attic ladder this summer and I need to insulate that doorway better. There's some flooring in the attic for storage but much of it is uncovered loose fiberglass insulation.

I wish I knew the age of the windows. They're essentially all white aluminum frame; does that date them at all? They operate well and I doubt they're original.

I went around with the I.R. thermometer yesterday and it was 72 degrees in the living room, with about 60-65 degrees at some of the windows/door frames, and a 30 degree outside temp.

With no insulation in the crawl space it is going to be pretty hard to heat

 

[Propane_Poor]

With no insulation in the crawl space it is going to be pretty hard to heat

I wondered about that; I wasn't sure since heat rises, and some heat is needed down there for the pipes, no? I'll do some reading on insulation options and maybe add that to my project list. Any reading material suggestions welcome.

 

[begreen]

I wondered about that; I wasn't sure since heat rises, and some heat is needed down there for the pipes, no? I'll do some reading on insulation options and maybe add that to my project list. Any reading material suggestions welcome.

The stove should be in the living room, that is more central. As it is, put a table or box fan in the LR, 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 LR temp after about 30 minutes running.

We had no insulation in the crawlspace and our floors were heat sucking cold on frigid winter days. When the house was raised and put on a proper foundation I changed the crawlspace to an insulated, conditioned space. The difference has been dramatic. It never gets below 60F down there now and the floors stay comfortable.

 

[Propane_Poor]

The stove should be in the living room, that is more central. As it is, put a table or box fan in the LR, 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 LR temp after about 30 minutes running.

We had no insulation in the crawlspace and our floors were heat sucking cold on frigid winter days. When the house was raised and put on a proper foundation I changed the crawlspace to an insulated, conditioned space. The difference has been dramatic. It never gets below 60F down there now and the floors stay comfortable.

Agreed; wish we had the space. The L.R. is 15' x 15' and is the biggest room in the house, if that tells you how small our house is. I do notice the floors are much colder with the stove than with the furnace.

 

[begreen]

Agreed; wish we had the space. The L.R. is 15' x 15' and is the biggest room in the house, if that tells you how small our house is. I do notice the floors are much colder with the stove than with the furnace.

Our living room is 16 x 14 and we have the big T6 in it that replaced the F400. Different floorplan though that is more open.

 

[Propane_Poor]

Where there's a will there's a way then! Hopefully ours will be temporary for a couple of years... I'm envisioning a 2 story addition eventually with the stove in a downstairs family room.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[Jotel me this]

which side of the house faces south (if youre in the north hemisphere)?

 

[Propane_Poor]

The bedrooms and bathrooms are on the south side of the house.

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[Jotel me this]

where is the stove currently?

 

[Jotel me this]

Option 1 has the wall removed..

 

[jetsam]

I wondered about that; I wasn't sure since heat rises, and some heat is needed down there for the pipes, no? I'll do some reading on insulation options and maybe add that to my project list. Any reading material suggestions welcome.

I'd suggest rather than insulating the house against the crawlspace, insulate the crawlspace against the outside. Rigid foamboard is cheap, stops air currents, and is good insulation.

If you can insulate that space up to 40 or 50 degrees with no wind blowing through it, it'll make a big difference indoors and the pipes will be well heated.

 

[jetsam]

Thanks Jetsam. I'd like to try that. Do you know how high or low the fan needs to be? The reason being, we have a 1 year old. Floor fans are a no-no until after bedtime.

Lower is better, the idea being to push the coldest air towards the stove as it flows far better than hot air does.

You would just need 2 baby gates in doorways to keep the baby away from two doorway fans. Just put the fan on the other side of the gate if you put the baby on the other side of the gate.

 

[wooduser]

Insulating the crawl space would be an excellent DIY project. And I'd insulate the floor.

A box fan on the floor will help, too, but you've got a tough house plan to heat with the location of the stove.

You might want to check the amount of insulation in the ceiling ----that would be the first thing that would usually be insulated.


And I see you've noticed that the gold standard for home heating is a central heating system! Typically designed to effectively heat all parts of a home like yours.

You can also consider leaving the thermostat turned down so that the furnace turns on if the house temperature drops overnight. Keeping those bedrooms warm will like make for peace in the home! A goal of heating with wood 24/7 is fine, but other family members may not be quite so committed!

 

[begreen]

If the crawlspace and sills are sealed well then insulated, including the joist spaces, the floor won't need insulating. It's worked well for us down to 12º.

 

[jetsam]

Insulating the crawl space would be an excellent DIY project. And I'd insulate the floor.

A box fan on the floor will help, too, but you've got a tough house plan to heat with the location of the stove.

You might want to check the amount of insulation in the ceiling ----that would be the first thing that would usually be insulated.


And I see you've noticed that the gold standard for home heating is a central heating system! Typically designed to effectively heat all parts of a home like yours.

You can also consider leaving the thermostat turned down so that the furnace turns on if the house temperature drops overnight. Keeping those bedrooms warm will like make for peace in the home! A goal of heating with wood 24/7 is fine, but other family members may not be quite so committed!

My bedroom is upstairs, down a hallway, and around a corner from the stove. It runs 7-10°F cooler than the stove room with the door open, which is nice for sleeping.

I'd tell you how much cooler it is with the door closed, but I have zero data because my wife always opens it after I close it!

I am only down 10° because the stairway is wide open to the stove room (the passageway is about 10'x8' if I recall).

 

[wooduser]

If the crawlspace and sills are sealed well then insulated, including the joist spaces, the floor won't need insulating. It's worked well for us down to 12º.

If you've insulated between the joists, you've insulated the floor above.

 

[jetsam]

But you've also insulated the pipes from their heat source. Could be fine if the crawl space is also insulated from the outside, though.