# duct wood stove into furnace



## paroughneck (Dec 6, 2010)

So ive been scouring google on the best way to do this. I live in a 70s model single wide. I have an enclosed front porch with a fisher momma bear wood stove. Last year, I bought at least 6 cords of wood, and I am not completely sure how much I cut. Add another cord or 2. The wood stove ran from late september till at least april. I also use a kerosene heater, to help keep it warm at night when I cant keep the stove burning hot. The porch wasnt very well insulated, which I took care of with 6 inch insulation, and drywall. Now the porch holds heat very well, but the distribution to the rest of the house isnt good. I still wake up to a cold house. I had an idea, to fabricate something onto the stove to pull more heat into the house. The trailer has a gas forced air furnace, with existing duct work. My idea, is to add a sheet metal box to one side of the stove, or even above it, to collect hot air. Then with the help of some duct fans, pipe it into the existing furnace ducts. My only means of circulating the air now is by a fan in the doorway leading to the porch, but the problem is the doorway is opposite the wood stove. So most of the heat collects at the other end. And it only really warms the living room. The trailer is old, and not very well insulated. I did some on my own, and it has made a rather large difference. I know this will most likely go against a lot of building codes, but I dont want to freeze again this winter, or go through as much wood. If anyone has done this please let me know. The furnace ducts are under the house, so going above of course would get the hotter air, and just require a bit more piping. The back of the stove gets really hot, my idea was to attach some kind of tapered box to it going down to 8-10 duct, and the fan a few feet away to pull the air through. Then run more duct through the skirting, and into the main furnace ducts. I dont use the furnace at all, so it wouldnt be an issue there. I would probably add another fan elsewhere in the system to keep the air flowing well. Any ideas? Any help would be appreciated. I would be centralizing the piping from the stove, so it could be evenly distributed and not just blowing out one vent. I look forward to replies. Thanks!


----------



## kok328 (Dec 7, 2010)

I didn't even finish reading your post but read far enough to get an idea of where your heading and realized that this is not a good idea.  As you already know it is most likely a code violation (health & fire).  It is on this basis that you may not get any help with this project.  I hate to waste energy and heat but, I hate to think that any ideas provided could potentialy lead to your death.


----------



## paul52446m (Dec 7, 2010)

kok328 said:


> I didn't even finish reading your post but read far enough to get an idea of where your heading and realized that this is not a good idea.  As you already know it is most likely a code violation (health & fire).  It is on this basis that you may not get any help with this project.  I hate to waste energy and heat but, I hate to think that any ideas provided could potentialy lead to your death.



Very well said. Paul


----------



## paroughneck (Dec 7, 2010)

I suppose I understand the code violation. I mean I guess I do. But how does this risk my health? Is this really any different than using a furnace to do the same thing? Of course this will not be used when no one is home. I just cant understand this. The plan is to just capture the hot air, and move it throughout the home. How does this cause a health risk? How could this cause death? I have read many other places of people doing it, only in different ways. I could fashion something higher above the stove to collect the hot air, I figured it would be more direct if it were mounted to the rear. Well, I will continue with it with help or not. It doesnt sound like something that is hazardous at all. Any more so than using a fan to pull the hot air in. Thanks anyway.


----------



## paul52446m (Dec 7, 2010)

paroughneck said:


> I suppose I understand the code violation. I mean I guess I do. But how does this risk my health? Is this really any different than using a furnace to do the same thing? Of course this will not be used when no one is home. I just cant understand this. The plan is to just capture the hot air, and move it throughout the home. How does this cause a health risk? How could this cause death? I have read many other places of people doing it, only in different ways. I could fashion something higher above the stove to collect the hot air, I figured it would be more direct if it were mounted to the rear. Well, I will continue with it with help or not. It doesnt sound like something that is hazardous at all. Any more so than using a fan to pull the hot air in. Thanks anyway.


If you want to pull warm air off the ceiling, that would be ok . You would need to duct it into the return of the furnace, but only make that a portion of the return air. You have to make sure you don't run too hot of air into the blower of the furnace. And if you pull air out of the room that the wood burner is in make sure you have a lot or air from the trailer going back into the area the wood burner is in so you don't pull a vacuum on that room.. But do not tie duct work to the wood burner, It could get too hot and you could pull carbon
 monoxide in the ducts.  Later Paul


----------



## paroughneck (Dec 7, 2010)

Now this makes sense. See, I didnt want a just dont do it. I was looking more for an alternative. So thanks for the idea. So i need to have some kind of return into the room with the stove. I mean my woodstove heats well, I am sweating right now typing this. I have lots of seasoned ash to burn, and it burns hot. So does this other fan need to be close to the floor? Or would it be ok to use the fan I am using to pull the air in now in the doorway to pull air into the room with the stove? Looking for the easiest way to do this. Thanks.


