Our house is an all electric, 1500 sq. ft., 1968 built ranch with a full concrete foundation basement that footprints the main floor in square footage (1500+/-).
The Oslo does a wonderful job on he main floor. We move the heat (cold air towar the stove room) with a single 12" floor fan that works beautifully. My goal this summer is to tear open the soffits and deal with the improper insulation, ice dam, venting issues. We are going install baffles, insulation dams, new soffit material and adequate intake venting. Once this is all done we can blow in more fluffy stuff to bring the attic insulation up to spec. Windows are all very tight and clean single pane with good storms, they can wait for now. Hopefully, the Oslo will consume less wood next winter.
Now to the basement...
Since we have an electric water heater and no furnace there is no residual heat in the basement. We also don't have any ductwork or perforations to the main floor. The only perforations to the basement are for plumbing. The joists have fiberglass batting in place to buffer the cold basement from the main floor. Right now our basement is 45 degrees. This summer I am also going to foam the rim joists and install 2" XPS (with proper fire barrier of course) on the half of the basement that is still bare foundation wall. The rest of the foundation is currently wood studs and fiberglass batts with paneling. I will need to redo most of this as the vapor barrier method is incorrect and I need access to the rim joists anyway.
Considering the basement will be better insulated by fall, I am going to still need an occasional heat supply. The old electric wall heaters are going in the trash...sorry ComEd;-) The basement is really open, with a '70s stylized recreation area on one end and a workshop on the other. The shop is separted by a framed wall and two doors. The only egress windows are in the shop that I am going to tear out and install glass block with vent windows. Besides children having a potential sleep over in the remodeled rec. area, no sleeping quarters will be in the basement.
Now to the old Heatilator in the rec. area...
It is built into a solid masonry structure and chimney that I can chase with a liner. The chimney was not covered, the top of the heatilator is rusted and trashed. I have insulation stuffed everywhere inside it until I retrofit a new wood burner in it's opening. I am going to have to break out the sawzall or a torch to open up the top of the Heatilator for my liner chase.
Now for sizing the unit...
I am only looking to occasionally heat the basement to take the chill out, allow me to paint, work with adhesives, work on projects, etc. I am not trying to suppliment the main floor heating, although it might happen to a degree anyway. I am used to an overnight burn with the Oslo, but I am hoping that the heat loss in the basement would be slower and an occasional warm up would hold for longer periods of time than what the main floor experiences. I would love to find that the insulation helps slow and stall the basement heat loss/cold infiltration at 55 degrees +/-.
I am not set on buying another Jotul, but I'll start with what I'm zeroing in on from their line. I really like the Jotul F118, and it seems like it could cook us out or sustain an overnight burn if needed. I also like the F3CB for it's size, probably not capable of an overnight burn.
For a dedicated stove in a 1500 sq. ft. basement that is well insulated and sealed, is the capability of holding a larger load or an overnight burn even worth considering? I am just looking to control the environment for a weekend or few days at a time. Super cedars are cheap...any ideas would help.
The other concern is air availability for the stove. Since the basement will be very tight, will an OAK or air supply to the basement be needed to prevent starvation or smoky backpuffing?
Sorry for the long read.
The Oslo does a wonderful job on he main floor. We move the heat (cold air towar the stove room) with a single 12" floor fan that works beautifully. My goal this summer is to tear open the soffits and deal with the improper insulation, ice dam, venting issues. We are going install baffles, insulation dams, new soffit material and adequate intake venting. Once this is all done we can blow in more fluffy stuff to bring the attic insulation up to spec. Windows are all very tight and clean single pane with good storms, they can wait for now. Hopefully, the Oslo will consume less wood next winter.
Now to the basement...
Since we have an electric water heater and no furnace there is no residual heat in the basement. We also don't have any ductwork or perforations to the main floor. The only perforations to the basement are for plumbing. The joists have fiberglass batting in place to buffer the cold basement from the main floor. Right now our basement is 45 degrees. This summer I am also going to foam the rim joists and install 2" XPS (with proper fire barrier of course) on the half of the basement that is still bare foundation wall. The rest of the foundation is currently wood studs and fiberglass batts with paneling. I will need to redo most of this as the vapor barrier method is incorrect and I need access to the rim joists anyway.
Considering the basement will be better insulated by fall, I am going to still need an occasional heat supply. The old electric wall heaters are going in the trash...sorry ComEd;-) The basement is really open, with a '70s stylized recreation area on one end and a workshop on the other. The shop is separted by a framed wall and two doors. The only egress windows are in the shop that I am going to tear out and install glass block with vent windows. Besides children having a potential sleep over in the remodeled rec. area, no sleeping quarters will be in the basement.
Now to the old Heatilator in the rec. area...
It is built into a solid masonry structure and chimney that I can chase with a liner. The chimney was not covered, the top of the heatilator is rusted and trashed. I have insulation stuffed everywhere inside it until I retrofit a new wood burner in it's opening. I am going to have to break out the sawzall or a torch to open up the top of the Heatilator for my liner chase.
Now for sizing the unit...
I am only looking to occasionally heat the basement to take the chill out, allow me to paint, work with adhesives, work on projects, etc. I am not trying to suppliment the main floor heating, although it might happen to a degree anyway. I am used to an overnight burn with the Oslo, but I am hoping that the heat loss in the basement would be slower and an occasional warm up would hold for longer periods of time than what the main floor experiences. I would love to find that the insulation helps slow and stall the basement heat loss/cold infiltration at 55 degrees +/-.
I am not set on buying another Jotul, but I'll start with what I'm zeroing in on from their line. I really like the Jotul F118, and it seems like it could cook us out or sustain an overnight burn if needed. I also like the F3CB for it's size, probably not capable of an overnight burn.
For a dedicated stove in a 1500 sq. ft. basement that is well insulated and sealed, is the capability of holding a larger load or an overnight burn even worth considering? I am just looking to control the environment for a weekend or few days at a time. Super cedars are cheap...any ideas would help.
The other concern is air availability for the stove. Since the basement will be very tight, will an OAK or air supply to the basement be needed to prevent starvation or smoky backpuffing?
Sorry for the long read.