My installation is going to be a little different than most.
About 80% of my house is heated with a natural gas powered electronic boiler, and radiant in-floor pex tubing. Works great.
There is no furnace in the house. The boiler is in the basement, but the existing ductwork doesn't go to the basement. The existing ducts USED TO BE connected to an ELECTRIC furnace installed OUTSIDE, on a 100 Amp sub-panel. It was installed in the early eighties. When we bought the house one of the first things I did was to RIP OUT the energy gobbling heat demon, throw it away and plug the heat ducts with plywood, and a can of spray foam. For the past four years we have heated that end of the house with a terribly inefficient wood stove. This summer we had our roof redone, and pulled out ALL of the inefficient fireplaces and wood stoves, and plugged the roof holes.
Recently I bought a Drolet HeatMax II that I plan on installing in that end of the house and using the in-floor ductwork to duct the heat around the various rooms. I expect to route the chimney straight up the wall, through the inside of the house, through about three feet of vaulted ceiling / attic above it, and out the top. There is a three foot roof overhang in the back so the chimney will have to go through the attic no matter if I plumb it up the inside, or go out the wall and then go up, so it seems cheaper to just go straight up the inside.
The cold air return and the heated air ducts come up through the concrete floor inside a wooden enclosure, bend and go outside, where they are blocked off.
The plan is to rip out the existing bookcases around that wooden enclosure, and build a steel frame that the Drolet sits on top of. It'll pull air in through the duct on the right, and push hot air out through the duct on the left.
I plan on building a nice cabinet around it so that the front of the Drolet is visible, but the ductwork underneath, above, and next to it, is covered up. After all, this is living space and, according to my wife, an industrial installation is contra-indicated.
I could just build a closet around it, but I think the glass door with a fire in it, and the front of the Drolet furnace is kind of pretty an I'd like it to be visible during operation.
Here are some pictures of my mess...
![[Hearth.com] Need advice in installing new Drolet Heatmax II](https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/img_20191009_151202-webp.248899/ "[Hearth.com] Need advice in installing new Drolet Heatmax II")
The existing ducts seem to be 16" in diameter. Please excuse the mouse poop. You never want to run ducts through the wall to the outside. Whomever thought this was a good idea should be horse-whipped.
![[Hearth.com] Need advice in installing new Drolet Heatmax II](https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/img_20191009_151147-webp.248900/ "[Hearth.com] Need advice in installing new Drolet Heatmax II")
The cold air return stuffed full of insulation, and my foot for perspective.
![[Hearth.com] Need advice in installing new Drolet Heatmax II](https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/img_20191009_151213-webp.248901/ "[Hearth.com] Need advice in installing new Drolet Heatmax II")
The registers. There are six.
![[Hearth.com] Need advice in installing new Drolet Heatmax II](https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/img_20191009_151229-webp.248902/ "[Hearth.com] Need advice in installing new Drolet Heatmax II")
About 80% of my house is heated with a natural gas powered electronic boiler, and radiant in-floor pex tubing. Works great.
There is no furnace in the house. The boiler is in the basement, but the existing ductwork doesn't go to the basement. The existing ducts USED TO BE connected to an ELECTRIC furnace installed OUTSIDE, on a 100 Amp sub-panel. It was installed in the early eighties. When we bought the house one of the first things I did was to RIP OUT the energy gobbling heat demon, throw it away and plug the heat ducts with plywood, and a can of spray foam. For the past four years we have heated that end of the house with a terribly inefficient wood stove. This summer we had our roof redone, and pulled out ALL of the inefficient fireplaces and wood stoves, and plugged the roof holes.
Recently I bought a Drolet HeatMax II that I plan on installing in that end of the house and using the in-floor ductwork to duct the heat around the various rooms. I expect to route the chimney straight up the wall, through the inside of the house, through about three feet of vaulted ceiling / attic above it, and out the top. There is a three foot roof overhang in the back so the chimney will have to go through the attic no matter if I plumb it up the inside, or go out the wall and then go up, so it seems cheaper to just go straight up the inside.
The cold air return and the heated air ducts come up through the concrete floor inside a wooden enclosure, bend and go outside, where they are blocked off.
The plan is to rip out the existing bookcases around that wooden enclosure, and build a steel frame that the Drolet sits on top of. It'll pull air in through the duct on the right, and push hot air out through the duct on the left.
I plan on building a nice cabinet around it so that the front of the Drolet is visible, but the ductwork underneath, above, and next to it, is covered up. After all, this is living space and, according to my wife, an industrial installation is contra-indicated.
I could just build a closet around it, but I think the glass door with a fire in it, and the front of the Drolet furnace is kind of pretty an I'd like it to be visible during operation.
Here are some pictures of my mess...
The existing ducts seem to be 16" in diameter. Please excuse the mouse poop. You never want to run ducts through the wall to the outside. Whomever thought this was a good idea should be horse-whipped.
The cold air return stuffed full of insulation, and my foot for perspective.
The registers. There are six.
