Speaking of Drafts

[Laura]

I've met quite a few folks in real life that had this problem and didn't know how to solve it, so I thought I'd share it with ya'll just in case you have this problem, too.

So you have your woodstove cranked up on a rip snort fire, sitting around in your underwear because it is so darn warm and you STILL can't get those rooms down the hall warmed enough to send the kids to bed. You've tried fans, but they only move a little bit of heat, not enough, to that end of the house, they are noisy, in the way and they don't work worth a darn when the power is out.

When you start your fire, pull all the doors shut to the other rooms. When that space is warmed up enough open the door the farthest away where you want heat to go. Open the window in there no more than an inch. That will allow the warm air to push the cold air out the window. When it is warm, shut the window and leave the door open. Open the door and crack open the window in the next room and work your way toward the heat source as you heat each room. When you have all the rooms heated, then you can damp down your stove all the way.

This same method also works with air conditioning in the summer.

[cfabe]

Wouldn't the draw of the chimney pull cold air in the cracked window, not vice versa?

[Ralph in N.E.Oh]

Crap , I thought this thread was about horses! Man, can I go on about those kinds of "drafts"

[uncle Will in In.]

What happens when you open a west window, and the wind is blowing from the west?? BRRRRR

[tamsam]

We have a small 8 in fan mounted to the ceiling in the corner behind the stove and another on the ceilind in the hallway into the kitchen. They work well as they are up where the heat is. Hope this helps Sam Ps when you open and door or outside window you feel it all through the house

[freeinalaska]

Originally Posted by cfabe

Wouldn't the draw of the chimney pull cold air in the cracked window, not vice versa?

That's what I'm thinking. You open a window a crack up here with our sub-zero weather the inside temperature of the house will drop rapidly. Even having a window closed but not latched will cause the room to stay cold.

[gccrook]

Originally Posted by tamsam

We have a small 8 in fan mounted to the ceiling in the corner behind the stove and another on the ceilind in the hallway into the kitchen. They work well as they are up where the heat is. Hope this helps Sam Ps when you open and door or outside window you feel it all through the house

That is essentially what we did in our new addition. It ahs cathedral ceilings, so ceiling fans and those fans through the walls at the peak are used to move the hot air.

[Laura]

Wouldn't the draw of the chimney pull cold air in the cracked window, not vice versa?

No, we solved chimney and cold air draft and draw problems in the last draft threads.

uncle Will in In.

What happens when you open a west window, and the wind is blowing from the west?? BRRRRR

Make sure you have hot enough air built up on the door before you open it and the window. A little cold air might slip in, but put your hand at the top of the window, you will feel the air rushing out while the warm air is rushing into the room.

The trick is build up enough extra warm air to fill the room before you open the door to the room and crack the window open. Remember, the window only comes open less than an inch and is shut when the room gets warm, don't forget to shut the window.

We need Ross to explain house pressurization again, he used the correct technical words.

I learned this method of moving warm air to cold parts of the house from my Grandma who lived in Upper Michigan, Idaho, and Washington. I've used it everywhere I've lived including Montana when it was 30 below outside.

[Chas in Me]

Originally Posted by Ralph in N.E.Oh

Crap , I thought this thread was about horses! Man, can I go on about those kinds of "drafts"

You think you got a problem, I thought it was about beer.