Reply #10: I put in a fuel oil hot air system for 3 reasons [View All]

[Kaleva]

1. The old system was fuel oil so the tanks were already in the basement.

2. Drywall dust doesn't play havoc on a fuel furnace as it could on a gas furnace. Some manufacturers will void the warranty on a gas furnace if they find drywall dust in the furnace.

3. The output air temperature of a fuel oil furnace is much higher then the output air of a high efficiency gas furnace. 180 degrees compared to approx. 110 degrees. The trunk line to the upstairs zone is rather long and I didn't want the air coming out of the registers to be cool. 80 to 90 degree moving air feels cool to a person.

The original system was steam with the old fashioned cast iron radiators but I went with air so I can put in air conditioning, whole house humidification, and high efficiency air filtration.

The upstairs will be zoned separately from the main floor by the use of dampers in the trunk lines.

The upstairs registors will be mounted in the ceilings near the outside walls. The vanes are such that 2/3d's of the output air will be directed along the outside walls and windows while 1/3rd will be directed toward the inside walls.

The bedrooms, living room, dining room and kitchen will have reversible ceiling fans.

I have sealed as much of the duct work joints as I can with mastic or foil tape to prevent air leakage and insulated the upstairs trunk line. The individual heat runs coming off the trunk lines are insulated flex duct.

The walls now have R-19 insulation and the attic will have R-60 blown insulation.

I'll be putting in jump ducts from the bedrooms to the upstairs hall to equalize the pressure in the upstairs. There will be a single 20 X 20 inch return register in a wall near the bottom of the stairway.