Ducting question....

[CelticEBE]

I am moving to a new location soon and want to set up my air handlers a bit differently than how they are set up now. I want to set a "Y" at the plenum and then run rigid duct to a register from each branch.

My question is this. What size duct and registers should I use?

The air handler in question is a 5 ton unit, which I believe is 2000 cfm. I also plan on insulating the rigid duct. Any help you guys can give me will be greatly appreciated.

 

[CelticEBE]

Are those the only 2 runs and registers you plan to use or will there be other ducting coming off the plenum also? I would think 2 x 12 inch duct and registers would be the minimum on 5 tons .you just dont want too much restrictions or the coil will ice up.i bet @CannabisJohn can give a better answer :)

It's actually a water cooled air handler so I don't think there will be any icing up. Yes, that was the plan was to have two runs and registers. I suppose I could split it up into 4 for better distribution if needed.

 

[CelticEBE]

Well 2000cfm calls for 18inch round pipe or 16"x17" square or 12"x 25"
so if you go with round pipe 2x 10" should handle it or 2 runs square would be 8"x10"
A lil more info might help these other guys help you, like length of runs and number of turns or elbows.all that jazz factors against flow charts as well as register designs, some are more restrictive than others.gl

Thanks piehole! I'm a noob at this ducting air handler business. Got a bit more experience with Electrical and Plumbing.

The runs would be about 10' and the only turn would be the 90 into the register. I didn't even know what a register was called yesterday.....I always just called them vents. :eek:

 

[Herb Forester]

You might like this for ideas They also make a nice damper system.

 

[CelticEBE]

You might like this for ideas They also make a nice damper system.

Yeah....I saw those when they came out. While I like the idea of them I'm trying to keep the rooms as clutter free as possible. Running duct work on top of the room and dumping it off into two locations will buy me room to move lights around on the ceiling if needed.

 

[Natural]

CelticEBE ..hey bro..so you're referring to a plenum as the box after the air handler fan..usually attached to the fan box as a whole..correct? Then in a normal basement set-up you have long plenum boxes made out of sheet metal. Well...some folks have done away with this type of set up, usually the ones that have below-concrete ducting. In this scenario..you run a 12" insulated duct from the plenum box/air handler,to a plenum box in the attic, from there, you can run all the register ducting where it needs to go with 6"-8" insulated. The return air will get a 10" insulated duct for the return to the handler fed off of another plenum box in the attic..if using multiple returns you can use multiple 8" ducts to feed the plenum.
The whole thing to remember is to aboid "y's" or wye's in any of the ducting. A plenum box is meant to equalize the pressure going in or returning from multiple ducts. The plenum boxes can be made with metal tape and insulation board...plus starter collars.
Hope that helps..if ya want some pix to explain..just ask.

 

[Skuna Tuna]

@Natural just hit the nail on the head. Im not sure if this will apply to u at all, but check out "fabric ducting". It has much less restriction than rigid ducting. The ducting "inflates" and allows air to escape evenly over the room.

 

[Natural]

@Natural just hit the nail on the head. Im not sure if this will apply to u at all, but check out "fabric ducting". It has much less restriction than rigid ducting. The ducting "inflates" and allows air to escape evenly over the room.

interesting stuff!

 

[CelticEBE]

@Natural just hit the nail on the head. Im not sure if this will apply to u at all, but check out "fabric ducting". It has much less restriction than rigid ducting. The ducting "inflates" and allows air to escape evenly over the room.

Yeah....I have looked into the Excel one. My only issue with it is that it would take up space on the ceiling.