Need help, looking to get a pellet stove..

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I disagree. Unless there's a door to that stairway, there's nothing to stop the warm air from rising and displacing the cold air from upstairs. It may not be the ideal floorplan, but it'll work. The upper rooms just might take a little longer to respond to adjustments made at the stove. Will it be as warm as the first floor? Of course not, but it will be warm.

A register in the floor directly above the stove (check with code officials) will probably help quite a bit, but likely won't be necessary.

The fact the volume of your space is small will work to your advantage, as will the new insulation.
there is a door but it's always open anyways
 
I disagree. Unless there's a door to that stairway, there's nothing to stop the warm air from rising and displacing the cold air from upstairs. It may not be the ideal floorplan, but it'll work. The upper rooms just might take a little longer to respond to adjustments made at the stove. Will it be as warm as the first floor? Of course not, but it will be warm.

A register in the floor directly above the stove (check with code officials) will probably help quite a bit, but likely won't be necessary.

The fact the volume of your space is small will work to your advantage, as will the new insulation.
Did you see the attachment? There's a door at the bottom. There are three doors at the top for the 2 bedrooms and bath. I'm not as optimistic as you, but then again, you may be right, it's such a tiny space, the stove might just overpower the whole place. I'd like to see a convection current going from down to up and back.
 
maybe tomorrow i will take some pics of my actual rooms downstairs and upstairs hopefully giving everyone a good picture on my home layout, i think it will work but then again i wouldn't be here asking questions because i have no idea, never had a pellet stove and im sick of having my house cold because i cant afford oil
 
My previous house was a duplex similar to yours. My side, like the opposite side, was 1500' with a P38 in the UNFINISHED basement. I left the basement door open and never had issues with getting the heat up to the 2nd floor. The basement was hotter than hell though!
 
Did you see the attachment? There's a door at the bottom. There are three doors at the top for the 2 bedrooms and bath. I'm not as optimistic as you, but then again, you may be right, it's such a tiny space, the stove might just overpower the whole place. I'd like to see a convection current going from down to up and back.
convection current?
 
Did you see the attachment? There's a door at the bottom. There are three doors at the top for the 2 bedrooms and bath. I'm not as optimistic as you, but then again, you may be right, it's such a tiny space, the stove might just overpower the whole place. I'd like to see a convection current going from down to up and back.

Yep, I checked it out. I gotta assume leff13 is gonna keep the doors open. That's kind of mandatory with any space heater.
 
do not think you will ever have even heat in that situation.you will have a very hot front room unless registers and fans are used,For no fans you need much larger holes,but with open stairs do not see how you will get much heat to other end of house short of high temps.I run 1 12" register with 12" fan,3 4x 12 return vents,but house is square,3 floors,stove in basement.You can also get newer through the wall fans that are nice,would help.Check your codes and insurance company before doing anything.Also consider one of the newer stoves that you can hook up 2 smaller ductworks to,made for installs like this.
 
do not think you will ever have even heat in that situation.you will have a very hot front room unless registers and fans are used,For no fans you need much larger holes,but with open stairs do not see how you will get much heat to other end of house short of high temps.I run 1 12" register with 12" fan,3 4x 12 return vents,but house is square,3 floors,stove in basement.You can also get newer through the wall fans that are nice,would help.Check your codes and insurance company before doing anything.Also consider one of the newer stoves that you can hook up 2 smaller ductworks to,made for installs like this.
worst possible scenario, what do you suppose the heat will get up to in the upstairs without floor registers? or even with floor registers?
 
You'll never get the heat to make a right turn and go up those stairs.
I wouldn't bet on that. Mine has to make 2 right turns and my upstairs is warm. I think it depends on a lot of factors. I don't use any fans to direct anything just naturally rises up.
 
There's kinda no way of knowing til you try it out. Fans will help. A small fan in the upper doorway to the stairs blowing up, and another maybe near the doorway from the kitchen blowing back towards the stove may work wonders. You gotta experiment. Your goal is to assist the natural convection current between the floors. You can just as easily screw it up with poor fan placement. Maybe if you don't do anything, you'll find it works for you.

In my colonial, areas near the stove range from 72-77, depending on what the stove is doing. Areas away from the stove stay between 71-74. Upstairs reliably stays 69-70. While the temp swings near the stove are very noticeable, it's never uncomfortable, but maybe that's just me.

Unless you get extremely lucky, or take steps to improve airflow, a pellet stove will never give an average house "even" heat. It's a SINGLE heat source. You gotta think realistically.
 
There's kinda no way of knowing til you try it out. Fans will help. A small fan in the upper doorway to the stairs blowing up, and another maybe near the doorway from the kitchen blowing back towards the stove may work wonders. You gotta experiment. Your goal is to assist the natural convection current between the floors. You can just as easily screw it up with poor fan placement. Maybe if you don't do anything, you'll find it works for you.

