I'm a gas guy. That's what I do for a living, but I love wood. This is why I have researched and found what I think is a great unit, the RSF OPEL. I am hoping the "wood burning gurus" on this forum can guide me in my quest to have the ultimate combo heating system.
Here is what I am proposing:
1 - OPEL with the bottom louver open and the top closed in (for the look I want and for practical reasons that include getting at the electrical and damper controls)
2 - Installing the 2-8" gravity heat ducts off the top of the unit. If I am correct one has to be dedicated for a gravity vent and the other can be both gravity and with a tee added it can be used in combination with the inline external blower for central heating. I am assuming.
3 - It looks like I will have 2 thermostats, one for the inline external heat blower and the other for the draft damper. I am having a fight with myself on where these two thermostats will be place in the house. My one floor house is 1500sqft open concept with the bedrooms and bathroom down the hallway with the fireplace located at the total opposite end in the open portion. The gas furnace thermostat is at the entrance of this hallway to be somewhat centralized. I am assuming I should put the draft damper thermostat in the area we use most often near the fireplace to tone down the heat to be comfortable while the blower thermostat is located a fair distance away, beside the furnace thermostat in the hallway, governing the rest of the house temperature. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.
4 - If the central blower system (the large 636cfm inline 8") fan is used off the top of the OPEL is it possible to duct it into the cold air return instead of the heating side? My furnace is on a D/C continuous low speed setting so I am not sure of the reasoning behind only piping it into the warm air supply side. Maybe it is because it would work better if the fan on the furnace was not in a continuous state. Maybe it is ok to use the cold air return side if the fan on the furnace is always on??
5 - Is the OPEL 2000c an earlier version of the OPEL 2 and 3?
Any other unique ideas (to code) would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again in advance,
Jeff
Here is what I am proposing:
1 - OPEL with the bottom louver open and the top closed in (for the look I want and for practical reasons that include getting at the electrical and damper controls)
2 - Installing the 2-8" gravity heat ducts off the top of the unit. If I am correct one has to be dedicated for a gravity vent and the other can be both gravity and with a tee added it can be used in combination with the inline external blower for central heating. I am assuming.
3 - It looks like I will have 2 thermostats, one for the inline external heat blower and the other for the draft damper. I am having a fight with myself on where these two thermostats will be place in the house. My one floor house is 1500sqft open concept with the bedrooms and bathroom down the hallway with the fireplace located at the total opposite end in the open portion. The gas furnace thermostat is at the entrance of this hallway to be somewhat centralized. I am assuming I should put the draft damper thermostat in the area we use most often near the fireplace to tone down the heat to be comfortable while the blower thermostat is located a fair distance away, beside the furnace thermostat in the hallway, governing the rest of the house temperature. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.
4 - If the central blower system (the large 636cfm inline 8") fan is used off the top of the OPEL is it possible to duct it into the cold air return instead of the heating side? My furnace is on a D/C continuous low speed setting so I am not sure of the reasoning behind only piping it into the warm air supply side. Maybe it is because it would work better if the fan on the furnace was not in a continuous state. Maybe it is ok to use the cold air return side if the fan on the furnace is always on??
5 - Is the OPEL 2000c an earlier version of the OPEL 2 and 3?
Any other unique ideas (to code) would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again in advance,
Jeff
