Ok, second post on this forum, and I must say you guys are awesome! So, here goes with the next one. Just purchased an Englander PDV-25. I haven't installed the stove yet, and before I order the chimney pipe, I'm looking for advice on the best placement for the stove, as the location of the stove will determine which venting pipe I need. I have decided (thanks to all of your advice) that it will be going on the main floor, not in the basement. However, my house is a ranch-style house, therefor it is not terribly open, and has bedrooms down a long hallway. I worry that the heat will not circulate to the furthest bedrooms enough. Actually I know it won't, as the master bedroom was considerably colder last winter, even with the forced air propane furnace. There is a doorway to a deck on the master bedroom, and the heating ducts to the master bedroom are far too small, and have ALOT of bends and corners (can see them from the basement). All this leading to poor heating of the bedroom. SO... with all of that in mind, I think I may have devised a way to get air to circulate back to the furthest bedrooms. First off, there are no return ducts to the furnace anywhere in the house. There are 2 open vents in the living room which air circulates back to the basement, making it's way back to the open furnace filter. I plan to use the circulation feature on the existing furnace to circulate the heat to the back rooms at night, but knowing the master bedroom hardly heats with the forced air furnace, I know it will not be enough with radiant heat circulation from the pellet stove. I've included a diagram of how my house is set up (main floor only) so you all can throw out ideas and advice. Keep in mind, I am not an HVAC professional, but while checking out the ducting situation from the basement, I noticed the cobwebs between the drop ceiling and the air vents in the floor above were going nuts with the circulation fan on, telling me air really is being brought back to the basement through these vents. Which got me thinking if I added return ductwork to the back rooms, this may induce more hot air circulation to those rooms. If air is being sucked back to the furnace from these rooms, maybe the hot air from the pellet stove (which will be in the laundry room or kitchen) will effectively be "sucked" back to those rooms down the hallway. So, if there are return ducts in the back bedrooms, THEORETICALLY, heat will be induced down the hallway, and also be forced into the rooms through the existing heating duct. There are also ceiling fans in the kitchen and 3 largest bedrooms. I may add one to the living room if necessary.
Does any of that seem logical to anyone but me? Like I said, I'm not in the HVAC business, but it just makes sense to me. So the second question is placement of the stove. Ideally, I would like it in the laundry room, as there is plenty of room, and most importantly, I have a 1/2 door across the entry to the laundry room. I have a 2-year-old, and don't want her messing with the stove, obviously. I REALLY don't want it in the living room for that reason, and secondly the noise of the fans may become overwhelming while watching tv. It could go in the kitchen since there is a wall and will drown some of the noise out. And I COULD add some kind of gating around the stove to keep the curious toddler away if I place it in the kitchen. I would PREFER to do a "through the wall" venting, as opposed to through the roof, to keep venting costs down. But I'm open to anything if it will be better in the long-run. So, what do you think? Will this work? Will I have to add return ductwork to all 4 bedrooms, or do you think only adding it to the back 2 rooms is enough?
Does any of that seem logical to anyone but me? Like I said, I'm not in the HVAC business, but it just makes sense to me. So the second question is placement of the stove. Ideally, I would like it in the laundry room, as there is plenty of room, and most importantly, I have a 1/2 door across the entry to the laundry room. I have a 2-year-old, and don't want her messing with the stove, obviously. I REALLY don't want it in the living room for that reason, and secondly the noise of the fans may become overwhelming while watching tv. It could go in the kitchen since there is a wall and will drown some of the noise out. And I COULD add some kind of gating around the stove to keep the curious toddler away if I place it in the kitchen. I would PREFER to do a "through the wall" venting, as opposed to through the roof, to keep venting costs down. But I'm open to anything if it will be better in the long-run. So, what do you think? Will this work? Will I have to add return ductwork to all 4 bedrooms, or do you think only adding it to the back 2 rooms is enough?