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I have to add 3 take offs from my main HVAC supply/trunk. Is there a minimum amount of distance I should maintain between each of the take offs?

What should I do if I don't have the minimum distance available? Is it OK if they are right next to each other?

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    I don't understand the question. Takeoffs attach directly to the trunk. Photos may help.
    – isherwood
    May 11, 2021 at 14:25
  • Are you asking how far apart individual takeoffs need to be?
    – isherwood
    May 11, 2021 at 14:26
  • my bad. Just edited question. Yes
    – PowerTech
    May 11, 2021 at 14:58
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    I think the question is "On the main trunk, what is the minimum distance between two take offs?
    – P2000
    May 11, 2021 at 15:08
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    I've heavily reworded your question to make it more clear - I hope I've got it right. If not, please feel free to roll back the edits or make additional edits.
    – FreeMan
    May 11, 2021 at 15:46

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There's a "2 foot" rule for separation, but I have seen take-offs on direct opposite sides of the main trunk, I have seen them right above the furnace, and I have seen two side by side for the same 16in joist space.

Nominally throughout the trunk there is air pressure and air velocity. At any branch-off the pressure drops and the velocity increases because air can move more easily: some of it "escapes" down the branch duct. Take offs tap-off the air predominantly based on air pressure, they don't "scoop" the air. Take-offs are slightly angled to take advantage of the velocity, and they are not exclusively pressure based.

At some distance further down the trunk (the rule of thumb is 2 feet) the velocity drops to nominal and the pressure rises to nominal. That's where the next branch-off can be.

If two take-offs are too close to each other, the pressure for both is low and both cannot tap off as effectively.

If you do it the "wrong" way it just means you have lower pressure entering into the two branches, and their velocity or flow is less than if they were properly spaced. A few of these cases won't break things, and usually you can re-balance the flow with proper throttling at the register.

enter image description here

Image: https://hvactoday.com/0719-two-foot-rule/

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    huh... there should be 24" of "dead space" at the end of the run. Who knew?
    – FreeMan
    May 11, 2021 at 16:00
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    yeah, @FreeMan, that was a surprise too. I understand thermodynamics & Bernoulli, but not sure how that comes into play. In any case, if the OP provisions throttling (adjustable registers, not grills) then it really doesn't matter that much in a home.
    – P2000
    May 11, 2021 at 18:08
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    rses.org/assets/serviceapplicationmanual/630-148.pdf has similar diagrams/recommendations with more detailed discussion behind the HVAC system design in general.
    – TylerH
    May 11, 2021 at 19:06
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    @TylerH, thanks for the tip. Here's another one that digs deeper into the "static regain method", but says little about the end-cap clearance: pdhonline.com/courses/m246/m246content.pdf
    – P2000
    May 11, 2021 at 19:33
  • @P2000 Thanks, looks like good reading (just skimmed); only thing I can think of is maybe it's intended to provide a 'double dip' of pressure for air entering the room? The pressure would drop to near zero as soon as it reached the end of the duct and entered the room, resulting in a low aspiration ratio... I dunno.
    – TylerH
    May 11, 2021 at 19:47

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