Fan Direction

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Tue. Feb. 17, 2015 3:01 pm

mozz wrote:Just try it. Only problem I see now is if you ever had a CO leak, the way it is you would be pumping CO into the other rooms.
Excellent point! If that stove room can be sealed (like by closing a door to the room its in) It potentially could reverse the draft in the chimney and yank CO into the house.. Be careful. :)


 
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Post by scalabro » Tue. Feb. 17, 2015 9:04 pm

tcalo wrote:I have an 1100 sq ft ranch and my stove is located on the far end of it. As you could imagine one end of my house was extremely hot and the other end was extremely cold. I installed a vent system through my attic to help move the warm air around. I installed a register with a filter above my stove. I installed registers in 3 bedrooms and a bathroom at the other end of my house. There is an 8" inline fan with 8" insulated flex duct in my attic. When in use you could actually feel the cool air rushing back to the stove room along the floor. It keeps the house comfortable with a 5 degree difference throughout. The problem is the filter is getting clogged rather quickly, no matter how careful I am with ash or dust from reloading! Once clogged it gets very noisy. I seem to be changing it every few days. Not a big deals as I get them fairly cheap, just hoping to figure something out. I was thinking about reversing the fan so it will pull air from the bedrooms and push it into the stove room, which should force the warm air in the stove room to the other end of the house. I would pull the filter from the register since this will now be an out register. It may push the dust around the house rather then the filter catching it. I would also need to change the register by the stove, as this is an intake register (not sure if it matters). I'm not sure if it's better to push warm air from the stove room into the cool rooms or to push cool air into the warm stove room. I've attached a crude sketch and a picture of my intake register above my stove. Thoughts?
Install another Chubby at the other end of your house!

 
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Post by tcalo » Thu. Feb. 19, 2015 9:42 am

So I was brainstorming. Yes...dangerous! Could it be possible since the supply register is so close to the chimney that the fan is sucking ash from the chimney and clogging the filter quickly? I have a manometer hooked up and do not notice any change in draft with the fan either on or off. The only other culprit is when I remove the ash pan. The pan is too small and doesn't catch all of the ash so I have to shovel the excess out from the bottom of the stove everyday. I do shut the fan when tending the stove, not sure I see a difference though!

 
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Post by michaelanthony » Thu. Feb. 19, 2015 10:31 am

tcalo wrote:So I was brainstorming. Yes...dangerous! Could it be possible since the supply register is so close to the chimney that the fan is sucking ash from the chimney and clogging the filter quickly? I have a manometer hooked up and do not notice any change in draft with the fan either on or off. The only other culprit is when I remove the ash pan. The pan is too small and doesn't catch all of the ash so I have to shovel the excess out from the bottom of the stove everyday. I do shut the fan when tending the stove, not sure I see a difference though!
Before I put the Vigilant in my living room, the previous stove needed shoveling of ash as well and the plume of dust was evident. I resorted to using a spray bottle of water as the shovel gently dropped the ash in the pan I would give a couple blasts of water to knock down the hovering dust...hope it helps

 
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Post by tcalo » Thu. Mar. 19, 2015 5:01 pm

Back to the filter mystery. I noticed the filters didn't get clogged so quick at the beginning of the season. I've also noticed some ash accumulation around the pipe joints. I shut the fan off prior to tending and keep it off for a few minutes after tending to be sure whatever dust there is settles. I'm really thinking the fan could possibly be drawing some ash from the chimney, but like I mentioned the manometer stays pinned regardless of the fan being on or off. The stove area does get a bit dusty so this could be the culprit. I'm thinking about moving the location of the register this summer.

 
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Post by tcalo » Sun. Jan. 03, 2016 10:10 pm

I hate to revive old threads but don't want to start a new one. I've mentioned about the fan speed possibly being too strong. Does it make sense that a slower fan speed moves warm air better than a faster fan speed? My thoughts are the faster the air moves the cooler it feels regardless of temperature. Also, the slower the warm air moves the longer it will stay in the intended area (room). My issue is the fan speed seems high and the cooler air flowing out of the bedrooms is creating quite a draft. I currently have a standard switch controlling the fan. I'm thinking of installing a speed control switch to slow down the fan speed to see if it helps. Thoughts?

 
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Post by SWPaDon » Mon. Jan. 04, 2016 3:35 am

My first thought is thank you for reviving your old thread. Your new question needed to be with it.

Second thought is yes, a lower fan speed would be beneficial for your application.

Dennis Bauer mentioned on page 1 about a low CFM duct booster, something like this may be all you need: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_20 ... _sku=18004


 
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Post by tcalo » Mon. Jan. 04, 2016 8:27 am

Thanks SWPaDon. I plan on installing a variable speed switch, we'll see how that works.

 
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Post by SWPaDon » Mon. Jan. 04, 2016 8:40 am

Be sure to post it here. There are probably more than just me interested in the outcome.

 
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Post by tcalo » Tue. Jan. 12, 2016 9:36 am

Well, I just installed a variable speed switch for my duct fan and set it to about 50% fan speed. I should have some info in a few days. Stay tuned...

 
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Post by SWPaDon » Tue. Jan. 12, 2016 9:56 am

tcalo wrote:Well, I just installed a variable speed switch for my duct fan and set it to about 50% fan speed. I should have some info in a few days. Stay tuned...
:up: :clap:

 
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Post by tcalo » Fri. Jan. 15, 2016 12:10 am

Here's an update...with the switch installed and set to 50% power I see a difference. The temperature difference throughout the house now averages 2-3 degrees instead of the 5 degrees it used to. The bedrooms are located on the opposite end of the house from the stove and were always cooler. The fan would push the cool air down the hallway back to the stove room creating a draft. I'm no longer getting a cool draft. In fact I don't get a draft at all now. Lastly it's quieter, the air flow through the registers are much quieter. The air is still circulating around the house, the temperature readings prove this. It's just moving at a rate that works better! The beauty is that I can adjust the fan speed as needed now. Very pleased with the outcome.

 
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Post by SWPaDon » Fri. Jan. 15, 2016 6:01 am

Glad to hear it made a difference. Thanks for the update.

 
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Post by SWPaDon » Fri. Jan. 15, 2016 6:01 am

.

 
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Post by titleist1 » Fri. Jan. 15, 2016 7:51 am

Thanks for posting the results. Heat distribution is a challenge that comes up quite often and this surely will be a useful reference down the road. :up:


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