pellet stove warning

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bull

Member
Dec 7, 2008
93
south east ky
i have read the warning issue about sleeping in the same room as the stove. my son sleeps in the basement where the stove i want to install is going to be please give advice . does anyone sleep in the same room as there stove i got the info from enlgander web site . i am looking at the 55 shp10
 
Pellet stoves in bedrooms is a generally a big no-no. You should check with your building code enforcement officer. At the least you should have a smoke and CO detector in that room and make sure they in good working order.
 
He'll be needing shorts and tank-tops :)
 
I am not sure about Kentucky, however Massachusetts has adopted the International Construction Code as most
states have. Which standardizes most codes across the country as I understand it. I believe the
Mechanical and Fire code govern stove installs. No solid fuel burning appliance can be installed in a sleeping room.
 
Your owner's manual will clearly tell you that the stove MUST NOT be put in a bedroom. Now, what defines a bedroom is another question. There's a reason for that caution and you just have to put a price on your life and that of your children.................
 
I sleep in the same room as my stove. It's more of an open loft with a bunch of windows and a hard-wired smoke/CO alarm. Besides the CO concern, I think the big issue with having them in a bedroom is if the stove catches fire, escape may be limited.
 
Is the basement room a bedroom? Or is it a finished living room/he sleeps on the couch room? Is this a room where the family spends most of there time? Heating from a basement can be done. But for a lot of folks, it can be very difficult and you may only get sub-par results.

Back to the "Room"....

If its not a bedroom (i.e.-no bed) then I would probably be legit.

But if there is a "Bed" in the room. Then by definition, it is in fact a bedroom and wouldnt be "legal" per say.

Also, if your trying to heat the upstairs, from the basement. That room will be way to warm to "sleep" in. Any way the stove can upstairs? Or are you just trying to heat that room?
 
Brewer said:
Uh-oh.........no more sleeping on the couch!!!

Thats a nightly occurance here, hit the recliner and before you know it its time to go to work.
 
DexterDay said:
Back to the "Room"....

If its not a bedroom (i.e.-no bed) then I would probably be legit.

But if there is a "Bed" in the room. Then by definition, it is in fact a bedroom and wouldnt be "legal" per say.

I don't think simply placing a bed in a room makes it a bedroom legally. In my area, a room needs a closet and full size window to be considered a bedroom.
 
Eatonpcat said:
smoke show said:
Brewer said:
Uh-oh.........no more sleeping on the couch!!!

Thats a nightly occurance here, hit the recliner and before you know it its time to go to work.

Guilty here also!! I think my wife likes it this way though!! ;-)

X3.... At least a few times a week. ;-P
 
Mine is in a bedroom, its not quite an inlaw apt but could be sold as, it only gets slept in when company comes over as it isn't in the basement but is downstairs... It heats the whole level its on so the door has to stay open unless you want the bathroom freezing cold....
There are co/ and smoke detectors very close to the stove, I also unlock the window closets to it as it does allow some fresh air in to the stove...
When I put the house up I will either take it with me or take the bed outta the room!
 
Basement bedrooms seem to be a risky deal to me . If a fire starts upstairs & the only egress is a single flight of stairs up to where the fire is ???????????
 
actually many code's have been rewritten defining "bedroom" as a "sleeping" room.

big deal is potential of CO during a malfunction, if the sleeping room is occupied at the time with a sleeper the likelyhood of being overcome by CO before detectors may react is much higher than if its in a different room therefore the "sleeper" has a better chance of being awakened by the detector before its too late.

it should be noted that most solid fueled appliances (especially pellet stoves when properly installed and maintained should not allow CO release into the structure under most any conditions but you always plan for worst case scenario. this is why the code is written this way.
 
In mass or my town, a bedroom basement must have an escape window which is like 3-4 ft wide and 4ft tall something like ..
I have 2 co detectors in the bedroom one by the stove and one by the bed
 
I am surprised any of our ancestors survived in their one room cabins with a fireplace. On a serious note though, my house is so small that wherever I sleep is almost like sleeping in the same room with the stove. It does make me nervous, but then I am nervous about most things.
 
PJPellet said:
I am surprised any of our ancestors survived in their one room cabins with a fireplace. On a serious note though, my house is so small that wherever I sleep is almost like sleeping in the same room with the stove. It does make me nervous, but then I am nervous about most things.

That one room cabin with a fireplace had one huge air sucker in it so the chances of there being any appreciable CO even under all conditions except someone intentionally plugging the rather large flue was extremely small. That and the total lack of both insulation and air sealing is a far cry from todays setups.
 
Smokey's point is the most apropos. It isn't about fire danger, it's about lack of a continues adequate inflow of air into the room to replace that which is being fan vented to the outside. The feature of a bedroom which a living room or great room lacks is a bedroom door, -which is normally closed at night thus cutting off the inflow of fresh replacement air. That would cause a problem eventually for any living organism that doesn't exist in a water tank. Poor combustion would also be a problem almost as soon as the door is closed. A fan can't blow air outside if there's no new air to replace what should flow out the exhaust pipe. Negative pressure would result in such a situation and that would be bad for the purity of the combustion. Maybe a normal person would wake the heck up in a situation of inadequate fresh air, but smokers probably wouldn't, and in really deep sleep even normal people would probably end up in a comma or dead is the oxygen level dropped too low. So the question is: "how air-tight is that basement?" Is it good and drafty? That all depends on if it underwent a remodel into a living space instead of just a storage space.
 
Or if your worried about CO (I'm going to regret saying this) you could install a OAK and have your inside air and outside air completely separated.
 
guys i am really worried about this , my basement looks like an open apartment, only closed room is the bathroom. rest is wide open. 1outside door 5 windows and the stair door that is never closed. little over 800 sqft. my plans for installing a pellet stove has been cancelled unless someone can help me with this delima. thanks please help.
 
TLHinCanada said:
Or if your worried about CO (I'm going to regret saying this) you could install a OAK and have your inside air and outside air completely separated.

I agree.

Since I have an OAK, I won't hesitate to spend a night on the sofa in the living room with my Mt. Vernon if the wife gives me the boot from the bedroom. I also have a CO detector in the room as well.
 
If you're concerned you could always hook up a programmable thermostat and keep the stove off at night?
 
My quad 1200i manual only restricts the installation in "sleeping rooms" in mobile homes. It doesn't say anything about it in fixed structures. It does say "Installation MUST comply with local, regional, state and national codes and regulations. Consult insurance carrier, local building inspector, fire officials or authorities having jurisdiction over restrictions, installation inspection and permits."

I quite often doze or even spend the night on the couch in the living room with the pellet stove running. If I was afraid of it, it wouldn't be in the house.
 
If it is your whole basement, I do not see how that makes it a bedroom, anymore than putting a refrigerator in it would make it a kitchen, or putting in a table make it a dining room. The warning is to avoid sleeping in a confined space where CO might concentrate to lethal levels. Take the doors off the stairway going up and down and you no longer have a confined space. CO is a silent killer. It will dilute and fill the whole air space it is exposed to. So bigger is better. Have CO detectors where you are most of the time. Then you might hear it before any harm comes. Proper stove installation and maintenance is key to avoiding CO escaping the stove and into the living space. Ck local codes. If any restrictions, they trump any ideas about doing anything different.
(leaving a window cracked open just a little can also help as long as it is not one near the stove's exhaust)
 
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