thinking about getting a pellet stove

Englander stoves are a very good value, especially if you get a good deal, or buy a factory refurb from a place like AMFM Energy. The stoves are refurbed by Englander tech and come w/ full factory warranty, free shipping, and you save quite a bit of $$.

www.amfmenergy.com/manufacturer-refurbished-stoves.html

What's more, the factory service that Englander provides is second to none in the wood stove/pellet stove business. Mike Holton is the senior tech there, and is also a forum member here.

I have the 10-cpm stove I bought from AMFM and have NO complaints. Have no info on the other brand you mentioned, but a search on this forum should give you some hits.

mkvrgti said:

thinking about putting a pellet stove in my basement, will not be my only form of heat. would like to know if the ashley stoves or englands stove works stoves are any good. only reason asking is because my girlfriends brother can get me a really good price on those two brands.

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Between the 2 stoves, the Englander is a little better/reliable. I've cleaned & serviced both brands, & the Englander is the better one. OR, you could save up a little longer & get a really good pellet stove - Harman. Yes, it's more money, but you will get so much more bang-for-your-buck with a Harman.

Why the basement install? What do you want the stove to heat? A large hopper is better from one perspective, but that doesn't determine how the stove will work heat wise.

Keep in mind that a basement install probably won't provide much if any heat to the main floor.

mkvrgti said:

floors are not insulated, i should get a fair amount of heat. just got off the phone with my uncle who heats his house with a pellet stove thats in the basement and his first floor is plenty warm.

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And your house has the same layout?

Please note my signature, I have a basement install, not all basement installs work for any of a number of reasons.

Hello

I suggest you get the largest stove you can. You can always turn down the heat on a large stove. A small stove will only go up so much!

Here is an Englander 25-PDV movie we made! It is built like a tank!

Is your basement finished and insulated?

ETA: No sense in sending a lot of heat into concrete or the ground.

You also need a way of creating a cold air return, hot air won't go far if it gets blocked and cold air needs a way to get to the convection fan's intake to get heated.

Basements are a royal pain to heat from without having either an overheated basement or cold upper stories. My stove is in the basement because it was the area we wanted more heat in. The fact it also manages to heat the upper floor is because of placement and construction of the stairwell and associated safety half wall. It is the stairwell that separates the warm and cold air forming a decent circulation system good enough so I don't have to use any additional fans to move the air.

You need to be able to heat and then distribute the heated air without sending most of it out through walls and windows.

Englanders might not have very good service support from their retailers, but their factory support is very good (their factory support is likely to be better than any other pellet company on the market, due largely to the demands of their method of retail distribution)! If you are the kind of guy who doesnt mind doing his own work, this might just be a good choice for you. There are MANY very happy users of Englanders here on this forum, and Im sure they will weigh in here soon.

As far as the basement install, I have to agree it depends on your airflow situation and particularly the useage of your basement. If you have a family room o r a rec room down there, its a good idea, but if your basement is like mine- a storageground of any manner of junk and unfinished, its almost certainly a folly. If you've an unfinished basement, stick the Englander upstairs where you live. If you MUST put it in an unfinished basement, get the largest heat output you can, as you will lose an appreciable portion of heat through conduction out the cellar walls and floor.

Ashley stoves are 100% made in China. Every single one I install has an issue from the onset. Englander's are made in the USA and every single one I install works without problems. You decide.

I've had people put stoves in unfinished basements. If you want to get more heat upstairs, you'll need at least 2 floor registers. Ceiling fans upstairs, on low, will help pull the air up the stairs.

mkvrgti said:

floors are not insulated, i should get a fair amount of heat. just got off the phone with my uncle who heats his house with a pellet stove thats in the basement and his first floor is plenty warm.

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Most basement installs do not work out. Especially if its not insulated and finished.

Putting the stove on the Main floor is the best choice. You may stand a chance at heating the entire house. Pellet stoves are not putting out Radiant (Nuclear heat) like a Woodstove. I feel you may not be satisfied with the results and heat output. Your gonna have to push that stove really hard to do a lot upstairs.

Also, you wont make any trips downstairs if the stove is upstairs. Plus you can see the Fire.....

Stovecleaner said:

...If you want to get more heat upstairs, you'll need at least 2 floor registers...

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Gotta be careful with that kind of advice, because there are mechanical codes that specify just where such through-floor penetrations might be placed, if at all. In many cases, a heat-sensitive closure type floor register is required. In other cases, it's just downright not allowed. Dangers of fumes/fire having yet another path to travel upstairs/throughout the living spaces being the concern. Best to do a bunch of homework and then check with your local Authority Having Jurisdiction before you go cutting holes in your floors. Better safe than...well, you know the rest. Rick

Stovecleaner said:

I've had people put stoves in unfinished basements. If you want to get more heat upstairs, you'll need at least 2 floor registers. Ceiling fans upstairs, on low, will help pull the air up the stairs.

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I dont know about your local codes, but in MANY places it is now considered a major code no-no to communicate your basement with an upstairs living space via a hole, grating, or register.....acts as a chimney and greatly improves how fast a basment fire would spread to the upstairs.