In my colonial, areas near the stove range from 72-77, depending on what the stove is doing. Areas away from the stove stay between 71-74. Upstairs reliably stays 69-70. While the temp swings near the stove are very noticeable, it's never uncomfortable, but maybe that's just me.

Unless you get extremely lucky, or take steps to improve airflow, a pellet stove will never give an average house "even" heat. It's a SINGLE heat source. You gotta think realistically.
i;m thinking if i put it in the corner and have it blowing on an angle through the opening to the kitchen towards the stairwell and also cutting a vent into the wall with a little fan blowing right up the stairwell will work,..
 
i also keep reading that in order for heat to rise it needs to be forced down, im wondering since i have 2 big ceiling fans in both my living room and kitchen, if i reverse the setting to pull warm air with vents will that help aid the heat to rise or should it be the opposite "normal" setting for summer where it pushes air down?
 
Like I said before, it's mostly trial and error. Sometimes things you think will work, won't.
In my stairway, I experimented with several different fans and placement of said fans. Most configurations caused a nasty air dam which absolutely killed the natural convection current.

While stove placement is important, don't focus on speculating the fine tuning. Place it where it's gonna work/look best in the room it's going in. Between the windows will look and work great, IMO. Start from there, and once it's installed, then you can worry about finding out what works best. The saying "form follows function" is generally a very good rule to follow, but in this case, I don't think it's the best train of thought. It's not like you're putting it in the basement, or firing it backwards into a closet. In those, or similar, situations, it's clear there is a better option. What you have planned will be highly workable.

While it's excellent, and necessary, to weigh all your options, and plan carefully, try not to get ahead if yourself or over think things.

When you figure out what stove you like, get it installed, run it, and see how she does. Always remember, it's a giant space heater.
 
Like I said before, it's mostly trial and error. Sometimes things you think will work, won't.
In my stairway, I experimented with several different fans and placement of said fans. Most configurations caused a nasty air dam which absolutely killed the natural convection current.

While stove placement is important, don't focus on speculating the fine tuning. Place it where it's gonna work/look best in the room it's going in. Between the windows will look and work great, IMO. Start from there, and once it's installed, then you can worry about finding out what works best. The saying "form follows function" is generally a very good rule to follow, but in this case, I don't think it's the best train of thought. It's not like you're putting it in the basement, or firing it backwards into a closet. In those, or similar, situations, it's clear there is a better option. What you have planned will be highly workable.

While it's excellent, and necessary, to weigh all your options, and plan carefully, try not to get ahead if yourself or over think things.

When you figure out what stove you like, get it installed, run it, and see how she does. Always remember, it's a giant space heater.
thank you! im getting the harman p43 this spring and hopefully 3 ton of pellets, and after the winter im having i cant believe im saying this but i think ill be ready to snuggle up next to the harman :)
 
Don't snuggle too close, the P series bite!

Getting back to the ceiling fan question you had. Ceiling fans can work well, particularly in rooms with cathedral/vaulted ceilings. Pushing air down, or up, against the ceiling may not be the best idea in your situation, being that the source of your heat will be at one end of your house, and the "target" area will be at the opposite end. You want a lot of horizontal airflow, and you want to keep it as laminar as possible. Ceiling fans could very likely disturb that flow.
 
Don't snuggle too close, the P series bite!

Getting back to the ceiling fan question you had. Ceiling fans can work well, particularly in rooms with cathedral/vaulted ceilings. Pushing air down, or up, against the ceiling may not be the best idea in your situation, being that the source of your heat will be at one end of your house, and the "target" area will be at the opposite end. You want a lot of horizontal airflow, and you want to keep it as laminar as possible. Ceiling fans could very likely disturb that flow.
im worried with my son being born in a few days the p series will be a bad choice but i like the fact they radiate the heat and is a cheaper option then the xxv or advanced
 
Also, do yourself a favor and look at a P series burning in person. They're not the quietest stove, but it is a white noise that tends to disappear. You'll notice it most when it's shut down for a cleaning. It's something to seriously consider.
 
im worried with my son being born in a few days the p series will be a bad choice but i like the fact they radiate the heat and is a cheaper option then the xxv or advanced

How bout the Accentra, not cheap but less than the XXV. Whatever you get, the safety of your boy will obviously be paramount. There are gate systems available that look quite nice. You may find a few pics if you search this, or the wood stove, forum.

The sides and front of the P series get extremely hot.
 
How bout the Accentra, not cheap but less than the XXV. Whatever you get, the safety of your boy will obviously be paramount. There are gate systems available that look quite nice. You may find a few pics if you search this, or the wood stove, forum.

