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Duct Booster: Good Solution For A Common Problem

Julimor's picture

Duct Booster: Good Solution For A Common Problem (post #205507)

Julimor on Tue, 12/20/2011 - 06:44
in

For anyone who lives in a home that has hot and cold spots, the culprit is often poor ductwork.  To many bends, too far from the mains, too small for the area you're trying to condition.  And trying to fix your ductwork can often be a very expensive job.

In talking to a HVAC pro, I pointed out a home center quality duct boost fan that I had installed in the branch run that went to the worst room in the house, the master bathroom.  He asked me if it helped then added, "They usually don't do anything."  I told him he was pretty much right.  And that cheap fan was pretty noisy too.

Then he said, "There are high CFM duct boosters that really work and they are very quiet."

That sent me on a quest.

The branch run is a 6" round.  I found a 6", 312 CFM, two speed duct booster for about $140.  I removed the old and very useless duct fan and installed the new one.  The old one was wired to turn on with the furnace fan so I just used that to power up the booster fan and wired it to the high speed.  If I needed less CFM, I could wire it later to the lower speed.

WOW!  What a difference!  The first thing I noticed was the all dust and debris on the floor around the register.  Once the booster fan blowing, it spit out a lot of the junk that had fallen in the duct over the years.  The practically zero air flow that was previously there had allowed a lot of stuff to fall in the duct and stay there.

The next thing I noticed was how warm the bathroom got.  It's now actually comfortable to walk in there in there on those cold mornings.  The next worst area in the house is the master bedroom but the bathroom duct booster has even had an effect on that.  This fan really works.  And it is so quiet the only way you know it's running is by the sound of moving air.

I have a basement, so the installation was fairly simple.  And since I had already identified the duct branch and had already done the wiring, all I had to do was cut the duct, create a mounting for the fan and install the fan in the duct.  I used reinforced silver backed duct tape to seal the joints.

Once the cold weather really hits, we'll be monitoring the master bedroom temperature to see if we need to install another booster fan for one of those branch runs.

-A +A

What specific brand and model (post #205507, reply #1 of 4)

by nov141992 in reply to Julimor [original] on Tue, 12/20/2011 - 11:06

What specific brand and model duct booster did you use?  Did you buy it mail order?  If so from where?

Am I correct in assuming your system only has one zone?  If it has more than one, then your booster is coming on whether that zone is on or not judging by your writing it's wired to come on whenever the furnace fan does.

I think I looked into this before and found a system that had a sensor that would turn it on when there was some pressure to it.  I think it was intended for a multizone system.

Thaks for any information.

 

Regards,

Tim

It's a Soler & Palau TD-150.  (post #205507, reply #2 of 4)

by Julimor in reply to nov141992 [original] on Tue, 12/20/2011 - 11:56

It's a Soler & Palau TD-150.  The best price I could find for it was on Amazon.

We just had a new 2-stage furnace installed and the guys wired it in so I'm not sure how it's wired but the booster fan runs whenever the furnace fan runs, regardless of the mode the furncae is running in.  When I have time I'm going to look into the wiring diagram and see if it would be practical to wire in the two different speeds of the booster to the furnace modes so when the blower fan is on low-medium the booster would run in the low speed, or something like that.

You can also get a number of different controls for the fan and install it in the room the booster feeds.

If I ever build another house I'm going to use these fans for bathroom ventilation.  They really move air and are so quiet.  I'm looking into installing one in the master bath to pull out steam from the shower.  We have vaulted ceilings and a large skylight just outside the shower that collects moisture like a trap.

Thanks for the reply.  I (post #205507, reply #3 of 4)

by nov141992 in reply to Julimor [original] on Tue, 12/20/2011 - 14:09

Thanks for the reply.  I asked because I've been considering using something like this.  I found a link to a catalog that covers this unit:

http://www.hvacquick.com/catalog_files/solerpalau_TD_Catalog.pdf

I have to wonder if this is intended for use in a heating duct.  I get the sense from the manufacturer's catalog, especially the Practical Installations section at the back, that these units are intended as exhaust fans.  They don't say anywhere that they can be used in a heating system.  Of course it doesn't say that it can't either.

The air performace table gives a max operating temp of only 140F for your unit and larger, and only 104F for smaller units.  I would think they are both too low for a heating system.

On the other hand it seems to be working for you fine.  I just would hesitate to buy another for use in a heating system, at least not without seeing how the existing one fares over a longer time period.

Once you get past the supply (post #205507, reply #4 of 4)

by Julimor in reply to nov141992 [original] on Tue, 12/20/2011 - 22:52

Once you get past the supply plenum I doubt you'll see 140F temps.  Where I placed my fan I'll bet the temperature is well below 100F.  The HVAC guy said they install these fans all the time and told me I made a good decision with the fan I bought.