Wood stoves are famous for radiating large amounts of heat, which makes them excellent within one room but many home owners are interested in how to duct heat from a wood burning stove so it can circulate throughout the house.
Adding a duct for wood stove heat distribution will help keep your house warm and eliminate cold air without having to use a traditional central heating system. However, attaching ducting to a wood burning stove can be a fire hazard. In fact, many manufacturers guidelines will specify that you should not do this.
Below we’ll explain how you can duct heat from a wood burning stove as safely as possible, alongside some additional options.
Table of Contents
Circulating the Heat from my Wood Stove
Drawing cold air through a duct is not only much safer, but it will also work better. Experts warn that connecting a wood stove fan to your central heating’s existing ductwork can be very dangerous. It increases the smoke and is a fire risk. Instead you can install wood stove ducting and use a wood stove duct fan to circulate the heat around your room. This method draws cold air from distant rooms toward your wood stove instead of sending warm air into a distant room.
Hoe to Duct Heat from a Wood Burning Stove?
How to get started?
- First, you’ll need to create a ceiling vent in a distant room
- Connect the wood stove ductwork to the stove and run it through the ceiling
- Install a wood stove duct fan at the end of the duct (angled to draw air through the duct)
- Warm air is released from your wood stove as cold air passes, which will keep your house warmer
- You can mount it over your stove if the fan is not freestanding in a fireplace
- To help further with the circulation of heat, you can use oscillating fans to help distribute heat from your stove
Wood Stove Heat Exchanger
A heat exchanger is a device that can transfer heat from one medium to another. Air to air heat exchangers work by the existing hot air rising in the flue, which heats the tubes inside the heat exchanger. The heat is then extracted by blowing cooler air through the heat exchanger tubes.
Setting up a fan to blow air through the heat exchanger will help you keep your home warmer for two reasons. Firstly, the cool air that moves over the warm heat exchanger will release heat into the air. It also helps set up airflow circulation throughout the home. If you’re installing a heat exchanger in a room above where the wood stove is installed, you should install the heat exchanger lower to the floor. Combining a heat exchanger with ducting is a great option for multi-story homes.
Adding Duct to Distribute Heat on a Wood Stove
You can connect your wood-burning stove fan with your fireplace/fire pit to make sure the proper distribution of heat through the central heating ducts. The heat distribution box is also known as the plenum. If you want to connect the fireplace to the central heating system, place it on the top of the fireplace.
Steps to Duct Heat from a Stove:
- Mark about six inches below the plenum using a tape measure. This will determine the top starting collar
- Place the end part of the collar on the plenum
- Mark the outside diameter using a marker on the sheet metal
- Poke a hole in the plenum with a needle on the mark that you’ve just drawn
- Insert a scrap of tin in the hole
- Cut out the hole
- If the top plenum is tightened with a screw, loosen it first and then pull the top plenum
- Put the starting collar inside the hole
- Bend the tabs of the collar so it will keep the collar in place
- Attach the duck work up with the inline stove fan
- Secure the duct with the stove with a self-tapping metal sheet screw
- Burn the wood stove and operate the duct fan. It will help to blow the warm air into the whole plenum
Top Tips for Maintaining Heat:
- Keep cold air out of the house
- The speed of the fan should not be stormy
- You only need a small amount of time to refill the oxygen
- Interior doors should be kept open
- Do not put the stove in a higher place
Now you have all the information you need to duct heat from a wood burning stove and some other alternative options, so now you can make a decision. In the winter months, it can become very cold so making a few changes around your home to keep it warm is essential.
Remember to always read your wood stove manufacturer’s guidelines before making any changes. Attaching ducting to a wood burning stove can be a fire hazard so please take care.
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As we’ve said, ducting heat requires know-how and can pose safety risks so if in doubt contact your stove manufacturer and/or hire the relevant professional teams experienced in such a job.
We hope this helps, and for everything else home heating stick with CosyWarmer.com