Stove downstairs or Fireplace insert upstairs?

Kosmonauts · Feb 28, 2016

I've been posting on here quite a bit so I apologize for any bother! First off, my downstairs gets super cold because there isn't any blowers going down there from my gas furnace. However, I have been looking at stoves to put one down there (it is a finished basement) to help heat downstairs and the floors upstairs. I do have an existing fireplace and chimney and the thought of a fireplace insert upstairs has crossed my mind. I don't think that will help with the downstairs being so cold though if I do put a insert upstairs. Since hot air does rise and my floors are always freezing because the downstairs is so cold, I do think that a stove downstairs may be the best option. I did have another post about the chimney and it shouldn't be a problem. Also if it is a stove I end up going with, my house isn't that big but does have only the finished basement with a furnace room and our upstairs which is the main living space. Any recommendations of any sorts of stoves or inserts would be greatly appreciated and thank you guys you all have helped me so much! Last year was my first year with the wood burning and I wouldn't have anyhwhere near as much knowledge as I have now because of these forums so thanks in advance !!!

Squisher · Feb 28, 2016

I'm about 1300sq/ft per level and heat my entire house from a basement stove. My stove is on an interior masonry chimney and in a open area at the bottom of the stairs. The interior wall of my stairwell is the interior chimney. The open area at the base of the stairs that the stove is in is really hot but all the other rooms in the basement stay comfortable. As well I easily can keep my entire main floor in the 75degree range.

So an basement stove works super well for me with my setup. Generally I run no fans whatsoever and still maintain a quite even heat throughout the house. Bedrooms are kept slightly cooler than living areas by simply closing the doors. I also have an open fireplace upstairs where I could put an insert in but I don't really see the need so I keep it as an open fire that we can enjoy occasionally.

Forgot to add fully finished/insulated basement.

Squisher · Feb 28, 2016

Also worth considering is if the power went out, especially with my setup with no fans, my house would be the same temps. I have little to no concern of power outages here. Simply rarely to never happens, never more than 2-3hrs in the last five years I've lived here.

But if outages are common or can happen for extended times in your area than this is another big plus of a stove.

begreen · Feb 28, 2016

Agreed. Power outages are frequent enough where we live that we will always have a wood stove.

Kosmonauts. Results with a basement stove vary a lot. Most often it means putting up with a hotter basement in order to have normal first floor temps. If the basement is used a lot, this is something to think about. How frequently do you use the finished basement?

The location of the stove and how heat convects upstairs will also make a big difference. Worst case scenario might be one with a stove at one end of the basement and the stairs on the opposite end. You are at least ahead of many if the basement walls are insulated. Where would the stove's flue vent to? Is there an existing chimney or will it need new?

Kosmonauts · Feb 28, 2016

Ok you guys thanks so much. The stove definetely sounds like the way to go! Plus I do want one anyways!

Squisher · Feb 28, 2016

I agree with Begreen as well. I've read of many basement setups on here that don't heat the whole home very effectively. My setup is quite ideal for heating the whole house from the basement. It's not by accident, it was a major consideration for me when house shopping. The layout of the house and an interior masonry chimney help me greatly in whole home heating from the basement.

My basement stairway which has no door just funnels heat upstairs to my open entranceway/living room/dining room. My stove is just around (to the interior side) of the bottom of the stairs. This stairway and the open area at the bottom that the stove is in is uncomfortably warm to hangout in but it's not an area we'd ever choose to be in unless you'd just come in from the cold. We use the rest of the basement quite a bit(two bedrooms, bathroom, and TV room) and these rooms are comfortable to use. As has been mentioned though results will vary depending on the home and layout. I can only assume that if the stove was in an actual basement room that that room would be basically unusable and that it would be a lot harder to move the heat around.

