Re-Directing hot air ..

[synthnut]

I'm talking basically to those who have log cabin's or other structures with a cathedral ceiling ....

Since hot air rises , and there is an abundance of hot air above the living space in most log cabin's, has anybody ever made a makeshift duct that ran along the ridge of the cabin on the inside, and ran a flex duct or some other duct back down again to a room where the stove doesn't heat as well ? .....I'm trying to think of a way to take the wasted hot air that runs along the top of the cabin on the inside, and drop it back down to be used in an useful area .....Has anyone tried this ? ....My in my cabin , the heat rises, and goes over a banister that leads to the upstairs bedroom ....It's HOT up there with the heat on ....I'd like to divert some of that hot air back downstairs ....Anybody ???....Thanks, Jim

 

[Todd]

Ceiling fans do wonders. If you had some kind of duct work, you would still need a fan inside it to push the lighter warm air down.

 

[synthnut]

Yes, you would need some sort of fan in the duct to force it down......Do ceiling fans push the air down hard enough to force it into the back rooms where normally the heat would not get to ? ....Thanks, Jim

 

[Hogwildz]

Jim,
This topic has been discussed a few times. I don't recall many folks having much success with this setup.
By the time that air reaches the other end of the duct, its pretty much cooled.
Ceiling fans as pointed out already work pretty well if you have a fairly open set up.
The best results I have read are pushing cold air from the rooms that are cold towards the stove room, hence causing the warmer air to move out of the stove room and towards other rooms. You are trying to make a space heater do the work of a furnace. Unless you have a wide open floor plan, it just ain't going to work very well as a whole house heater.

 

[synthnut]

Hog,
Thanks for the info ....I'm glad someone tried it before I did ....It would have been a lot of work for no return ....Ceiling fans it is .....I like the idea of moving air anyway ......Much appreciated ....Happy Thanksgiving .....Sincerely, Jim

 

[wg_bent]

i"ll second the ceiling fan. I have a 14' ceiling in the livingroom where the stove is, and if the fan isn't running, we're wondering why the stove isn't working. Dramatic difference. Run the fan blowing UP in the winter.

This aids in getting the warm air down low where the convection currents from the other rooms move the air to them.

 

[derbygreg]

i"ll second the ceiling fan. I have a 14' ceiling in the livingroom where the stove is, and if the fan isn't running, we're wondering why the stove isn't working. Dramatic difference. Run the fan blowing UP in the winter.

This aids in getting the warm air down low where the convection currents from the other rooms move the air to them.

Ditto. Same experience here. Ceiling fan is the way to go

 

[synthnut]

Pulling the air UP really makes a dramatic difference huh ? ......Will this aid in pushing warm air into those back rooms that are not in direct contact with the stove ?.....I have easily 14' ceilings in my living room where the stove will be ....There is also a stairway in the living room that goes up to a bedroom ....This is all open including the entrance to the bedroom ( typical small log cabin layout )...There is good size openning that leads to the foyer, and then the kitchen ( all open from the living room ...
Then off the kitchen is the back room in question .... I'm in hopes that the back room off the kitchen ( my sons bedroom ) will get some of this heat produced by the stove in the living room ........ None of these rooms are very large, and the entire cabin is approx 1200 - 1300 sq ft ..... Thanks to all for their comments ....Jim

 

[Todd]

That back room your talking about is going to be tough getting heat to. Try placing a fan on the floor pointed towards the stove room. That should push the cold air out into the warm room and return warm air back.

 

[11 Bravo]

I have the same set-up Synth. Log home, 1/2 is the great room with the vault ceiling, wood stove, living room and kitchen. Other 1/2 has the second floor open loft and bedroom, bathroom on main floor under the loft. I have ceiling fans in vaulted ceiling and loft going clockwise in winter.

I did a mock up of your idea but abandoned it. Then I thought of making a hole through the brick hearth behind the stove and running a blower to force air downstairs.

Here is reality: I purchased a stand up fan to blow warm air down towards the hallway and an enlarged cold air return from the great room. I am ordering a corner "pie shaped" doorway fan to see if I can get rid of the stand up fan for the sake of aesthetics. I fished the basement 4 years ago with alot of insulation and "extreme cold" carpet padding. Also, I added and made a much larger cold air return downstairs. I run the furnace fan most of the winter changing filters often, and kick the LP on to put heat in the basement, once in a great while. Lastly, we got a down comforter for the bed and his/her matching wool sweaters with cute reindeer for the -20F nights watching movies in the downstairs movie room.

This is the best I have come up with in the 5 winters here in SW Michigan besides the basic maintenence, caulking, etc. There is only so much you can do to move the air. I use one tank of propane a year now as opposed to 3 or 4.

 

[begreen]

A ceiling fan will address the heat stratification issue. In the winter, run it in reverse (blowing upward) to create a thermal loop. As it draws up air, it will force warm air to run down the walls (the source of cold) and then to the stove to be reheated and start the loop again. Running the fan this way also reduces drafts which make one feel cooler when the fan blows downward (summer mode). No guarantees for this heating up the back bedroom. The fireview produces an nice steady heat, so as the interior space equalizes, there will be some benefit as long as the door stays open to the room.

 

[11 Bravo]

oh..and the basement isn't to cold. Great room is around 75-80, loft is sizzling and the basement is 62....

 

[swestall]

Hey! I have two ceiling fans on either end of a 40' room with cathedral ceilings. I put the one in the area with the stove pushing down and the other pulling up. It circulates the air very well in the day. At night, we turn them off and let the temps/heat drift upward during the night. This has worked very well for 20+ years and we heat with wood exclusively; only time the boiler runs is 4AM in Feb or to heat water.

 

[Hogwildz]

I have my fan blow down. With near 30' cathedral ceilings the air rises up quickly. so I push it back down with the fan. Works for me. May not work for all. I suggest trying both ways and see what works best for your situation.

 

[synthnut]

Thanks for all the good info guys ...... I'm gonna try the fan on the floor pushing the cold air out of the back room ...Hopefully as the air temps equalize, a little bit of the warm air will replace the cold that's getting pushed out of the back room ....Thanks again....Jim