Replies

1. 
   calvin | Dec 28, 2002 05:04am | #1

   They (someone) make an inline fan for round duct pipe that you could probably hook up to be switched by a thermostat in the back bedrooms.  Total it up, if it's affordable, go for it.  You might scour the ad pages in FHB. 

   __________________________________________

   Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

   http://www.quittintime.com/

2. 
   Frankie | Dec 28, 2002 07:31am | #2

   a) Be sure you insulate the duct running through the attic well.

   b) Use round duct. It's the most efficient since that is how air moves - it spirals.

   c) How long is the run going to be?

   d) You may need an in-line booster fan if the run is longer than 20'. Grainger carries them. I like a the ones made by Kanalflakt.

   e) Use the type of fan that looks like a tread mill. They are quieter.

   f) Install a reostat switch (a dimmer) made for fans to control the air speed.

   g) This will cool off the livingroom.

   h) Is there any way to intoduce the warm air into the bedrooms at a low level? Hot air rises.

   i) You will not be warming the bedroom's air as much as you will be pushing the cold air out with the warm. Where will the cold air go?

   Great idea for Alaska. Let us know how it turns out.

1. 
   user-60139 | Dec 28, 2002 11:50pm | #5

   Thanks for the ideas. Its about 45 feet to the back rooms and I have thought about trying to slip a duct down through the studs to get a register on the floor. A long hall connects the bedrooms to the livingroom and it seemed (to me) a natural path for the cooler air to recirculate to the warmer livingroom. I'll be doing this soon to get it off the honeydo list (if you can understand this priority structure, ha! :)  ) so I'll let you all know how it goes. 

   watching whales swim by in Ketchikan, AK

3. 
   rez | Dec 28, 2002 08:18am | #3

   Isn't it amazing how motivated you can get when the elements come into play?

   ...sitting in his nowhereland.

    

    

4. 
   DavidThomas | Dec 28, 2002 08:50am | #4

   Some circulation scheme will greatly increase your comfort in all rooms. As someone stated, you are not just moving hot air to the bedroom, you also need to move the cool air out of the bedroom (and ultimately back to the stove room). Round duct has less frictional losses, but rectangular duct of foam board (sold for this purpose) is very well insulated.

   REALLY seal the duct work up well. That inside air is hot and you don't want ot waste heat. But more imprtantly, that inside air is moist and you don't want icicles forming in the attic and soaking your attic insulation.

   I would skip the in-line booster fan and go a 1/4 hp squirrel-cage fan to move a more serious amount of air. It will make the temps more even in the stove room, the bedroom and every room in between. You will also need to leave doors open or cut registers in between rooms/hallways to maximize airflow. Don't mount it really close to the bedroom for noise reasons. And/or try your hand at muffler/silencer design out of foam board. You want no line-of-sight paths for sounds to travel to the bedroom. You want multiple bounces off of absorbtive surfaces. Consider rubber mounting pads for the blowers so the framing doesn't transmit vibrations (Graingers has them).

   Some two-story houses can achieve good circulation (if the stove is downstairs) by judiciously cutting in a 2 to 3 square foot register to establish a return route through rooms that aren't currently getting. The most distant room is cooler (3-6F cooler) but the thermosyphon effect can move a lot of air in an open floor plan.

   Barefoot, comfy, 70F, in Alaska with natural gas RFH,

   David Thomas   Overlooking Cook Inlet in Kenai, Alaska