The sides and front of the P series get extremely hot.
i have seen the p series in action, they had the xxv and advanced there along with the accenture in a weird porcelain type finish, but they werent turned on, i really liked the xxv and my girlfriend liked the advanced for the viewing angles but the p43 gives off radiant heat and is a good bit cheaper. originally i wanted the p68 but after feeling the heat it gave off at 75 degrees i wasnt trying to heat the whole block so i decided on the p43 because the 38 doesnt self ignite, but i still would like to get the xxv for its look but i feel the 43 is a better option and i would def be getting a fireplace gate for around the stove
 
The sides and front of the P series get extremely hot.

So does the top! Don't make the mistake I made of thinking the top of the P series was like the top of the Accentra (which is not even warm). Ultimately, as others have said, you can get a gate to put around your stove. I have a two and a half year old daughter, and she has never got within even four feet of the stove. She's never alone in our family room, and we have made it VERY clear to her that the stove is very hot, and she is not to go near it. Our son (now almost 8) never went near it when he was that age either.
 
So does the top! Don't make the mistake I made of thinking the top of the P series was like the top of the Accentra (which is not even warm). Ultimately, as others have said, you can get a gate to put around your stove. I have a two and a half year old daughter, and she has never got within even four feet of the stove. She's never alone in our family room, and we have made it VERY clear to her that the stove is very hot, and she is not to go near it. Our son (now almost 8) never went near it when he was that age either.

Oh, I agree. My comment was more based on what a baby would likely have access too while he's crawling around exploring things. Last night I took a temp reading of the top after the stove was running full tilt for a good 2 hours, recovering from an intentional hopper draining. The top was 461F

Like you, I had great success teaching my daughter the word HOT and that the stove was one of those things. Still, I'll leave my decorative vases on the sides and FP screen in the front for many more years, not only for protection, but I think it looks good too.

Was that you that was asking about heat shields a couple months ago?
 
Oh, I agree. My comment was more based on what a baby would likely have access too while he's crawling around exploring things. Last night I took a temp reading of the top after the stove was running full tilt for a good 2 hours, recovering from an intentional hopper draining. The top was 461F

Like you, I had great success teaching my daughter the word HOT and that the stove was one of those things. Still, I'll leave my decorative vases on the sides and FP screen in the front for many more years, not only for protection, but I think it looks good too.

Was that you that was asking about heat shields a couple months ago?
nope, just joined this site yesterday lol
 
Yep, I checked it out. I gotta assume leff13 is gonna keep the doors open. That's kind of mandatory with any space heater.
Okay, I defer to those with actual experience! Sounds like this should work.
 
i also keep reading that in order for heat to rise it needs to be forced down, im wondering since i have 2 big ceiling fans in both my living room and kitchen, if i reverse the setting to pull warm air with vents will that help aid the heat to rise or should it be the opposite "normal" setting for summer where it pushes air down?
Generally, it's recommended to reverse fans in winter, the point being to setup the convection current. It'll normalize the temp within the room the fan is in. Without fans, I find the heat actually rises to the ceiling, which might actually help heat the upstairs with registers. Obviously, this is only something that you can determine when you do whatever you plan to do.
 
i;m thinking if i put it in the corner and have it blowing on an angle through the opening to the kitchen towards the stairwell and also cutting a vent into the wall with a little fan blowing right up the stairwell will work,..

I saw your earlier post including the PDF, and I'm surprised the builder put the stairway door in the kitchen. I was expecting it in the living room, giving you much more usable space in the kitchen. But I like your setup, I'm a fan of smaller living spaces and everyone needs a place to start out (and end in, although those stairs wouldn't work for me).

I like your stove location between the windows (watch the vent code distances). Stove blower will move air toward kitchen door, and big room will be toasty. Kitchens usually heat themselves from cooking :). I would cut a 1sqft vent opening in the wall separating the living room and the stairwell. Put it high on the wall so it is not blocked by the open stair well door. You could add a fan into this opening to help move the heated living room air up the stairs. If you are really krafty you can control this fan with a linevoltage thermostat mounted in the upstairs hallway, between the bedrooms.

I would forego the registers in the ceiling feeding any bedrooms. It permits too much noise and compromises privacy, it also is a safety issue because smoke could easily pass into a sleeping area. Don't forget to add interconnected smoke and CO2 alarms in the living room and upstairs hallway, so you are woken before anything can get out of control.

Lastly, and the original reason for your post, your space does not call for a large stove 50-60 Kbtu. You can pick up a 35-45 unit and run it manual at low to medium all day long. That's about 1.5 to 2.5 lb/hr pellet feed rate, or a continuous heat output of about 9K to 15Kbtu. Anything more and you won't be able to sit in your living room.

If you do a quick calc on the amount of BTU's your oil boiler presently moves into your home (140 kbtu/gallon times about 0.8 efficency times the number of gallons over the number of days). You can look at your summer usage to approximate the DHW portion, and subtract that out. I think you'll find that a space heater running at 9-15kbtu/hr will significantly cut your oil usage. And your GF will be much happier in a warm home (I know of which I speak ::-), they are all the same on that issue).

Good luck.
 
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