Kosmonauts · Feb 28, 2016

Squisher said:
I agree with Begreen as well. I've read of many basement setups on here that don't heat the whole home very effectively. My setup is quite ideal for heating the whole house from the basement. It's not by accident, it was a major consideration for me when house shopping. The layout of the house and an interior masonry chimney help me greatly in whole home heating from the basement.

My basement stairway which has no door just funnels heat upstairs to my open entranceway/living room/dining room. My stove is just around (to the interior side) of the bottom of the stairs. This stairway and the open area at the bottom that the stove is in is uncomfortably warm to hangout in but it's not an area we'd ever choose to be in unless you'd just come in from the cold. We use the rest of the basement quite a bit(two bedrooms, bathroom, and TV room) and these rooms are comfortable to use. As has been mentioned though results will vary depending on the home and layout. I can only assume that if the stove was in an actual basement room that that room would be basically unusable and that it would be a lot harder to move the heat around.

That actually that sounds very very similar to mine so that's a plus! Not a very big house also so I'm not to worried about it after reading these posts! Thanks so much you guys

begreen · Feb 28, 2016

Whatever the choice start stocking up on wood now. Oak and hickory take a couple years to season. If you can get some ash stacked now for the fall that may be your best bet.

Kosmonauts · Feb 28, 2016

begreen said:
Whatever the choice start stocking up on wood now. Oak and hickory take a couple years to season. If you can get some ash stacked now for the fall that may be your best bet.

Haha! I just so happen to have about a half cord of ash and cherry sitting since December an just stacked up some 25% locust.

begreen · Feb 28, 2016

Good start, keep at it. See if you can find some standing dead wood too.

Kosmonauts · Feb 28, 2016

Also have a big black locust and a nice sized cherry and another white ash to bring down as soon as my new saw gets here thanks so much you Guys are the best!

Kosmonauts · Feb 28, 2016

begreen said:
Good start, keep at it. See if you can find some standing dead wood too.

I found two big black locusts that were fallen and suspended off the ground. When split they tested around 16%. Not sure if that's ok to burn or if it's just a gift from the forest!!

begreen · Feb 28, 2016

Manna from heaven if testing on the freshly exposed face of the wood.

Kosmonauts · Feb 28, 2016

begreen said:
Manna from heaven if testing on the freshly exposed face of the wood.

Haha yes indeed!

LowbanksArcher · Mar 2, 2016

Squisher said:
I agree with Begreen as well. I've read of many basement setups on here that don't heat the whole home very effectively. My setup is quite ideal for heating the whole house from the basement. It's not by accident, it was a major consideration for me when house shopping. The layout of the house and an interior masonry chimney help me greatly in whole home heating from the basement.

My basement stairway which has no door just funnels heat upstairs to my open entranceway/living room/dining room. My stove is just around (to the interior side) of the bottom of the stairs. This stairway and the open area at the bottom that the stove is in is uncomfortably warm to hangout in but it's not an area we'd ever choose to be in unless you'd just come in from the cold. We use the rest of the basement quite a bit(two bedrooms, bathroom, and TV room) and these rooms are comfortable to use. As has been mentioned though results will vary depending on the home and layout. I can only assume that if the stove was in an actual basement room that that room would be basically unusable and that it would be a lot harder to move the heat around.

Do you have any registers cut into your upstairs rooms? Someone recently told me that they had added heat registers in the bedroom closets to allow basement heat up into the rooms. Seems like a good idea to me

begreen · Mar 2, 2016

LowbanksArcher said:
Do you have any registers cut into your upstairs rooms? Someone recently told me that they had added heat registers in the bedroom closets to allow basement heat up into the rooms. Seems like a good idea to me

This really depends on the house, stove location, stairwell location, etc.. In SOME cases, well placed and sized openings can assist convection. But one needs to understand the convective flow first. Often registers should go on the perimeter wall to allow cooler upstairs air to descend into the basement to be warmed up by the stove and sent up the stairwell. But this is not always possible due to the aforementioned variables. Regardless, registers between floors often require protection via a fusible-link damper.

