Plumbing through heating vents

kluivertfan2 · 11/04/2020, 08:32 PM

I'm looking at purchasing a house with a basement, and If I do, I think I'll put a large sump in the basement. Rather than drilling through the flooring, is it reasonable to route plumbing through heating vents? Part of me thinks that any increase in heat will be offset by having the sump in a cool basement, but I'm not really sure. I'm in Southern Michigan, if that makes a difference. If this isnt possible, are there any other ways to have a sump in the basement without drilling through the flooring?

Vinny Kreyling · 11/05/2020, 06:04 PM

You have to get to the space below somehow & the floor is the easiest.
A friend did just that, used a heating sized hole in the floor. HOWEVER, there is nothing else used in that space. He found it easier to run multiple hoses through the opening rather than a circular hole.
I would think it's possible but troublesome.

Heart of Dixie · 11/25/2020, 03:35 PM

I did exactly that. There was a flexible line to the vent off the main header in the basement. I disconnected the flex and capped it off. I then purchased a plastic vent from Home Depot and used hole saws to cut a 3/4 & 1" hole in the vent, then ran the flex PVC line thru to the tank. There are three other vents in the room and we don't notice a difference in the heat or AC.

rezaktp · 11/25/2020, 06:30 PM

Just drill the holes you need close together, then if you tear down the reef, you can cut a rectangular hole and just put in a grill as if there was ductwork behind it. Just buy the grill as soon as you can so it will match the rest in the room, and just wrap it up and put is in the stand. Then when you tear the tank down or move you have a easy fix to the hole in the floor / carpeting.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Oldreeferman · 11/25/2020, 10:13 PM

Another option is to cut open the wall drywall & drill thu the 2X4 wall floor plate to the basement, this way no harm is done to the floor and is easy to repair if removed, its 10 times easier to repair drywall then a floor. I'm a contractor you can trust me on this one. Plus, nobody likes fake holes in the floor of a home they are contemplating purchasing.

Misled · 11/26/2020, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldreeferman

Another option is to cut open the wall drywall & drill thu the 2X4 wall floor plate to the basement, this way no harm is done to the floor and is easy to repair if removed, its 10 times easier to repair drywall then a floor. I'm a contractor you can trust me on this one. Plus, nobody likes fake holes in the floor of a home they are contemplating purchasing.

That!!! ^^^^

Sk8r · 11/26/2020, 12:13 PM

We run a quarter-inch topoff tube through the hvac grating to our freshwater tank. Fill the 5 gallon bucket in the basement, go upstairs, tell Alexa to turn on the topoff pump, and we sit and sip coffee instead of hauling water up by hand. Our saltwater rig is more techie, but the on-demand fill of the freshwater's evap works just fine.

11/04/2020, 08:32 PM	#1
kluivertfan2 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: K-zoo Michigan Posts: 77	Plumbing through heating vents I'm looking at purchasing a house with a basement, and If I do, I think I'll put a large sump in the basement. Rather than drilling through the flooring, is it reasonable to route plumbing through heating vents? Part of me thinks that any increase in heat will be offset by having the sump in a cool basement, but I'm not really sure. I'm in Southern Michigan, if that makes a difference. If this isnt possible, are there any other ways to have a sump in the basement without drilling through the flooring?

11/05/2020, 06:04 PM	#2
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	You have to get to the space below somehow & the floor is the easiest. A friend did just that, used a heating sized hole in the floor. HOWEVER, there is nothing else used in that space. He found it easier to run multiple hoses through the opening rather than a circular hole. I would think it's possible but troublesome. __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

11/25/2020, 06:30 PM	#4
rezaktp Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Gurnee, IL Posts: 1,407	Just drill the holes you need close together, then if you tear down the reef, you can cut a rectangular hole and just put in a grill as if there was ductwork behind it. Just buy the grill as soon as you can so it will match the rest in the room, and just wrap it up and put is in the stand. Then when you tear the tank down or move you have a easy fix to the hole in the floor / carpeting. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk __________________ Happy Reefing! Current Tank Info: 180g. Reef w/8-80w t-5's, 70g. Rubbermaid basement sump w/10g. fuge, APEX, Reef Octopus SRO 2000 Skimmer, 1/3hp Aqualogic chiller, 57w Aqua Ultraviolet UV, BRS 2-part w/2-Drews Dosers, 4-MP40wES

11/25/2020, 10:13 PM	#5
Oldreeferman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: NW Indiana Valparaiso Posts: 505	Another option is to cut open the wall drywall & drill thu the 2X4 wall floor plate to the basement, this way no harm is done to the floor and is easy to repair if removed, its 10 times easier to repair drywall then a floor. I'm a contractor you can trust me on this one. Plus, nobody likes fake holes in the floor of a home they are contemplating purchasing. __________________ Montipora Digitas, Cyphastrea, Blastos, different Leptoseris, Green Stylo, GSP, gorgonions, Ricordea mushrooms, psammocoras, Birdsnest coral, Clownfish, Watchman goby, Royal gamma. Current Tank Info: Nano Reef tank

11/26/2020, 12:13 PM	#7
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	We run a quarter-inch topoff tube through the hvac grating to our freshwater tank. Fill the 5 gallon bucket in the basement, go upstairs, tell Alexa to turn on the topoff pump, and we sit and sip coffee instead of hauling water up by hand. Our saltwater rig is more techie, but the on-demand fill of the freshwater's evap works just fine. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

11/25/2020, 03:35 PM	#3
Heart of Dixie Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Alabama Posts: 90	I did exactly that. There was a flexible line to the vent off the main header in the basement. I disconnected the flex and capped it off. I then purchased a plastic vent from Home Depot and used hole saws to cut a 3/4 & 1" hole in the vent, then ran the flex PVC line thru to the tank. There are three other vents in the room and we don't notice a difference in the heat or AC.