Hello all,
I have a US Stove 1557 (this is a warm air central furnace) which is ducted independently of our propane furnace. The wood furnace sits outside of the building envelope (in a large furnace room), and pushes heated air through two 8" round ducts which are each about 6 feet long, then into 8x14 rectangle duct which runs through the basement wall (poured concrete) and continues through an 8x14 trunk which feeds six branch ducts connected to floor vents throughout the house. Hope this is clear.
My question: the furnace room is warmer than I'd like it, and the house cooler than I'd like it. Now, the 8x14 trunk in the basement is insulated (foil-backed fiberglass), as are the branch ducts. This seems to keep the heat out of the basement pretty well (which is why I insulated them last year). The two 8 inch round ducts that lead immediately off the furnace are not insulated; I'd like to insulate them to keep more of the heat in the ducts and out of the furnace room. There is a hot fire going now (600F on magnetic temp above the door, which is as hot as I ever let it get intentionally), and these 8" ducts are about 160F (surface temp with IR gun) near the furnace, and the temp drops about 5F each foot of distance. (The main trunk in the basement is 130F about 12 feet from the furnace.) Can I insulate these round ducts that exit the furnace? If so, how close to the furnace can I insulate?
I have a US Stove 1557 (this is a warm air central furnace) which is ducted independently of our propane furnace. The wood furnace sits outside of the building envelope (in a large furnace room), and pushes heated air through two 8" round ducts which are each about 6 feet long, then into 8x14 rectangle duct which runs through the basement wall (poured concrete) and continues through an 8x14 trunk which feeds six branch ducts connected to floor vents throughout the house. Hope this is clear.
My question: the furnace room is warmer than I'd like it, and the house cooler than I'd like it. Now, the 8x14 trunk in the basement is insulated (foil-backed fiberglass), as are the branch ducts. This seems to keep the heat out of the basement pretty well (which is why I insulated them last year). The two 8 inch round ducts that lead immediately off the furnace are not insulated; I'd like to insulate them to keep more of the heat in the ducts and out of the furnace room. There is a hot fire going now (600F on magnetic temp above the door, which is as hot as I ever let it get intentionally), and these 8" ducts are about 160F (surface temp with IR gun) near the furnace, and the temp drops about 5F each foot of distance. (The main trunk in the basement is 130F about 12 feet from the furnace.) Can I insulate these round ducts that exit the furnace? If so, how close to the furnace can I insulate?