I need to get wood stove's excess heat from 1st floor down to basement. I have ruled out blowing air down a duct becuase of layout of rooms and design of house. I am good with plumbing and would like to make a heating coil loop to be placed behind my wood stove. I was thinking about using finned tubes (slant fin) to make the coil. I would then pump the water into a cast iron radiator in the basement. I was also thinking about using an open loop (an open reservior at the highest point of the loop) to keep the system safe and eliminate the neeed for relief valves and the possible blowoff mess they can create. Does ayone have any good designs or suggestions?

-- Eric Von (matryx98@hotmail.com), February 21, 2001

Answers

You have a good idea with the open loop.

I wonder how much heat this coil will pick up. You will need to have it close to the stove, maybe even cover it. It could be wrapped around the stove too. Why not put a steel pipe right through the stove or the stovepipe?

You might give ducts a second thought, they could be made of wood or drywall.

-- Bob Frohmader (buksnort@mwt.net), February 25, 2001.

Bob, thanks for input. I have a nice jotul and wood hate to punch a hole in it. I would be concerned with lower flue temps and creasote build up with any internal system. I have reexamined duct possibilities. I went to H. Depot and got 4 inch aluminum flexible dryer line. They also have something called a slim pipe or skinny pipe made to go behind a dryer in a tight space. It telescopes from 2 to 3 1/2 feet. It has a 4" hose connector at the top and bottom of the telescoping pipe. I attached the bottom to the dryer line which I dropped down the ash pit in the fireplace (stove is in large fireplace). The top of the skinny pipe is extended up into the space just below where the damper would be and right next to the stove's metal flue. The air in this space is very warm. I then went to the basement, opend the ash pit door, grabbed the dryer line, cut a piece of sheetrock to fit ash pit opening, cut 4" hole in the sheetrock pulled the dryer line through and dropped the end on top of a squirrel cage blower a friend gave me. Seems to work very well but have just hooked it up and not thoroughly tested it out. This system is cheep and very easy to take apart for cleaning flue pipes ect. I originaly tried to put the blower at the top of the ash pit but it was to noisy. So down in the basement you can't hear the blower, you just here a rush of air being sucked down the pipe. Thanks Eric

-- Eric Von (matryx98@hotmail.com), February 26, 2001.