Heat not making it to Second Floor

marie14

Older house with forced hot air heat.  At inspection time, they told me it's a very large unit for the house, so why is it not getting to the second floor?  Blows out tremendously on first floor.  There is a damper in the basement, that I keep shut.  Should I try to shut off a few on the first floor - not sure if that will force it up with any more velocity or not.  Could something be stuck in the vents & if so, how do I check for that?  Any thoughts would be appreciated.  Thank you 

Al Letellier_21

warm air heat

Marie: forced air will always take the path of least resistance, so if there is a damper to the second floor, you need to open it a little at a time. IF the unit is indeed too large, this should do it. If not, you may have to cut back on the dampers on the first floor.

It is a matter of balancing the air flow to all the areas of the house and it can take a while to get it right. You can simply use a thermometer and check the temp in each room, closing down the damper if too hot or opening it if too cool. I usually start with them at 1/2 open, check my temps, and then adjust. There are tools especially designed to balance air flow, but only a heating pro would likely have one. You can do it yourself with a little patience.

Good luck.