Any HVAC guys here?

[gold-n-rod]

I have a corn burner (like a pellet stove, but it burns shell corn) installed at one end of my 1200 sq/ft home (plus 700 sq/ft of finished basement).

My plan has been (and continues to be) to run the fan in my furnace to distribute heat throughout the house.

There is a 1' x 2' cold air return in the room where the stove sits. There is a cold air return in each bedroom (opposite the warm air vent) and 2 cold air returns in the basement.

Although the fan does circulate air, the temp of the air being discharged from the warm air vents is cool (not cold) to the touch. I am considering blocking off all the cold air returns EXCEPT the one in the room with the stove. I hypothesize that this will circulate ONLY the warm air from the room with all the heat (where the stove sits).

Does this sound right to you????????

[txtaz]

Try:
http://www.hvacmechanic.com/
Da Taz

[TuxedoPk]

Ed Donnelly is an HVAC guy- and I've sent him tons of info on corn heating systems :)

If I understand what you want to do is use the corn stove to radiate hot hair that will be taken in by the furnace air return in the boiler room which will be set to run 24/7 rather than just when the furnace fires up.

By blocking off the remaining returns you will be feeding the entire house from the one return. Off the cuff, it seems like this might become an undersized return when used for the entire house.

Are you using or have you seen the Bixby biomass stoves? http://www.bixbyenergy.com/HTML/stove.html

If you need any information on corn stoves, furnaces, or boilers let me know. I did a lot of research on this topic this year.

[Ed Donnelly]

If you close off all the returns in the house, you are not going to get very good air flow in the rooms. The cold air returns help draw the warm air in. If you have a belt drive blower, cut the speed down. Direct drive, Set on lower speed and run continuous. Maximise your feed speed on the hopper, as this will increase the output temps..If the blower is on the corn burner, set the fan control up to 140-150 F for fan on, and 120 F for fan off.. Or you can call me Friday 416 676 9450 or 416 984 2854...evening after 7 pm 416 744 2345
...............Ed

PS You do have the blower door removed on the furnace,I assume..........

[gold-n-rod]

If you close off all the returns in the house, you are not going to get very good air flow in the rooms. The cold air returns help draw the warm air in. If you have a belt drive blower, cut the speed down. Direct drive, Set on lower speed and run continuous. Maximise your feed speed on the hopper, as this will increase the output temps..If the blower is on the corn burner, set the fan control up to 140-150 F for fan on, and 120 F for fan off.. Or you can call me Friday 416 676 9450 or 416 984 2854...evening after 7 pm 416 744 2345
...............Ed
PS You do have the blower door removed on the furnace,I assume..........

I started my experiment last night and it doesn't seem to be choking off the cold air route. You are right about closing the bedroom door, however, it does impede any kind of air movement.

I'd prefer not to tinker with the furnace fan's operation at all (newer unit still under warranty). The corn stove is a self standing unit (looks like a fancy wood burner) and the warm air circulating fan blows continiously. There is not fan on, fan off control that I can access, except it stops blowing when the stove is burning down to a shutdown or is completly shut down.

Finally, no, the blower door is not removed. It's in the basement and the corn stove is on the main level. Plus, it has a safety device. Door off, no workie! What would removing the door do in my situation?

Thanks for the reply, Ed.