----------



## paroughneck (Dec 7, 2010)

Here is what I am thinking. Much like a stove hood, attached to the ceiling with two 90's coming out of the top into a y with the fan in the single end of the duct. Then another 90 heading down to the floor, another cutting under the skirting. My stove pipe goes straight up. So unless I have two hoods, I have to make the hood around the pipe. Maybe weld something on the pipe to hold it up. Idk, I go back to work on thursday night for 14 days, and I am going to ponder it more. I wont be doing anything until I go off again most likely doing it the week after christmas. Any input would be great. And anything I can do with this return line. Thanks.


----------



## paul52446m (Dec 7, 2010)

paroughneck said:


> Here is what I am thinking. Much like a stove hood, attached to the ceiling with two 90's coming out of the top into a y with the fan in the single end of the duct. Then another 90 heading down to the floor, another cutting under the skirting. My stove pipe goes straight up. So unless I have two hoods, I have to make the hood around the pipe. Maybe weld something on the pipe to hold it up. Idk, I go back to work on thursday night for 14 days, and I am going to ponder it more. I wont be doing anything until I go off again most likely doing it the week after christmas. Any input would be great. And anything I can do with this return line. Thanks.



If you could send me a floor lay out of your home and the add on where the wood burner is at and where the furnace is at please put dimensions in the drawing. 
 Do you have a roof over this add on and over the trailer so you have a attic?
[email protected]    paul


----------



## paroughneck (Dec 10, 2010)

i came home this morning from working 12 hrs to a freezing house...i started looking at the furnace and turned the fan on so I got air circulating. I got the house warm with the help of an added fan on the porch with the wood stove. But the furnace fan doesnt circulate the warm air. So I got to thinking, my plan is this, I will get something like a bathroom fan and place it on the ceiling over the wood stove. I will then run duct work under the skirting, and up through the floor into the room that contains the furnace. With the fan on, and the duct work going to it, this should circulate the hot air from the wood stove through the ductwork and around the house correct? unless this is going to blow the hot air up and out the chimney for the furnace. Is this a plausible solution? My plan before was to not use the furnace fan to circulate the air, just add some inline duct fans to the existing ducts to circulate the air. But this seems like a better solution all around. But even with the house warm, the air coming from the furnace fan is cold. Any ideas as to why? Help. And if this is a good solution let me know. Thanks!


----------



## paul52446m (Dec 10, 2010)

paroughneck said:


> i came home this morning from working 12 hrs to a freezing house...i started looking at the furnace and turned the fan on so I got air circulating. I got the house warm with the help of an added fan on the porch with the wood stove. But the furnace fan doesnt circulate the warm air. So I got to thinking, my plan is this, I will get something like a bathroom fan and place it on the ceiling over the wood stove. I will then run duct work under the skirting, and up through the floor into the room that contains the furnace. With the fan on, and the duct work going to it, this should circulate the hot air from the wood stove through the ductwork and around the house correct? unless this is going to blow the hot air up and out the chimney for the furnace. Is this a plausible solution? My plan before was to not use the furnace fan to circulate the air, just add some inline duct fans to the existing ducts to circulate the air. But this seems like a better solution all around. But even with the house warm, the air coming from the furnace fan is cold. Any ideas as to why? Help. And if this is a good solution let me know. Thanks!


Yes you can use the furnace blower to move the air around. Keep in mind that 
 your furnace blower is moving about 800 CFM of air and the average bath fan is only moving about 70 CFM of air, so using this bath fan will not do much good. This is why i asked you to send me pic. if you can. and a quick floor plan. If there is some way you could duct about half the return from the furnace over into the room the wood burner is in then you could just use the furnace blower. You would have to pull the air from up near the ceiling, but it does not have to be right over the wood burner. It hard to advise you with out seeing what you have..    [email protected]       paul


----------



## kinterman (Apr 16, 2011)

you should consider checking out a different wood burner like a Hotblast they make add on wood furnaces designed to connect to your hot air ducts mine has two 8in round ducts you connect them to your existing ducts the wood stove has its own blower mine is like 1100 cfm that would fill your house with unlimited blowing heat theyre around a 1000 bucks


----------



## MeyerDepew (Apr 21, 2011)

definitely a tricky project... sounds to me like you're getting some good advice

Ian Jacobson
NJ HVAC Contractor | Heating & Air Conditioning Service | Meyer & Depew


----------

