Thinking about lp for the basement but need some help please

[emt1581]

We have a colonial. On the first floor we have our VC Encore 2 in 1 and boy do we love it!

However, down the basement, it is freezing in the winter. Now it is a finished basement complete with insulation knotty pine and a drop ceiling. There is also a fireplace that my wife and I used when we first moved in, while we were renovating the upstairs. It worked ok but only if you were sleeping in the bed a few feet in front of it. The rest of the basement was frigid. I even had the baseboard heat, space heaters and a propane heater going. Plus it was really racking up the electric bills!

Now we had the chimney checked and it is a 6" terracotta chimney inside. We don't have much money now so a $1200+ liner for a wood stove is not going to happen.

The guy at the stove shop said a gas liner is only $375 including the hardware/cap....so we could easily do that if we bought a used stove/insert.

However, whereas I know a decent amount about wood stoves from using mine over the past few years, I know next to nothing about gas stoves/inserts.

Any help with brands and models would be great.

Basically we are working with a fireplace opening that is around 27 high and 30 wide. 26 deep with a 13" hearth extending out in front of that. And the rear of the stove is around 23 and graduates out to the 30 inches at 45 deg. angles.

This would only be used a few times a year now as it is only used for guests or if we are going to be working down there. But I need something efficient that will seriously heat the space up.

Again, we are on a budget, but any help/suggestions would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

-Emt1581

 

[DAKSY]

There are WAY too many manufacturers & styles out there to specify any particular model, but you should size it to the area needing to be heated I don't see where you indicated how many Square Feet that area is. If you are as well insulated as you say, you can probably get by with about 30 BTU/SqFt, & the efficiency of the unit will have to be figured into the equation. I've installed inserts by 5-6 different manufaturers, & while I don't particularly care for the flame patterns of the Regency gas inserts, they are Kick A$$ heaters. Look around & see what will heat your area, fit fireplace opening & meet your budget constraints...

 

[emt1581]

There are WAY too many manufacturers & styles out there to specify any particular model, but you should size it to the area needing to be heated I don't see where you indicated how many Square Feet that area is. If you are as well insulated as you say, you can probably get by with about 30 BTU/SqFt, & the efficiency of the unit will have to be figured into the equation. I've installed inserts by 5-6 different manufaturers, & while I don't particularly care for the flame patterns of the Regency gas inserts, they are Kick A$$ heaters. Look around & see what will heat your area, fit fireplace opening & meet your budget constraints...

Thanks for the info.

The area is probably around 400-500 square feet.

The only regency insert I could find....the seller was asking $2000 used. WAAAYYY too expensive. We were looking to spend maybe a few hundred on the insert/stove. And I would prefer a stove so that we are not losing as much heat and dependent on a blower.

Thanks

-Emt1581

 

[DAKSY]

OK. If a stove is what you want, I'd look for for something that has an input BTU of 20K min.
If it's roughly 75% efficient, that'll give you 15K output & 500 sf x 30 BTU/sf = 15K. You will
still need the co-linear liner kit & a co-linear to co-axial adapter to attach the liner kit to the
stove. You'l also need unfaced fibreglass insulation & some 25 - 30 year silicone.Once you
have everything purchased, we can give you the instructions for the install.
Good luck!

 

[FanMan]

If you truly only need it a few times a year then electric would seem to be the least expensive way to go, especially if the baseboard heaters are already there...