big basement stove

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tjcole50

Minister of Fire
Oct 5, 2013
509
Ohio
Since I have an existing flue in my basement that is centrally located and 15 ft from an open stairway I have decided to line and add a stove. I would like a 4 cu ft firebox and a cat for longer times. I use an nc30 in my living room upstairs but we want to add a heater that would take over 90% of the time down there. Problem is I have a smaller terra cotta liner now which I think is 7x11. I know most big stoves require a 8" liner. I really want a bk king down there. Ia it a big project to knock out existing clay liner? Or should I just stick to 6" un insulated liner and throw another nc30 down there? Any other stoves that have a 4 cu ft fire box that use 6" liners? I know insulated is much better on my exterior brick chimney but I know it will not fit as it sits. I figure ss liner bare + clay will work fine as long as I monitor
 
Woodstock Ideal Steel is about the largest cat stove that only needs a 6" liner.

Is the basement insulated? If not expect to see at least a 50% rise in your wood consumption. And I would be cautious with the assumption that warm air will automatically rise up the stairwell and heat the upstairs. We had enough members here that could not get their basement stoves to work that way. Maybe a wood furnace would be a possible option?
 
I have a ceiling fan blowing down on my stairs and it pushes the cold air down and he warm air replaces it, works well, you can also try a fan pointed down the stairs if you find not enough heat comes upstairs. I'd ask one of the installers on here if knocking out the clay liner is a big deal, maybe with the right tool it's not that bad.
 
I have 3/4 finished basement to wide open stairway close by. Dead center of house. Walls are 6mil vs queen Styrofoam backing and drywall on top. Tile floor. I have thought about add on furnace. But I have a perfectly good chimney that is center of the house. An add on would require coring a hole in foundation and a differect layout of wood storage. I keep going back n forth here. Nc30 in living room fireplace does a great job. But the wife would like one in the basement to keep the living room cleaner. Was thinking basement could pull the Wright 95% of time. Ceiling is also drywall I forgot to add.
ideal steel is smaller than the nc30? Is over twice the price justified?
 
.... Problem is I have a smaller terra cotta liner now which I think is 7x11. I know most big stoves require a 8" liner. I really want a bk king down there. Ia it a big project to knock out existing clay liner? Or should I just stick to 6" un insulated liner and throw another nc30 down there? Any other stoves that have a 4 cu ft fire box that use 6" liners? I know insulated is much better on my exterior brick chimney but I know it will not fit as it sits. I figure ss liner bare + clay will work fine as long as I monitor

How tall is the basement chimney?

Is that a 7x11 INSIDE measurement? If so, you could always consider insulating with a 1/4" blanket instead of a 1/2". It would not be as ideal as a half inch, but certainly better than nothing.

Also, you could (though I would not do it) ovalize the liner to fit. :(

And another option for insulating (better than nothing) would be to use the masonry/vermiculite pour in product. It would at least insulate the voids on the 11" sides of the clay.(and a little around the 7" sides)
 
How about this. Planning on a cheap log wood stove from tsc for garage heat. I could just run a short section of pipe through existing thimble and try out the log wood down there... if it is successful in heating the house i could pUT a real stove down there and do the full liner. That cheap log wood and short run of pipe would be very very limited time use just to see the effectiveness. Decent idea?
if it fails I will go the furnace route later on
 
I just lined my brothers chimney last weekend. 7x11 clay that was damaged in a fire. I picked up a 6" heavy wall liner and had it ovalized. Unfortunately once I wrapped it in insulation it was too tight a fit, and I had to snap out the clay. If you are set up properly, it is not too bad, just plan on the inevitable clog.
 
How about this. Planning on a cheap log wood stove from tsc for garage heat. I could just run a short section of pipe through existing thimble and try out the log wood down there... if it is successful in heating the house i could pUT a real stove down there and do the full liner. That cheap log wood and short run of pipe would be very very limited time use just to see the effectiveness. Decent idea?
if it fails I will go the furnace route later on
That's exactly what I am in the process of doing. I have a 20ft exterior chimney with a 8'' Terra cotta flue that leads to my basement,and like you my stairs are center of basement. I am putting in a cheep stove just to experiment wih how well it will help heat upstairs. I am going to run a piece of single wall pipe through the existing thimble. Not looking at keeping this stove but just test the waters with it.
 
