Floor Registers

Keith, It's more about strategy than the over all size of the register. Remember that any staircase is an automatic "register" and a big one to boot. The old tried and true method was to find the coldest spots and cut a register there or as close to there as esthetically and or decoratively and structurally possible. You knew it would be a cold air return and generally speaking, once you get those flowing, your in bizz as the warm air will replace the cold on the higher plane. Sometime people make the "mistake" of cutting a register where they think they want warm air to come in. Find the cold spots and put them there, and the warm air will will take care of itself.

No pics of the actual grate but this is what they look like...
http://www.efireplacestore.com/cui-7088nat.html

Well its wait and see time now.
I cut in 2 - 4x12 registers, 1 on each side of the fireplace on the first floor almost directly above the stove in the basement. I cut in a 14x14 return for the basement door that is in the center of the house. This house was built without duct work, it has radiators connected to an oil fired boiler. There are however small 3" flex ducts ran from the stand alone a/c, so I unhooked the first floor a/c ducts in the basement to see if it will help as individual room returns.

The stove is only running around 175* now and I will find out if it was all in vain later tonight after it has had a chance to balance out and the stove has more heat in it.

The registers actually look very nice next to the fireplace, so if it doesnt work as hoped it wasnt a total loss. I may look for a stove later that lends itself to running duct work from it, at that point I could definately utilize the registers. I plan to move the baseheater upstairs to the first floor next year after a total refurb of the stove and a new hearth is installed. A gas fired boiler for the radiators is in the long term plans, but money isnt as free as it was before the Marriage, go figure .

Thanks for all the help everyone.
Keith

I hear ya...
Wait till the pitter patter of footsteps...
Twins on the way...
Double trouble...

CapeCoaler wrote:I hear ya...
Wait till the pitter patter of footsteps...
Twins on the way...
Double trouble...

Congrats CapeCoaler, you can give and get twice the love! Thats awesome.
My mother is a twin with her brother.
No pitter patter of footsteps here unless its the 2 dogs running around, maybe if I were younger.

I am not impressed with the first results, basement stairs are smoking hot at around 96 and the basement is around 92 +/-. The first floor is at 74+ and it is only 47 outside and the stove is running around 275*.

The grille I put into the lower part of the basement door is acting as a supply instead of a return, heat is comming out instead of cold going in. The 2 grilles I installed at the fireplace are supplying hot air but very minimally but atleast they arent acting as cold air returns. I am thinking I need to get a better return from the opposite end of the house from where the 2 registers are located ?

On another note just for shits and giggles I took the side of the a/c blower off and turned the fan on after hooking back up the ducts and I was getting 80*+ out of my a/c ducts. I wont be going this route due to the noise of the blower, the undetermined length the heat will last at 80+ before cooling down, and the fact it uses electricity to do the work.

Tomorrow I will be trying some other things.

Are the basement walls insulated? Could be part of your problem that the foundation walls are sucking the heat up if not insulated? After that remember what I told you about finding the cold air returns, the hot will take care of itself. Seems like you've got quite a bit more heat downstairs and not enough up. Again flow.

SteveZee wrote:Are the basement walls insulated? Could be part of your problem that the foundation walls are sucking the heat up if not insulated? After that remember what I told you about finding the cold air returns, the hot will take care of itself. Seems like you've got quite a bit more heat downstairs and not enough up. Again flow.

No Sir, unfinished basement, I understand the walls will hold and keep robbing the heat but only so much right ? I have heat at the basement stairway trying to get out of the basement door. When I open the basement door the hot air comes out the top and the cold air goes in at the bottom down into the basement. With the grille cut into the bottom of the door and when its shut I just get hot air comming out into the first floor.

I will grab the IR Thermometer and an insence stick to find the cold spots and see how the air is flowing and go from there, but I am trying to refrain from cutting anymore holes . I will try more with the a/c ducts since those holes are already there.

Hole at the top of the door will solve that problem...
If the basement door is open does the heat move upstairs...

CapeCoaler wrote:Hole at the top of the door will solve that problem...
If the basement door is open does the heat move upstairs...

Yes, with the basement door open the upstairs is staying very comfortable at 71* / 72* degrees, the basement itself is around 94* with the stove running 275*. I would just like to get it evened out more between the first floor and the basement temperature wise, 20* seems like a substantial difference between the two floors. Keep I'm mind though I dont want to continue cutting holes since this is a this year only thing and the stove will become my pride on the main floor next year. I may just have to deal with it this way for now ?

Then get a 'booster' fan and some temp flex duct...
Blow the hot air up to the first floor...
The heat is trapped and needs some help...
http://residential.fantech.net/residential-products/inline-duct-fans/

Can you drop an actual return duct from an upstairs register with a duct boot, down to just above the basement floor? Just leave it open ended maybe 6" above the basement floor, give the cold air a place to fall to where it can be picked back up by stoves natural draft convection... Just a thought...

CapeCoaler wrote:Then get a 'booster' fan and some temp flex duct...
Blow the hot air up to the first floor...
The heat is trapped and needs some help...
http://residential.fantech.net/residential-products/inline-duct-fans/

I will give that a try, I have an extra bathroom exhaust fan laying around.

MURDOC1 wrote:Can you drop an actual return duct from an upstairs register with a duct boot, down to just above the basement floor? Just leave it open ended maybe 6" above the basement floor, give the cold air a place to fall to where it can be picked back up by stoves natural draft convection... Just a thought...

I actually spoke to Eric (coalfire) and he suggested the same thing, problem is that the house does not have ducts, just the 2 new registers I cut in. I may try it on those and let it dead end nearer to the stove.

Thanks all

I quess i just got lucky with my set up.Manufacture says to install the stove in the center of basement,with a big register right above the stove.and then cold air returns in evey room just cut out so they drop down into the basement.Hot air comes off the stove wich pushes the heat to the ceiling,cold air drops to the basement,convection heat.Well all that said i could not do that due to chimney location,my stove is at one end of the basement.I just leave my basement door open wich is located in the center of the house. Heating 3400 sq foot ranch that includes basement,whole house is toasty,I quess i just got lucky ds rocks bob