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Air Handler Installed

Posted: Sun. Jan. 06, 2013 6:56 pm
by georgedj
I finally finished installing the air handler and tied it in to my Statford Stove

It need some more work and I need to figure out some wiring
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Re: Air Handler Installed

Posted: Mon. Jan. 07, 2013 1:52 pm
by georgedj
I was wondering maybe some one know the answer

I was told by another HVAC contractor that what I did with the stove could damage the stove or even cause a fire
I have a co detector in almost every room in the house and
On low the pipe from the stove to the return is about 150

Can some one help me out thanks

George

Re: Air Handler Installed

Posted: Mon. Jan. 07, 2013 3:31 pm
by Rigar
I would like to know more about your setup.... before I give you my 2 cents about starting a fire or damaging your stove..
where exactly is the stoves flue pipe going?
... is that a spare flu?..... a clean out?.... is it shared with your existing furnace?
the supply pipe from your stove to your furnace appears to be 8inch?
... does it have a fan on it?
... is your furnace operational... and the stove only supplements it ?
.... I don't mean to ask so many questions... but I can't quite put my finger on what is bothering me about your pictures
explain your setup a little bit for me.... the pictures are great.. but something just doesn't jive
... I noticed there is no cold air return TO the stove..
was this set up suggested by another HVAC contractor?
... did he give you any insight on what exactly may start a fire?

Re: Air Handler Installed

Posted: Tue. Jan. 08, 2013 8:20 am
by georgedj
Rigar wrote:I would like to know more about your setup.... before I give you my 2 cents about starting a fire or damaging your stove..
where exactly is the stoves flue pipe going?

Yes it's a spare flue that the last homeowner used for that stove and its clean with a good draft

... is that a spare flu?..... a clean out?.... is it shared with your existing furnace?

No clean out and it's not shared

the supply pipe from your stove to your furnace appears to be 8inch?
... does it have a fan on it?

Yes it's 8 inch with no fan the air handler is just pulling on on it own

... is your furnace operational... and the stove only supplements it ?

My home is primary heat source is electric base board and the air handler is just for ac

.... I don't mean to ask so many questions... but I can't quite put my finger on what is bothering me about your pictures
explain your setup a little bit for me.... the pictures are great.. but something just doesn't jive
... I noticed there is no cold air return TO the stove..

There is no make up are yet but working on that to help with the drafts in the home

was this set up suggested by another HVAC contractor?

No wa my idea to remove the blower and pull from the stove instead of blowing
... did he give you any insight on what exactly may start a fire?
He seems to think that I will damage the stove because I'm not using it the way it was designed for and t might cause a fire from ash into the air handler and blow it ino the home

Re: Air Handler Installed

Posted: Wed. Jan. 09, 2013 9:57 am
by Rigar
okay.. first of all I don't see how there is any possibility of a fire in your home from your air handler sucking in ash and blowing it through your home...
with that said.. if it were me.. I would actually try to increase the hot air supply to your Handler...
.... have you considered building a jacket ( of sheet metal) that would enclose the back of your stove... essentially like a plenum?
this would allow a bigger volume of heated air to be taken in by your Handler...
in my opinion... an 8 inch duct will not carry enough air to your Handler to effectively heat your home.
there are countless threads on the site that talk about heating the entire house with a stove( space heater)... and a lot of guys have a good luck ... some guys not so much.
... it would take a little messing around... but your stove is so close to your ductwork and air handler that you should be able to achieve some good results
.....silly question tho- if your air handler is only for AC... are the vents registers in each room coming out of the wall near the ceiling as opposed to the floor?

Re: Air Handler Installed

Posted: Wed. Jan. 09, 2013 10:07 am
by Rigar
1 more thing George....
there is something in pictures #2 - #3 that does not appear in picture #1 ...???
... can I ask what that is?.... looks like maybe a cord or tubing... not really sure... Hard to tell what that is going over your 8 inch heat duct and to the bottom of your chimney pipe

Re: Air Handler Installed

Posted: Wed. Jan. 09, 2013 10:59 am
by georgedj
Rigar wrote:1 more thing George....
there is something in pictures #2 - #3 that does not appear in picture #1 ...???
... can I ask what that is?.... looks like maybe a cord or tubing... not really sure... Hard to tell what that is going over your 8 inch heat duct and to the bottom of your chimney pipe
It's my spare Bacharach draft tester