You can use a wood furnace on that chimney just as well as a stove. You don't have to hook up ducting , just use it as a big stove. Cheap, big firebox, but no cat. Look at the drolet furnace.

Unless your existing chimney has failed there is no rule that says you must line or insulate the liner.
 
Right... at the minimum I would do a 6" liner and a through wall kit. I have no clean out access so hope I can just jam my soot eater down n use a vacuum the bottom of the T come time for my yearly cleaning. I also debated the furnace idea. I thought about making it Wye out the top and have 2 6" ducts run along the ceiling of basement and dump at each end of the house stove seems like it would do the same as the furnace tho really with the way my basement is finished. Stove = cheaper easier and would work like a champ with no electricity
 
Some wood furnaces require some ducting or they will void the warranty if the furnace is not tied to ducts. They rely on static pressure in the system to keep the blower from spinning too fast and the proper balanced airflow for safety controls to work correctly.

The other caveat with a furnace is power outages. You want this system to be safe, especially if there is a full, fresh load of wood in it when the power goes out. Be sure supply ducts are not too close to wood for at least the first 10 ft or more of the run.

This is not to discourage the installation of a furnace, just be mindful that there are specific needs for them. The Drolet Tundra provides decent value in this market.
 
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Really wish I could make bk king work on my existing clay. The clay is in perfect shape and has never been used. Feels wrong to break it out. Maybe I should stick with what works my nc30 is a heating beast upstairs and I have to say it deffenitly delivered on its bang for the buck reputation. Long burns big box and Belches heat when at cruising temp. Plop one in the basement to cut down on our mess upstairs
 
The King might work fine on that chimney if it is within required specs. The caveat being safety. Does the chimney have the required 2" clearance from wood and combustibles all the way up? The other thing that would need watching is creosote build up. The big BK will be running cooler flue gases at times, that will further cool down via the masonry. This can cause creosote accumulations, especially if the wood is not ideal. To prevent problems, cleaning after each cord is burned is advisable.
 
I emailed blaze king they basically said NO!... lol they say people try and fail everytime to get the king to work on 6". It will be an almost 30 ft run. The clearance may need some work it is a terra cotta thimble straight into masonry chimney into clay flue. Drywall is butted up to clay thimble. I bet 6" liner would have 2" minimum tho. The thimble is 1" thick. Nc30 being favorered more n more. Sugh a simple straight forward stove that flay out works. Also one of the best customer services I have ever had the pleasure of taking with
 
I was responding to your mentioning using the 7x11 flue, not with the 6" liner. Sounds like you are set now with the 30NC. It will get the job done.
 
Still up to more suggestions or ideas as well. How does a buck 91 compare to the nc30? I think I remember reading a search result some time ago that someone ran one on 6"liner and she worked
 
Why not put the 30NC downstairs and put something smaller, nicer looking upstairs if it is just for supplemental heat, ambiance then?
 
Cause that nc30 looks gooD 1/2 way in our fireplace, heats great, and has a huge window for ambience.
 
What the heck? Put in another nc30. You like the stove, thecompany, and you know what you're getting for not much money. Give it a shot.
 
+1
 
Just wondered on some other ideas/opinions maybe on a comparable stove liner limitations etc etc.
 
6" rigid oval Duraliner will drop right down your existing 7x11 flue without modifying the tiles, plus it is rated 0"/0" to combustibles in a masonry chimney so if your chimney doesn't have the required space to combustibles it is to code and more importantly safe. Then just put another 30 or any other 6" stove of your choosing. I have pretty much the same setup that your looking to do, center chimney, lined with the oval liner, and an nc30, works quite well.

http://www.duravent.com/Product.aspx?hProduct=6
 
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