Squisher · Mar 2, 2016

LowbanksArcher said:
Do you have any registers cut into your upstairs rooms? Someone recently told me that they had added heat registers in the bedroom closets to allow basement heat up into the rooms. Seems like a good idea to me

I have nothing extra done. If it gets really cold I break out a floor fan but in normal winter temps(around freezing) I just run the stove.

My old house had a register cut in the floor above the stove and standing on that register with the stove cooking was fantastic.

Seanm · Mar 2, 2016

@Squisher has the same kind of layout as I do but has the larger version of my stove. Ive read so many people say that you should put the stove where you spend most of your time and for us thats in the rec room down stairs not to mention wanting to warm the bedrooms, office etc down there. My daughter complains our basement is colder in the summer than when its -25c outside in the winter! I dont think I would like to have an insert in my fireplace location upstairs and how to get the heat downstairs? I can have the middle of my basement 26c and my kitchen at 22.5c and to me thats perfect. I wont repeat all the good advice above but will mention that you want to be cautious about going for a stove size that the manufacturer suggests as many find they should have gone bigger.

weatherguy · Mar 2, 2016

I agree with your daughter seanm, I'm colder in the spring in my basement office than I am all winter.

Kosmonauts · Mar 3, 2016

I have two spots that I could put a stove...this isn't really to heat my entire home and upstairs...but I'm most certainly going to try to do as much damage as possible when placing the stove. I'm sure if I get a little bit larger of a stove, with proper placement I will feel it in my bedroom above at night. Also I do work in the finished basement a lot and it's always freezing so that's what's motivating me to put one down there first. And then maybe later one upstairs.

Kosmonauts · Mar 3, 2016

The idea of pellets were tossed around...I honestly prefer wood but my wife likes the convience and easier install of the pellets, especially with having to come out of the basement with a chimney.

LowbanksArcher · Mar 3, 2016

Kosmonauts said:
I have two spots that I could put a stove...this isn't really to heat my entire home and upstairs...but I'm most certainly going to try to do as much damage as possible when placing the stove. I'm sure if I get a little bit larger of a stove, with proper placement I will feel it in my bedroom above at night. Also I do work in the finished basement a lot and it's always freezing so that's what's motivating me to put one down there first. And then maybe later one upstairs.

I recently put a PE Summit Classic stove in my basement. (unfinished & un-insulated, since basement was only poured 3 months ago). It's absolutely fantastic having such a warm and dry basement. I can only imagine how much better it will be once we get it insulated.

KB007 · Mar 3, 2016

We have a stove downstairs and an insert in our LR. I run the insert 24X7 and haven't used the stove for over a year. My basement maintains approx 10C all winter, unless it's below -30C then it drops to 7. House is ~1800sgft upstairs and same for the basement. I don't use the basement much - it's finished and insulated, but still very open.

When we were running the stove downstairs, it was OK - upstairs would get to mid 70s, bedrooms a little cooler in the east wing of the house

I truly love the insert in the LR. Keeps the LR high 70s to mid 80s and the rest of the upstairs around 75. Basement still chugs along at 10-12C. If I have to work in the basement (I reload down there) I turn on a little ceramic heater while I'm down there. I hated lugging wood downstairs - that gets old real fast. Also hate going down to re-load the stove, then having to keep going back down to check on it and turn down. Now, my wood is closer and a lot easier to get to the insert and I'm upstairs anyways so checking on the insert is a lot easier.

Squisher · Mar 3, 2016

I will say having remote temp monitoring is really, really nice with a basement setup.

Kosmonauts · Mar 4, 2016

Squisher said:
I will say having remote temp monitoring is really, really nice with a basement setup.

That's why I have been considering the pellets for the basement and then perhaps a nice wood stove insert upstairs...what ya think?

Stove downstairs or Fireplace insert upstairs?

Stove or insert?

insert

STOVE!

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