Ok, so it's harder than it looks. This is my first attempt at trying to heat my home by means other than my heating system. I built a kick-arse fire last night and the blower fan on the Clydesdale was going but it never really got warm in the living room. It got warm enough to make the thermostat turn off (we normally have the heat on at 63°F and it got up to 65°F. Not toasty certainly but enough to turn off the heat).
I think the biggest issue that we face in trying to heat the first floor with this insert thing is the sheer volume of air down there along with the layout of the rooms. The living room (where the insert is) is 22' x 13' with the insert at one end and the stairs to the 2nd floor at the other. To the left of the insert (if you are standing in front of it, facing the stairs) is the archway to the living room, in and of itself a large room with craptacular windows. Six craptacular windows to be exact. Oh, and two 2.5" holes in the floor where the radiators used to be. Currently I have a black sock stuffed in them cuz I'm classy like that. Then there's the kitchen. It's at the end near the stairs but it also connects to the dining room. The kitchen also sports it's very own craptacular windows, holes in the floor (one of which the cat's water bubbler thing is covering) and the back door.
Basically, given the time that we usually get home (5:45-ish) and the time that we usually go to bed (9:30-ish cuz we're party animals), there may not be enough time for a fire to heat all that area to, say 68-70°F. But, I betcha I can get that mofo crankin' on the weekends and maybe get it up there. We'll see. Tomorrow is Saturday and I just got a 1/2 cord of wood delivered so I'm up for experimenting.
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