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Author Topic: Water to forced air  (Read 7418 times)

Dirtslinger

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Water to forced air
« on: November 09, 2008, 10:14:46 AM »

Has any one put there heat exchanger on the cold air return side of forced air furnace?
 If so how well does it work.
Just bought a woodmaster 4400
Thanks
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Dirtslinger
Brockway, PA

yoderheating

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Re: Water to forced air
« Reply #1 on: November 09, 2008, 06:17:36 PM »

 Depends on what kind of furnace you have.  If you have air conditioning you will have to put in a zone valve.
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Southwest Virginia
WF4000 Heat Master

willieG

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Re: Water to forced air
« Reply #2 on: November 09, 2008, 07:03:24 PM »

i am not sure what your ductwork is like, but it is recomended that you "fill" your ductwork with rad in order to stop air flow from going around your rad and not through it, most ductwork i have seen has a larger return duct than the other, if so you will need to spend more money on enough rad to fill the bigger cavity, also it is wise to have your rad on the "clean side" of your filters so your rad is not collecting the "dust bunnies" that your filter will normally capture
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home made OWB (2012)
Ontario Canada

Dirtslinger

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Re: Water to forced air
« Reply #3 on: November 10, 2008, 06:21:07 AM »

Depends on what kind of furnace you have.  If you have air conditioning you will have to put in a zone valve.

My furnace is a arcoaire with no air cond.
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Dirtslinger
Brockway, PA

Dirtslinger

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Re: Water to forced air
« Reply #4 on: November 10, 2008, 06:25:17 AM »

i am not sure what your ductwork is like, but it is recomended that you "fill" your ductwork with rad in order to stop air flow from going around your rad and not through it, most ductwork i have seen has a larger return duct than the other, if so you will need to spend more money on enough rad to fill the bigger cavity, also it is wise to have your rad on the "clean side" of your filters so your rad is not collecting the "dust bunnies" that your filter will normally capture

The only reason for putting it on return side is that my plenum small if I do put it on the cold air side my filter will be in front of it to stop the dust bunnies
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Dirtslinger
Brockway, PA

R W Ohio

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Re: Water to forced air
« Reply #5 on: November 10, 2008, 07:46:47 AM »


I have a coworker that had to install his in the return and has had no problems to date. The hot air across the blower motor was a concern but as of now it has not caused any problems. I will tell you to make sure that the water goes into the bottom of the coil and out the top in order for it to work.
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R W Ohio
Canal Fulton,Oh.
Hawken Energy GH1000 Installed 8/10/06

Dirtslinger

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Re: Water to forced air
« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2008, 03:30:25 PM »


I have a coworker that had to install his in the return and has had no problems to date. The hot air across the blower motor was a concern but as of now it has not caused any problems. I will tell you to make sure that the water goes into the bottom of the coil and out the top in order for it to work.

I was looking at that to and my circuit board is in there so I might have to change my mind again :bash:
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Dirtslinger
Brockway, PA

yoda

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Re: Water to forced air
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2008, 08:27:24 PM »


I have a coworker that had to install his in the return and has had no problems to date. The hot air across the blower motor was a concern but as of now it has not caused any problems. I will tell you to make sure that the water goes into the bottom of the coil and out the top in order for it to work.
my coil is on the "hot" side but I have my hot water going into the top of the coil. Should I change it around? if so why? thanks
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Northern MN

R W Ohio

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Re: Water to forced air
« Reply #8 on: November 11, 2008, 11:02:42 AM »


I have been told that it is hard for the pump to push air from the top down through the coil,thus you could end up with an air lock in the coil and not be able to bleed it out.
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R W Ohio
Canal Fulton,Oh.
Hawken Energy GH1000 Installed 8/10/06

yoda

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Re: Water to forced air
« Reply #9 on: November 11, 2008, 06:23:26 PM »

 Makes sense, thanks
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Northern MN

yoderheating

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Re: Water to forced air
« Reply #10 on: November 17, 2008, 07:34:15 AM »

 If your pump can't push the air out of the coil your pump is undersized. The suppy should be on the side the air is blowing toward. So, when installing in the return, the suppy sould be on the furnace side, and when installing on the supply side the water supply should be away from the furnace. This will make the air warmer. As the air flows through the coil,  it reaches warmer and warmer water.  If you put the hottest water first, the rest of the coil does very little to raise the air temp.
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Southwest Virginia
WF4000 Heat Master

jcappe

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Re: Water to forced air
« Reply #11 on: November 17, 2008, 08:19:48 AM »

Mine is in the cold air section of my duct work and it works great.  I basically put it where the furnace filter was and moved the filter. 
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Woodmaster 4400
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Acecooper

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Re: Water to forced air
« Reply #12 on: August 28, 2010, 12:47:25 AM »

My furnace also has air conditioning. I don't know how it works on yours but mine us working properly. It is hard to give a suggestion since you haven't supplied a complete description to what you are using, try to post a picture so we can visualize it.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2010, 12:16:14 AM by Acecooper »
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juddspaintballs

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Re: Water to forced air
« Reply #13 on: August 28, 2010, 07:43:19 PM »

The system I am currently installing via the help of my HVAC father-in-law has the AC coil on the supply side inside of the air handler, then the water/air HX in the plenum, and the backup electric heat coils on the return side. 
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yoderheating

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Re: Water to forced air
« Reply #14 on: September 03, 2010, 09:03:26 PM »

 The reason you have to be careful with a furnace with A/C is because you do not want to pull hot air across a A/C coil when the A/C is running. This has the potential of damaging your compressor. This may sound like a strange scenario but it has happened. 
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Southwest Virginia
WF4000 Heat Master
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