DexterDay said:

Most basement installs do not work out. Especially if its not insulated and finished.

Putting the stove on the Main floor is the best choice. You may stand a chance at heating the entire house. Pellet stoves are not putting out Radiant (Nuclear heat) like a Woodstove. I feel you may not be satisfied with the results and heat output. Your gonna have to push that stove really hard to do a lot upstairs.

Also, you wont make any trips downstairs if the stove is upstairs. Plus you can see the Fire.....

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Basement pellet stove installs are tricky and if they heat the entire house or not depends on:

1. The layout of the house
2. The location of the pellet stove
3. If the basement walls are insulated and the basement ceiling is not insulated.
4. If the stove is large and throws out enough heat.
5. Ducted registers help alot. They are not just holes to spread fires and can conform to the codes.
Also an open stairwell can act as a cold air return and fans can also help circulate the air.

In my case we have a split entry where the stove is in the middle of the basement from front to back and side to side!
The walls are finished and insulated. The duct work is connected to half of the heat exchanger tubes and goes to 2 registers in the living room and kitchen with an Inline fan that comes on automatically when the air temp above the stove rises above 74 Degrees F.

We also have a zero clearance gas fireplace upstairs for ambiance when we wish.

Anyway, try the basement install and you can always get another stove upstairs if you wish.

I have a basement stove and if I had to do it again? I would either put the stove where the heat is needed or go the gamut and install the pellet furnace. Pellet stoves are space heaters and with out many trials, It maybe tough to move the heat upstairs!

If you have little choice and the stove has to be in the basement? I would start with a pellet furnace. Duct the heat up where its needed, But the stove should radiate enough to warm the basement. Plus with code and ducting(firestops) It will not be a code issue. Treated the same as a oil/gas furnace install and the connected duct is considered the fire stop.

Hello

Well if you want the best of both worlds then go for a pellet stove that has ducting on the back like the Ecotek Laura or Veronica! there is a lever for heat coming out the front or into the duct work or both!

You might consider a stove with a ductwork connection.

There are 3 models with flanges for connecting ductwork. These stoves are PERFECT for Basement Installs!

I would Luv to try the Ecotek Laura, but do not have the money right now to make such a big change
http://www.ecoteck.us/wood-pellet-stoves/laura.php

http://www.ecoteck.us/ducted-heat/

Description of “Ducted Wood Pellet Stoves†from Ecoteck in above link.

The Ecoteck wood pellet stove range also includes 3 ducted units for people who want more even heat diffusion throughout the home. Ducts conveys heat from one room to another and distributes it throughout the home, spreading the stove’s warmth over as wide an area as possible.

Models equipped with the air canalization use 2 pipes, 3.15 Inches in diameter, to service other rooms. Depending on the model, the delivery of the air for canalization can be in the top or in the bottom part.

In the Elena Airplus, the second fan for the air canalization, can be activated simply by pushing the button on the display.

In the Laura & Veronica, there is the possibility to adjust the front and back air delivery by adjusting a lever.

More info on Ecoteck Laura 11kW Ducted Stove
Ducted Heating with wood pellets
Wood pellets are one of the few truly environmentally friendly ways to heat. Ducted stoves have a two extra warm air outputs at the rear of the unit and these can be connected to aluminum ducts routed other rooms in the property. A simple mechanical flap controls the ratio of air coming into the main room compared with the air being diverted to the back. All wood pellet stoves require a 13amp electrical connection.

The Englander is a good choice if you are handy, or if you have a reputable stove tech in your area.
As for heating, the best $ spent in in heating is spent on having your home properly insulated. You mentioned your floors are not insulated and your home is about 30 yrs old. Check your sills for insulation. Check your attic area. My home was built in 1975. It had electric heat installed. There was 6 inches of insulation in the ceiling, four in the walls, but the floors and basement walls were insulated. We had thermopane window. I have corrected many of the insulation issues, the most difficult was the walls. Not pratical to make them 6in walls so when we had the house resided we had the house wrapped and sealed and an additional layer of insulation put on the outside. We have a foot in the attic. We use a double entry ESP during the winter. This home is a raised ranch with a split foyer. One basement installed pellet stove heating about 2200 sq feet. No holes in the floor. Open stairwell with a ceiling fan at the top in reverse mode. Our stove keeps us in the 70s upstairs. The bed rooms a little cooler. If the out side temp drops below 15 to 20 f. The oil fired hot air furnace will kick in. My wife won't tolerate anything under 74f where she is sitting. Even with the assist of the furnace our oil use is very little. I bought 100 gallons last summer. We have an oil fired hot water heater. My tank gage reads that I still have half of what I bought.
We used about 4 and a half tons of pellets last year. The year before that we used 6 tons.
Long winded I know, but regardless of what heating device you get and where you place it, the most important factor of how well it will heat your home is how much control you have on heat loss. Goggle home insulation and conducting a heat loss survey. Remember, fuel you buy over and over, insulation once!