Had Ductwork ran upstairs, very low pressure out of vents!
#1
06-26-08, 06:54 PM
Had Ductwork ran upstairs, very low pressure out of vents!
I have a cape cod home. It has 2 levels. I have a 2 ton Goodman Heat Pump.
The house has 3 tiny bedrooms upstairs (looks like a converted attic).
There is one small bedroom downstairs.
The problem is that there was never ductwork run upstairs.
Our house is small, about 1300 square feet.
I figured that it would be worth a shot to try to run ductwork upstairs if I could get it done cheaply enough as opposed to running a split. I have had a few contractors come by and they wanted 10k to run a split upstairs.
So I had my local handyman take an unneeded duct from my kitchen and run it up an unused closet to the second floor.
The 6" flexible ductwork was run upstairs to one of the bedrooms. From there, it was tee'd to run into the two other bedrooms. He only charged me $350 to do so, so I can't complain considering he provided all parts and sawzalled an opening through the closet to my basement.
The problem is that the pressure is VERY low coming into each of the bedrooms. It is so low, that it still gets VERY hot upstairs.
So I did an experiment.
I stuffed rags into all sides of the tee except for part going to the furthest bedroom.
The result - incredible pressure out of that register!! Strong A/C that cooled the room quickly!!
Based on this, I think that the easiest thing to do for a poor guy like me would be to grab 2 other unused ducts (I have 2 other unused ducts in the house that I can run upstairs) and run them upstairs.
Since the flow from either of those ducts is VERY strong, common sense says that the flow would probably be nearly as strong upstairs.
Could someone please explain to me if the TEE is truly the cause for that sort of pressure drop to the rooms.
My testing pretty well showed that was the case.
If so, what is the point in using a TEE at all?
I just don't want to waste alot of time if there is an easier way.
Could someone provide me with some SIMPLE answers.
Thank you
The house has 3 tiny bedrooms upstairs (looks like a converted attic).
There is one small bedroom downstairs.
The problem is that there was never ductwork run upstairs.
Our house is small, about 1300 square feet.
I figured that it would be worth a shot to try to run ductwork upstairs if I could get it done cheaply enough as opposed to running a split. I have had a few contractors come by and they wanted 10k to run a split upstairs.
So I had my local handyman take an unneeded duct from my kitchen and run it up an unused closet to the second floor.
The 6" flexible ductwork was run upstairs to one of the bedrooms. From there, it was tee'd to run into the two other bedrooms. He only charged me $350 to do so, so I can't complain considering he provided all parts and sawzalled an opening through the closet to my basement.
The problem is that the pressure is VERY low coming into each of the bedrooms. It is so low, that it still gets VERY hot upstairs.
So I did an experiment.
I stuffed rags into all sides of the tee except for part going to the furthest bedroom.
The result - incredible pressure out of that register!! Strong A/C that cooled the room quickly!!
Based on this, I think that the easiest thing to do for a poor guy like me would be to grab 2 other unused ducts (I have 2 other unused ducts in the house that I can run upstairs) and run them upstairs.
Since the flow from either of those ducts is VERY strong, common sense says that the flow would probably be nearly as strong upstairs.
Could someone please explain to me if the TEE is truly the cause for that sort of pressure drop to the rooms.
My testing pretty well showed that was the case.
If so, what is the point in using a TEE at all?
I just don't want to waste alot of time if there is an easier way.
Could someone provide me with some SIMPLE answers.
Thank you
#2
06-26-08, 07:08 PM
Super Moderator
The duct you are trying to put a tee on only has enough air flow for one duct.
By blocking one outlet of the tee you changed it to a coupling.
If you do not need a particular duct on the main level then by all means extend to the second level.
If you do not need a particular duct on the main level then by all means extend to the second level.
#3
06-26-08, 07:49 PM
Originally Posted by GregH
By blocking one outlet of the tee you changed it to a coupling.
If you do not need a particular duct on the main level then by all means extend to the second level.
If you do not need a particular duct on the main level then by all means extend to the second level.
Thank you, but why didn't I get away with splitting the duct with the tee?
Also, what do you mean I turned it into a coupling? Sorry I am HVAC dumb at this point, lol.
Sorry for the long story BTW, I was just trying to give some history.
#4
06-26-08, 08:09 PM
Super Moderator
No need to apologize...........it was a good story.
A coupler is the same as a joiner.
You can not divide the amount of airflow traveling down the duct in half and expect the same performance.
A duct is sized to supply an amount of air that is required to cool or heat a space.
When you cut the volume in half each area will only get one half of the air it needs.
It will neither heat or cool properly.
The right way to add ductwork if your furnace is large enough to supply your added load is to start the new duct right at the furnace or air handler.
A coupler is the same as a joiner.
You can not divide the amount of airflow traveling down the duct in half and expect the same performance.
A duct is sized to supply an amount of air that is required to cool or heat a space.
When you cut the volume in half each area will only get one half of the air it needs.
It will neither heat or cool properly.
The right way to add ductwork if your furnace is large enough to supply your added load is to start the new duct right at the furnace or air handler.
#5
06-27-08, 03:25 AM
Originally Posted by GregH
No need to apologize...........it was a good story.
A coupler is the same as a joiner.
You can not divide the amount of airflow traveling down the duct in half and expect the same performance.
A duct is sized to supply an amount of air that is required to cool or heat a space.
When you cut the volume in half each area will only get one half of the air it needs.
It will neither heat or cool properly.
The right way to add ductwork if your furnace is large enough to supply your added load is to start the new duct right at the furnace or air handler.
A coupler is the same as a joiner.
You can not divide the amount of airflow traveling down the duct in half and expect the same performance.
A duct is sized to supply an amount of air that is required to cool or heat a space.
When you cut the volume in half each area will only get one half of the air it needs.
It will neither heat or cool properly.
The right way to add ductwork if your furnace is large enough to supply your added load is to start the new duct right at the furnace or air handler.
Thank you very much for your straight forward explanation!