Re: Air Handler Installed

Posted: Wed. Jan. 09, 2013 11:04 am
by georgedj
Rigar wrote:okay.. first of all I don't see how there is any possibility of a fire in your home from your air handler sucking in ash and blowing it through your home...
with that said.. if it were me.. I would actually try to increase the hot air supply to your Handler...
.... have you considered building a jacket ( of sheet metal) that would enclose the back of your stove... essentially like a plenum?
this would allow a bigger volume of heated air to be taken in by your Handler...
in my opinion... an 8 inch duct will not carry enough air to your Handler to effectively heat your home.
there are countless threads on the site that talk about heating the entire house with a stove( space heater)... and a lot of guys have a good luck ... some guys not so much.
... it would take a little messing around... but your stove is so close to your ductwork and air handler that you should be able to achieve some good results
.....silly question tho- if your air handler is only for AC... are the vents registers in each room coming out of the wall near the ceiling as opposed to the floor?
I thought about the jacket and also adding a high temp blower on the 8 inch pipe

And the a/c registers are on the floor

I was really thinking about the but my blower was starting to die and I was looking for a option that didn't use it

Sorry about some of my wording I'm on my phone

Re: Air Handler Installed

Posted: Wed. Jan. 09, 2013 11:19 am
by Rigar
I don't think you would need another blower
... the tricky part is getting the heat from the stove contained and having that volume of hot air as part of the loop that your duct work has already created
... by which I mean simply letting hot air roll into the duct may prove to not be efficient
... consider the setup you have now for AC
imagine your stove is the AC coil...
now how would you efficiently circulate air using your existing ductwork around the stove then back into the house.
... like I said earlier... you are certainly close enough to make this happen fairly efficiently... but it will probably take a little more messing around. and obviously some metal work to do so.
any idea how many ton your AC unit is?
... or more importantly what is the CFM of your Handler?
. this will all play a role... but I think the potential is definitely there

Re: Air Handler Installed

Posted: Wed. Jan. 09, 2013 6:11 pm
by georgedj
Rigar wrote:I don't think you would need another blower
... the tricky part is getting the heat from the stove contained and having that volume of hot air as part of the loop that your duct work has already created
... by which I mean simply letting hot air roll into the duct may prove to not be efficient
... consider the setup you have now for AC
imagine your stove is the AC coil...
now how would you efficiently circulate air using your existing ductwork around the stove then back into the house.
... like I said earlier... you are certainly close enough to make this happen fairly efficiently... but it will probably take a little more messing around. and obviously some metal work to do so.
any idea how many ton your AC unit is?
... or more importantly what is the CFM of your Handler?
. this will all play a role... but I think the potential is definitely there
I was down stairs and I measured the top of the stove and going to order a metal box that will be 3 inches bigger all around and go down about 2 inches below the top of the unit

Right now if my stack temp is 250 I get about 160 air temp in the 8 inch pipe

Also it's a 2 ton with a coil that is not hooked up and I have the fan on medium speed

I think it's about 1000 cfm

Re: Air Handler Installed

Posted: Wed. Jan. 09, 2013 6:12 pm
by georgedj
And I forgot my supply air is about 95 degrees right now the way it is

Re: Air Handler Installed

Posted: Thu. Jan. 10, 2013 7:02 am
by Rigar
What are you considering as "supply air" ?
...the air in the room?
...only askin so we are on the same page
...as I see no cold air return to ur stove

Re: Air Handler Installed

Posted: Thu. Jan. 10, 2013 7:24 am
by georgedj
Rigar wrote:What are you considering as "supply air" ?
...the air in the room?
...only askin so we are on the same page
...as I see no cold air return to ur stove
Above the air handler and I know it needs to be warmer

And I know I have no cold air intake I am working on that trying to figure out how to hook up to the stove or if getting the cold air close to the intake of the stove

And my floor register temps are 87

Re: Air Handler Installed

Posted: Thu. Jan. 10, 2013 8:00 am
by Rigar
So far so good...
One more question...
is the 8 inch pipe from your stove going into the cold air return trunk of your furnace ?
... I guess what I'm asking is for the direction of airflow in that vertical trunk that your stove supplies heat to...

..is air direction in THAT trunk moving UP or DOWN in that duct (trunk)
.. again I just want to be sure... before I recommend something to you

Re: Air Handler Installed

Posted: Thu. Jan. 10, 2013 8:15 am
by georgedj
Rigar wrote:So far so good...
One more question...
is the 8 inch pipe from your stove going into the cold air return trunk of your furnace ?
... I guess what I'm asking is for the direction of airflow in that vertical trunk that your stove supplies heat to...

..is air direction in THAT trunk moving UP or DOWN in that duct (trunk)
.. again I just want to be sure... before I recommend something to you
Return of the air handler