I have one side of my house that is rather open and hard to heat. I have seen in catalogs these booster fans that fit in the ductwork to force more air into certain areas of the house. Will these work and has anyone used them?
Possible. We don't have enough information to see which fan you're talking about.
But, it is possible to put in a fan to increase air circulation. Overcome a rough run of duct work.
Better idea, though, is to look for dampers to open.
First off, there is a person that will answer this that doesn't have a clue. He was a locksmith for years(or so he claims) and now he's a HVAC pro. In the HVAC trade, we call him a hack. He has also offered erroneous information about other trades such as plumbing.
The boosters fans work as advertised, but they are no more than a bandage that hides the problem. A booster fan simply changes the problem from one area to another and possibly causes a noise problem. They can be noisy and their life expectancy (as I have experienced it) is short.
A problem like you are describing is probably caused by improper duct installation. Only an inspection by a competent, licensed HVAC professional will be able to tell for sure.
If you have a large open area, have you considered Radiant Floor Heat?
I installed a duct fan mounted on the exterior of a rectangle duct. It did provide cooling ( main reason that it was installed). It was noisy, and really made the rest of the office suffer. If it had not been for a cheap skate boss that was really not interested in anything other than the bottom line, we would have fixed the problem correctly. After about a year the extra load caused the compressor to fail, and it was fixed correctly then the unit was replaced. IMO a short term solution.
The HVAC people that installed it came and looked and basicaly said everything was running ok and they check the vents blowing with some insturment and said it was fine. The opposite side of the house where the bedrooms are stays perfect.
It is funny, in the summer, all areas of the house stay cool. SO I do not have a problem with that.
The unit is in the crawlspace directly under the bedrooms.
Any ideas would be appreciated!
How does the radient floor heat work? I have carpet. I thought you could only use that with harwood floors or tile?
In Line
Well, if one side is not okay, there is a problem. Period. Find another contractor if you need to.
I can't see it from here, but that may be part of the problem. The duct runs are shorter therefore have less resistance.
You can use RFH under any surface. The main concern is the water temps. Where are you at? Fill in your zip code here and find a good RFH contractor.
Don't pay attention to HeatMan's personal attacks. He seems to have an ongoing problem with a infallible complex.
However in this case, and many others, he is right. You should not need one if the original install was correct. He is also right that one can help (within limits). I have one feeding the room I am in now.
Hey Joseph, what concern of yours is it who gets attacked, as long as it's not you?
I simply was trying to inform the OP that the information here is not always correct if it's supplied by a certain person. My information is correct, as it is supported by your own and others opinions.
As far as the 'infallible' statement goes, the responses I post are correct. I don't post much because others usually respond before I do and if the responses are correct, I don't bother chiming in with a "me too!" I don't feel that I am infallible, but I am correct in my responses.
'nuff said.
I don't believe anyone here has done anything to deserve to be attacked. If my memory is correct, I have to disagree with you about some of the the advice you felt was wrong. Again if I remember correctly both of you have reacted personally in a very negative, non-productive way to the other.
It is always just and good to offer a different opinion to one stated. It is possible to do so without attacking the person, but only the opinion.
In this case you were responding, not to a regular who has some knowledge of what may have transpired in the past, but to a visitor. It may have been fine (and I believe good) to note that not all the advice one may receive here or on any newsgoup is good. That is just a fact of life. But in my opinion the wording of your statement implied more than that, and suggested someone was in some way personally flawed.
You may not have intended it that way. I may have read it wrong. But that is the way I saw it. I live in a big world and I don't like to see anyone unjustly attacked.
Illogical.
What planet are you from?
Read on, even though I planned on letting this drop.
So? In my industry, he's called a hack because he dioes give wrong and sometime dangerous advice.
True. I just felt it was in the best interest of the OP to realize that a incorrect answer may be on the way.
I feel that people are inherently flawed anyway. I feel offended by his handle and his sig file. I am usually a very forgiving person, but prostelyzing and giving wrong answers is unexcuseable. People are fallible also. I am a pro in my field and people can get very sick or die if I am wrong. If you feel this is illogical, make sure you read and follow the last paragraph of thi s post.
This was a bit of advice, not an attack. If you want to see an attack, go to the other newsgroup he gives wrong answers in.
This is it. I am not worried about having the 'last word' with you. If you wish to continue this discussion, take it to email.
Don:
D > I have one side of my house that is rather open and hard to heat. I D > have seen in catalogs these booster fans that fit in the ductwork to D > force more air into certain areas of the house. Will these work and D > has anyone used them?
Had an in-duct booster fan here to "correct" a problem similar to your's -- it worked yet didn't work. Did increase the air flow somewhat -- enough to make a little bit of a difference. Also created a side-problem: the ductwork was round (tubular) vs. rectangular and the weight of the booster fan caused the ductwork to sag a bit, rubbing against the fan's squirrel cage: rattle-rattle-rattle! Rigged up a support which needed to be adjusted every so often. When we did the addition last summer they redid portions of the original distriubution. The section with the booster fan was replaced with rectangular duct -- solved that problem! :)
BTW, have a booster fan in front of the vent outlet here in the Computer Room (magnet-mounts to the vent cover though I added a couple of feet to keep it from sliding). The CR is on the second floor of what originally was a 1«-story house. Definately helps, especially with the air conditioning: cold air is heavy so the furnance's blower pushes the air and the booster fan pulls it. Again, properly-sized ductwork would probably solve the problem. A portion of the duct runs inside the wall on the first floor.
If you have a suitable fan handy I'd try those first before buying anything or cutting holes in your ductwork. For several years used two 4" muffin fans (side-by-side) up here (in the Computer Room) -- were taken out of computer mainframe cabinets.
- ¯ barry.martinþATþthesafebbs.zeppole.com ®
Hi Don, hope you are having a nice day
On 08-Dec-03 At About 06:03:01, Don wrote to All Subject: Vent booster fans
D> From: snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (Don)
D> I have one side of my house that is rather open and hard to heat. I D> have seen in catalogs these booster fans that fit in the ductwork to D> force more air into certain areas of the house. Will these work and D> has anyone used them?
These usually don't work. the best fix is a proper duct system or you may need a duct balancing.
-=> HvacTech2
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