Old House, Small Register, Big Return, Little Heat

myoldcountryhouse

Hello! I have a 120-year-old farmhouse in the country. I’ve been having it updated bit by bit for 30 years starting with electrical, plumbing, septic, windows, etc. I used to heat with fuel oil and then an outdoor boiler and now I use propane.

One room on the main floor always has been cold regardless of heating type. It has one narrow, short vent in the floor and a huge grate/return in the floor on an adjacent wall. The duct for that return is huge. I will call a professional soon but in the meantime, does anyone here know why I’d have such a small vent and such a big return in a room? The rest of the house is warm but this vent is so small, little heat comes out. Any insights would be so appreciated!

Jamie Hall

Kind of the opposite of the usual hassle! Usually the vent is ample and the return missing or tiny.

However. First take a look at the ductwork to the small vent. If it's small too, then logic suggests that the air is going to go somewhere else first. You may need to enlarge that whole takeoff and duct. Also check to see if there are any dampers in the ductwork which might be partly closed.

Now that return. Does it actually go into a return duct to the furnace? How big is that duct? A large return — especially if it is the only one is fine, so long as it is really properly connected. On the other hand, is it even remotely possible that there was a stove in the basement below that grate, and that it's not a return at al?

myoldcountryhouse

Dear Jamie,

Thank you so much for your reply! I am so grateful for your insights! I now have a much better idea of what to even look for and to ask the heating contractor! The tiny vent is open but I don’t know about its ductwork. I’ll find out! It’s the strangest, smallest vent (or register—I’m not sure what the proper term is for it) I’ve ever seen but I’ve owned this house a long time and it’s always been full of surprises. :)

Ah on the thing I’ve been calling a return. Your questions are so smart! It has a huge round metal pipe connected to it but this house has a basement and I would not be surprised if it once used coal for heat. It certainly could have been used for a stove. This big grate is above where the fuel oil tank used to be and there’s a window on that side and maybe a patch in the wall. I can’t see the wall now because I had the basement waterproofed and the walls are covered with that material.

I’m going to look and call the heating people tomorrow to come look! Now that I think about it, they’ve never come to look at the ducts and registers upstairs and I never asked!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! 😁🎉 I’ll keep you posted on this newest adventure with my house! Thanks!!!!

Michelle

pecmsg

please post pictures so we can see this