Moving heat in a ranch home - fancy sketch attached

[boostnut]

A new home brings us a new challenge:bang:, the age old problem of somewhat even heat distribution with a wood stove/insert. We've got a ranch home that does not have an open floor plan and does not have a chimney in an ideal location. We're stuck using the existing chimney because I already have a Jotul C450 insert that I'm not interested in parting with. Anyone have any suggestions for effectively getting other rooms heated in a home with a chopped up floor plan like this? View attachment 259075 I'm leaning towards using a 4" - 6" duct that runs from the family room to the living room & inserting a duct booster fan inline to get the air moving. Yep, I'm looking at moving hot air, I've read that some people prefer to move the cold air to the stove area, what was your experience or preference?

 

[boostnut]

Oh, and by the way, the sketch is no where near to scale. I know it sucks but that's all I've got left in me today.

 

[GeeVee]

You are possibly on the right track.

Get the hot air from the ceiling of the room and duct it to ALL (counter clockwise) the rooms through the attic spaces with the duct booster. you can use a T-stat as a switch to run the duct booster fan in the Fan only mode, or 120 volt switch. I'd start with 8 inch flex duct and reduce down to 4 inch by the time you got to the Master- Kitchen and DR may get enough heat from their proximity to the fireplace, or make it a circuit and return the 4 Inch all the way to the Family room on a sidewall.

If you had a better floorplan or pics of the front and back, I could help you out a bit more. I know structures, I just can't see the third dimension of your situation with "Ranch" and your sketch as the clues. I think I have a clue about your situation, but need a bit more to visualize it.

Yes some would claim their physics are best, but there are ways to "even'out" the HVAC issues of any structure.

I just ran across Create floor plans, house plans and home plans online with Floorplanner.com, check it out, its about as point and click for CADD/Architecture as it can get. As a Project Manager for FDOT, I do a wee bit of CADD work, and this Floorplanner makes it easy for 3rd graders to lay out a house. In 30 minutes, you can duplicate your house in 2d and 3d.

 

[cheeves]

A new home brings us a new challenge:bang:, the age old problem of somewhat even heat distribution with a wood stove/insert. We've got a ranch home that does not have an open floor plan and does not have a chimney in an ideal location. We're stuck using the existing chimney because I already have a Jotul C450 insert that I'm not interested in parting with. Anyone have any suggestions for effectively getting other rooms heated in a home with a chopped up floor plan like this? View attachment 259075 I'm leaning towards using a 4" - 6" duct that runs from the family room to the living room & inserting a duct booster fan inline to get the air moving. Yep, I'm looking at moving hot air, I've read that some people prefer to move the cold air to the stove area, what was your experience or preference?

Put a little fan up in the corner of the hallway going to the back rooms.

 

[stihlguy]

Heat distribution

From your sketch, it looks like there are stairs which means cellar??? In my ranch, smaller than yours, my stove(55 gal barrel Sotz kit), is located in the basement. Galvanized duct work directs hot air to a large cast iron register in the living room floor, at the end of the hall there is a small register with duct work down to the cellar floor. If it is -20 or so, we might need a small fan to push the air around a bit, but otherwise it is quite toasty. (no worries if the electric goes out either)

 

[boostnut]

Thanks to Geevee I now have a more professional, slightly better scaled drawing.

View attachment 259114

The basement isn't an option. I have no interest in hauling wood downstairs & ashes up. We're gonna work with what we've got on the main floor. Keep the suggestions coming!

By the way, some of the labels are incorrect on this drawing. the program doesn't handle removed walls well, it thinks you've combined 2 rooms into 1. Lets call the room with the stove the "family room" per my first not-so-professional sketch.

 

[Patrick62]

Yellow submarine

If ya can't hide it, Feature it!

I like the idea of sticking the required ducting in the attic. However, if that ain't practical then it could be punched thru interior walls, and get to the main hallway. drop small stuff into the various rooms. Stick a blower on a thermostat down at the stove... Ugly. Paint it a bright cheerful color...

Heat rises, and you already removed the idea of the stove in the basement (my choice... btw). How about running the ducting down there?? Floor registers, and a main pipe down from a "hood" over the stove with a decent squirrel cage fan...??

 

[GeeVee]

So, the Garage, Family room and DR are all on the same floor and the rest is the second floor on a half set of stairs up?

 

[boostnut]

So, the Garage, Family room and DR are all on the same floor and the rest is the second floor on a half set of stairs up?

No, all of these rooms are on the ground floor. There isn't an upper floor, the stairs lead to a finished basement (no basement rooms shown on the drawings).

 

[boostnut]

Looking at the floor plan I predict disappointment in almost any heat moving system.

Looks like a good floor plan for a basement placed wood burning hot air furnace, easy to fab basement duct system with coal chute type wood supply.


Be careful before investing too much in the present system as you are likely going to be heading a different direction in the future.

I agree & my expectations are not too high considering the layout. Just looking for others success stories here.

The home already has a gas burning forced air furnace (LP) that will be used in conjunction with the insert. Adding a wood burning furnace would be pretty simple considering the ductwork is already in place. Unfortunately I don't have the time or desire to deal with that now, maybe in a few years.

 

[zogger]

Put a little fan up in the corner of the hallway going to the back rooms.

