Moister master, hrv, dvs. Which one is best

[skid]

together with a chainsaw for trees,and not being to proud to retrieve Kauri studs from bins,Im warm and toasty this winter,and even saved a bit of waste.
Fotunately in Auckland the smoke doesnt collect like apparently Christchurch.

[DIY Donz]

My parents power bill drops dramatically over winter due to the wet back and my mother cooks almost everything on theirs - rural area. I'm not that organised but I like the option if I need it. They had a heat pump installed as well (built in 1994) and I don't think they have even used it much.

Father installed a positive pressure system but its limited due to the cold air in the roof in winter when you need it.

Wish I could've put in a wet back - unfortunately the hwc is under the house.

[Leftette]

Geez, Donz, are you sure you're not me in a parallel universe. I'm in exactly the same situation. Existing HWC too new and too 'under the house' to move it into the ceiling for a wetback situation, sadly.

Chainsaws are simply awesome. Best tool in the shed. Also a good excuse to purchase a trailer (for all that wood collecting). In the space of 18 months I collected at least 5 years worth of wood. Once friends/rellies know you have a saw and are happy to take the wood away, the requests for tree felling seem to come out of the woodwork (pun intended).

[DIY Donz]

Geez, Donz, are you sure you're not me in a parallel universe. I'm in exactly the same situation. Existing HWC too new and too 'under the house' to move it into the ceiling for a wetback situation, sadly.

Chainsaws are simply awesome. Best tool in the shed. Also a good excuse to purchase a trailer (for all that wood collecting). In the space of 18 months I collected at least 5 years worth of wood. Once friends/rellies know you have a saw and are happy to take the wood away, the requests for tree felling seem to come out of the woodwork (pun intended).

LOL - who knows, could be, maybe....? I thought the hwc had to be back to back with the fire (or in close proximity)- is that not necessary?

Yes, firewood was a good excuse to buy a chainsaw. We're still trying to chomp through an old man pine that we felled Feb 2013. Reckon there's still a good 1-2 cube in the trunk yet to be cut. It's fed both mine and my mum's wood burners for the past two seasons and we also gave some to a friend who felled it for us. Just picking out the next tree for a spring felling and summer work out.

[Wayne]

Chainsaws are simply awesome. Best tool in the shed. Also a good excuse to purchase a trailer (for all that wood collecting). In the space of 18 months I collected at least 5 years worth of wood. Once friends/rellies know you have a saw and are happy to take the wood away, the requests for tree felling seem to come out of the woodwork (pun intended).

Girlz aren't supposed to have sheds or chainsaws - no wonder TLL left!

[Leftette]

Reasonably close is best, but it has to be above unless you want to get involved with pumps to circulate in the 'wrong' direction.

[Leftette]

Tell me about it, Wayne. Once he was gone, I had no choice but to get involved in the manly stuff. It's actually quite simple when you do things the right way.

[DIY Donz]

Until fires are legislated against because of air pollution.

I hope that doesn't happen. I know there is a push to move people away from fires but my theory is that if enough people decommission their fires and move to heat pumps there will be less of a perceived pollution issue especially in Auckland which as skid says it doesn't really hang around anyway.

[Wayne]

Tell me about it, Wayne. Once he was gone, I had no choice but to get involved in the manly stuff. It's actually quite simple when you do things the right way.

Given you said you started 18 months ago (when TLL was still around) I reckon you got into his shed and chainsaw while he was still there.
If a man can't have his shed and chainsaw to himself what has he got to live for?
His issues with PT were an excuse - YOU took his MANHOOD and that is why he left us.
I hate you!

[Leftette]

No council would ban them outright, or they'd be sued for the cost of installation, not to mention the outcry from the affect that would have on manufacturing and retail jobs in the industry. If it ever WERE to happen, it'd be phased in - ie no more new ones. However, wood burners are super green and efficient, so it's only an issue on low-lying places like Chch where the smoke gets a chance to accumulate.

Wayne, his issues were not an excuse at all. He was miserable for weeks after being banned for no given reason. Not a single one. He was so miserable the shed seemed to get overgrown. I missed the smell of chainsaw oil in the morning, so I simply took action.

[Wayne]

No council would ban them outright, or they'd be sued for the cost of installation, not to mention the outcry from the affect that would have on manufacturing and retail jobs in the industry. If it ever WERE to happen, it'd be phased in - ie no more new ones. However, wood burners are super green and efficient, so it's only an issue on low-lying places like Chch where the smoke gets a chance to accumulate.

Neccessity and all that - once Chch started talking about banning them all sorts of advances were made to reduce particulates.
Certainly a wood burner of today is far better than yesteryear for efficiency and all that.

Wayne, his issues were not an excuse at all. He was miserable for weeks after being banned for no given reason. Not a single one. He was so miserable the shed seemed to get overgrown. I missed the smell of chainsaw oil in the morning, so I simply took action.

Maybe I was being to harsh and premature.

[Bluecoat]

Has anyone had any recent experience with smart vent and dry master.

Cost and effectiveness etc.

[Wayne]

Has anyone had any recent experience with smart vent and dry master.

Cost and effectiveness etc.

SmartVent are good as you can buy and install yourself.
Cost no more than others to run (they really aren't a big motor) and, in my experiance, do the job (so are effective).

[gusCF]

I've been reading the posts with interest and have a scenario for the collective wisdom of the thread

I live in a 5 bedroom 2 storey house in Auckland, approximately 15 years old. It is very well insulated, we have two large heat pumps which heat the entire house well. The only problem is during the colder winter months we get some condensation almost entirely on the top floor where the bedrooms are (damn you body heat and breathing). It is not a huge amount, probably enough to soak up a medium sized bath towel but enough to peeve me off because I'm the one who dries it up. We have shutters on the windows which may not help encourage air flow. I am considering a ventilation system, and based on the feedback on here I am tending towards a balance pressure system. I am concerned that the house is big enough that ducting to the lower floor will be expensive and involve a fair amount of ducting which we will find very difficult to hide, coupled with the fact that we don't really have a problem down there. So what I am wanting to know is

1. Does a BPS sound like the best way?
2. Can these be installed on the upper floor only?

Thanks for any feedback, it is appreciated

[ivanp]

Yes, you can install the system just for the upper floor, why not? Saves money and no need to run ducting through wardrobes etc.

Balance pressure systems are usually way more expensive (every aspect: the system itself, plus it's more complicated to install, plus usually consumes more electricity). So if condensation is your only issue I'd rather install something basic (positive pressure) for the upper floor only.