How do i update the 1950 era registers?
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I went thorough this with my place (house is 113 years old), and there is something to be said for those old grilles. The newer ones may certainly look nicer, but the older ones work better. They're oversized and greatly reduce wind resistance compared to the newer ones. For this reason we opted to keep them. We just removed the decades of old paint and sprayed them with a lacquer. They look great.
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Those registers are designed for gravity furnaces mostly and aren't really meant for forced air.
They're probably in the long locations too, on the interior walls.
I think you can order new ones...
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...but they're awful for a/c if you have it, at least without vent deflectors to force the air upwards.
They're probably in the long locations too, on the interior walls.
I think you can order new ones...
...but they're awful for a/c if you have it, at least without vent deflectors to force the air upwards.
What do you mean by " long locations" you are correct they are all on the interior walls with only one Cold air return in the whole upper level.Those registers are designed for gravity furnaces mostly and aren't really meant for forced air.
They're probably in the long locations too, on the interior walls.
I think you can order new ones...
![]()
...but they're awful for a/c if you have it, at least without vent deflectors to force the air upwards.
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i think he means "wrong location".
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Modern systems have the supplies around the perimeter - more comfortable, warms up the surfaces so it doesn't feel cold near an exterior wall and less drafty.
Yours may have been gravity, retrofitted incorrectly for forced air. Those registers I suppose can work for heat, but they don't "throw" the air up to mix properly with the interior air.
If you've got a/c, the supply air comes out slowly and stays near floor level, gets sucked into the return. Makes for very inefficient cooling, don't matter how efficient the machine is.
Yours may have been gravity, retrofitted incorrectly for forced air. Those registers I suppose can work for heat, but they don't "throw" the air up to mix properly with the interior air.
If you've got a/c, the supply air comes out slowly and stays near floor level, gets sucked into the return. Makes for very inefficient cooling, don't matter how efficient the machine is.
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What he means is that the ground stays cold and the ceiling stays hot in the summer with the a/c on.
For winter, you probably wouldn't notice a whole lot of difference with different vent locations. (I have similar vents, and it was never a gravity system, but is over 60 years old) Possibly slightly less drafts in front of windows, but it's very difficult to notice the difference in most houses.
The grills that user posted are a decent solution for the a/c and ascetics. That design is pretty much all you'll find these days, readily and cheaply.
Cheers!
For winter, you probably wouldn't notice a whole lot of difference with different vent locations. (I have similar vents, and it was never a gravity system, but is over 60 years old) Possibly slightly less drafts in front of windows, but it's very difficult to notice the difference in most houses.
The grills that user posted are a decent solution for the a/c and ascetics. That design is pretty much all you'll find these days, readily and cheaply.
Cheers!
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...you can also use deflectors to force the air up.
AH Thanks folks... There is NO CENTRAL air in the house yet. (use window units) Thinking about removing the chimney that runs through the center of the house thinking this would give the HVAC guy a great cold return if i do it. When user said "long" location i was thinking it had something to do with the balloon framing channels. Great info Greatly appreciated!
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Assuming you're rennovating the air duct system should be evaluated and any changes incorporated into plans. Same actually goes for insulating and air sealing.
Money permitting the best thing to do to a system like that is run brand new supplies, properly sized and in the right locations.
The old supplies can be re-purposed as returns, providing a return in each room.
You're looking at a lot more money but just adding a a/c on an old heat only duct system will never yield good results. This stuff has to be engineered and comissioned to work well.
Money permitting the best thing to do to a system like that is run brand new supplies, properly sized and in the right locations.
The old supplies can be re-purposed as returns, providing a return in each room.
You're looking at a lot more money but just adding a a/c on an old heat only duct system will never yield good results. This stuff has to be engineered and comissioned to work well.
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