LL Hyfire II on Way With Hot Air Jacket
Posted: Mon. Jul. 07, 2008 10:41 pm
Here goes my plunge “back to the future” with coal heating.
Home:
Located in Lehigh Valley, PA.
3300 sq. ft. 1890’s home, good roof insulation, storm windows but still a little drafty, wall insulation suspect. One pipe steam oil fired boiler. Ran very low thermostat last winter and “lived” in small portion of home over furnace room. Multiple set backs on thermostat for daytime and nighttime. Still burned lots of fuel oil. Burned much less than prior years when we had whole home heated “comfortably” (low 60’s). Last winter was also fairly mild. Ran supplemental heating in bedrooms at bedtime with oil-filled electric radiators on timers.
Home shaped like “T” with family room upper left, living room upper right, kitchen at bottom with dining room in between.
Plan:
Locate Hyfire in basement below dining room and power vent either out below 3 season room or enclosed porch (depends where can achieve required clearances). Run 3 8” ducts with inline duct fans on rheostats from the hot air jacket to the 3 corners of the home. (family room, living room, kitchen) Heat duct to kitchen will be insulated since it would run though cold crawl space. Plan is rigid galvanized duct. Hoping to get radiation heating through un-insulated dining room floor.
Possibly install cold air return(s) somewhere in dining room to encourage air flow from corners of home to center. Leave all doors on 1st floor open to allow air circulation.
For now allow upstairs to be gravity fed via convection (or is it anti-gravity fed).
Turn oil thermostat down low to only kick in on really cold days.
Have heating contractor install power vent and vent piping. DIY heat ducts and registers.
Price quotes on rice coal from local suppliers are $5/bag (but not in stock yet), 4 ton bulk@ $229/t, and $215/t. Old coal chute window in home now above fuel oil tank so outdoor coal bin(in carport) may be needed.
A reduction of 50% fuel oil usage would “save” $3000+ per winter at $4.59 gallon. Payback on Hyfire less than two seasons.
Questions:
Does feeding heat to corners of home and having air returns in center make sense?
Is there enough benefit to insulate heat ducts to family room and living room?
Would splitting 8” duct and feeding other rooms (1st floor bathroom) be a possibility? What can 8” duct be split into? (4” and 6” duct?)
What size/number of air returns are recommended? For 3 8” ducts out should there be 3 8” duct air returns? or 1 big one? (12"x12")
Best place to get 8” rigid galvanized pipe and accessories?
Other suggestions/corrections to the plan?
THANKS in Advance with any help with "the plan"...
Bob
Home:
Located in Lehigh Valley, PA.
3300 sq. ft. 1890’s home, good roof insulation, storm windows but still a little drafty, wall insulation suspect. One pipe steam oil fired boiler. Ran very low thermostat last winter and “lived” in small portion of home over furnace room. Multiple set backs on thermostat for daytime and nighttime. Still burned lots of fuel oil. Burned much less than prior years when we had whole home heated “comfortably” (low 60’s). Last winter was also fairly mild. Ran supplemental heating in bedrooms at bedtime with oil-filled electric radiators on timers.
Home shaped like “T” with family room upper left, living room upper right, kitchen at bottom with dining room in between.
Plan:
Locate Hyfire in basement below dining room and power vent either out below 3 season room or enclosed porch (depends where can achieve required clearances). Run 3 8” ducts with inline duct fans on rheostats from the hot air jacket to the 3 corners of the home. (family room, living room, kitchen) Heat duct to kitchen will be insulated since it would run though cold crawl space. Plan is rigid galvanized duct. Hoping to get radiation heating through un-insulated dining room floor.
Possibly install cold air return(s) somewhere in dining room to encourage air flow from corners of home to center. Leave all doors on 1st floor open to allow air circulation.
For now allow upstairs to be gravity fed via convection (or is it anti-gravity fed).
Turn oil thermostat down low to only kick in on really cold days.
Have heating contractor install power vent and vent piping. DIY heat ducts and registers.
Price quotes on rice coal from local suppliers are $5/bag (but not in stock yet), 4 ton bulk@ $229/t, and $215/t. Old coal chute window in home now above fuel oil tank so outdoor coal bin(in carport) may be needed.
A reduction of 50% fuel oil usage would “save” $3000+ per winter at $4.59 gallon. Payback on Hyfire less than two seasons.
Questions:
Does feeding heat to corners of home and having air returns in center make sense?
Is there enough benefit to insulate heat ducts to family room and living room?
Would splitting 8” duct and feeding other rooms (1st floor bathroom) be a possibility? What can 8” duct be split into? (4” and 6” duct?)
What size/number of air returns are recommended? For 3 8” ducts out should there be 3 8” duct air returns? or 1 big one? (12"x12")
Best place to get 8” rigid galvanized pipe and accessories?
Other suggestions/corrections to the plan?
THANKS in Advance with any help with "the plan"...
Bob