Yep, and they make fans just for that purpose. Little triangular jobs that screw in on one side or the other at the doorway top header area.

Duct work is better but more work and expense. If I needed the heat fast, I'd use the doorway fans, If I had time to do it correctly, the ductwork.

 

[boostnut]

Yep, and they make fans just for that purpose. Little triangular jobs that screw in on one side or the other at the doorway top header area.

Duct work is better but more work and expense. If I needed the heat fast, I'd use the doorway fans, If I had time to do it correctly, the ductwork.

I've seen those & I'm sure they serve their purpose but I don't want to look at them, hear them, or deal with their exposed wiring therefore the idea of a short duct running from the family room (high on the wall) thru the garage, and into the living room.

I'm not preoccupied with getting heat to the farthest bedrooms, its just not realistic. The thermostat for the LP furnace is near the furthest bedrooms, as much as I hate to I'll just run it to maintain a reasonable temp at that end of the house. Getting some heat into the living room & maybe dining room is the realistic goal here. It'll save me some $$$ AND make the family room usable, this insert will likely run us out of that room if I can't get some of the heat moved out.

 

[D&B Mack]

One thing that would help. Make your combustible air intake on the garage side (assuming garage is closed off from the rest of the house). This will, in turn, create positive pressure in your house. Then, you want to completely seal any leaks in rooms close to the stove. You want any leaks to be at opposite end of the house, this will pull your heat through.

 

[boostnut]

One thing that would help. Make your combustible air intake on the garage side (assuming garage is closed off from the rest of the house). This will, in turn, create positive pressure in your house. Then, you want to completely seal any leaks in rooms close to the stove. You want any leaks to be at opposite end of the house, this will pull your heat through.

Unfortunately the brick fireplace the insert is going into doesn't have a provision for an outside air intake. It'll be pulling outside air in thru the 50 year old window "seals" throughout the house. They're in good condition but have some years on them.

 

[Davej_07]

Basing my suggestions on 20 years in the HVAC field, your best bet is to draw cold air out of the rooms you're trying to heat. This creates a negative pressure which will draw warm air into said rooms. Your heated air will not stay warm enough to be practical.
Dave

 

[Davej_07]

Basing my suggestions on 20 years in the HVAC field, your best bet is to draw cold air out of the rooms you're trying to heat. This creates a negative pressure which will draw warm air into said rooms. Your heated air will not stay warm enough to be practical.
Dave

 

[boostnut]

Basing my suggestions on 20 years in the HVAC field, your best bet is to draw cold air out of the rooms you're trying to heat. This creates a negative pressure which will draw warm air into said rooms. Your heated air will not stay warm enough to be practical.
Dave

10-4. One of my considerations is to move the cold air return registers in the 3 bedrooms near the bottom of the wall. They are currently on the wall just a few inches from the ceiling (pulling hot air). If I installed a new low air returns below the existing ones (near the floor), blocked the upper ones & ran the forced air furnace fan for circulation do you think I could expect any benefit? Those will, without a doubt, be the 3 coldest rooms in the house. Makes sense to me if I'm pulling cold air out of cold rooms & distributing evenly thru the entire home, feel free to correct me if I'm dreaming here.

 

[shawnw]

10-4. One of my considerations is to move the cold air return registers in the 3 bedrooms near the bottom of the wall. They are currently on the wall just a few inches from the ceiling (pulling hot air). If I installed a new low air returns below the existing ones (near the floor), blocked the upper ones & ran the forced air furnace fan for circulation do you think I could expect any benefit? Those will, without a doubt, be the 3 coldest rooms in the house. Makes sense to me if I'm pulling cold air out of cold rooms & distributing evenly thru the entire home, feel free to correct me if I'm dreaming here.

Cut into the duct/cavity of the wall where the returns are coming down from the ceiling. Place an additional return/grate roughly 12-18" AFF, and then use a register magnet to cover whichever one is necessary. Plug the top during the winter, and the bottom during the summer.

Something like this works wonders: Magnetic Vent Covers from Thermwell Products | The Home Depot - Model#: MC815/3

 

[boostnut]

Cut into the duct/cavity of the wall where the returns are coming down from the ceiling. Place an additional return/grate roughly 12-18" AFF, and then use a register magnet to cover whichever one is necessary. Plug the top during the winter, and the bottom during the summer.

Something like this works wonders: Magnetic Vent Covers from Thermwell Products | The Home Depot - Model#: MC815/3

Thats exactly what I had in mind. Thanks for confirming that I'm not as crazy as my wife suggests!

 

[Kellbell]

Hey All, I figured I might find answers here....my husband and I recently bought our first home. With winter fast approaching, in November we purchased a QuadraFire 5100, we had in installed in our fireplace in the far end of our ranch home that's 2,025 SF per floor, it's very long. Unfortunately with the stove being on the very end of the home, the heat does.not travel into the long hallway or bedrooms, it's very chilly in the rest of the house. We've tried everything,using the ac fan and even when the ducts warm up it doesn't carry heat in the rooms. We put electric baseboard heaters in the basement to help with the cold air in the basement, tried putting a fan in the hallway to move the hot air. The only things left to try are installing a ceiling fan in the living room and trying one of those self powered fans on the stove...any suggestions on how to get the heat to the other end of the house? I'm tired of waking up freezing. Thank you all for your help.