Pellet Stove install in a basement

lippy123 said:

Hi - I just bought a Osburn Hybrid 45. Should be delivered next week. Has anyone set one up in a basement. If so could you tell me how to setup threw a window. I bought the pipe kit from Aubuchon Hardware store. Any help would be appreciated.

Also the window is 30" wide and 16" in height. It has a metal piece in the middle so I was thinking of removing one of the pieces of glass, but if I have to I can use the whole window to vent out. The basement is below ground. From the outside the window is 24" up from the ground, so that should be OK. The window is build into the foundation. I can take pictures and post them if needed.

Thanks for the help.

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It might be a good idea to check with your town first to see if putting the vent through that window would even
pass inspection. This would not pass inspection in our town at all.
The vent setup has limitations on how close it can be to windows and doors and that window counts.
The manual should also show the clearance limitations on how close to the ground the vent can be.
Hope this helps some.

I had a similar question. Not a basement install but one where there are windows close by. If the pipe comes out and goes up several feet past the top of the windows before it terminates wouldn't that be safe? I could be wrong but I think that if the window in question doesn't open it's exempt from the rules, right?

Peggy

tinkabranc offers some good advice. The manual will show the requirements
and installations recommended for that particular stove.

Often what seems the easiest route is not the best, whether it be just looks or more importantly safety and building codes. Punching through a wall is not tough, even a concrete foundation is doable. We have our stove installed in the basement, vented it with the Selkirk 'tube in a tube' so there is only one hole (oak and exhaust in one pipe) out through the wall above the foundation. Up 4 foot, out 2 foot, and the vent looks like a regular wood stove vent because it is around 6 inch in diameter. As as far as what is good and bad, go by your manual for starters and local code beyond that like tink said. By the way, even though our stove is in the basement, it does heat our entire tuck under garage split level, it's 74 in here right now and it's below 20 outside, burning corn full time on medium today. It is doable, but I would consider our layout atypical and not the norm to heat from the basement. Oh, and the basement is underwear temp right now, not a bad thing either I guess.

Im in the middle of instaling my stove in the basement. I rented a hammer drill and bored a hole through the concrete for the vent.it was 40.00 from the rental company and well worth it.I guess if done properly you could vent through a window and still have it up to code, but it renders the window is non operable, and the money you spend on renting a drill of this type will probably be close to the money you spend on buying material to close up the window properly, and makes a much cleaner looking install.Ive seen alot of posts about basement installs, I just didnt have room on the main floor for the stove so the basement was my only option.

Our stove is also in our basement which is below grade, but it does not go out a window.
We ended going 5' up the wall and then 3' feet out through the foundation.
Drilling a hole through the foundation was easier than we originally thought.

The inspector measured everything according to the specs in our user manual to
make sure we were not too close to "any" windows and that the vent was high enough off the ground.

Our stove does a great job heating our basement, office and most of the first floor.

Depending on your local inspector it might pass code if the window (glass is removed) and either a sheetmetal plate or drywall/siding is installed and then a properly sized hole cut in the drywall/siding and or sheetmetal. We did several installations like this in our area and they passed code.

Since you have an all concrete foundation sheetmetal method will be the easier than drywall, however I must ask why you would want to give up a window in a basement if your 24" above grade? Is this the only place you can put the stove? If you have wall space available I would go through the concrete with a core drill. There is a contractor we used to work with that would drill any hole for $150.00. As for the size of the hole measure your wall thimble sleeve. You could just go with a little larger diameter than the pipe itself but that leaves no air circulatoin around the pipe and little room for height/rise adjustment.

lippy123 said:

How big of a hole did you have to make. I'm using a 3" pipe.

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I used a 4" hilti bit, the od of the pipe is 3 11/16", they had 3" 3 1/2" so 4" was the closest I could get.I hope to finish it this weekend, and once the vent is lined up properly im going to fill in the small gap with cement.
I called my code enforcement officer and asked about a permit for the install, his exact words were "you need some type of flu or vent". hes not very bright, so ill call the fire dept next and ask them for a inspection.

lippy123 said:

Moderator - I have 4 windows in the basement. The only other place is in between the 2 windows then I will have to block both off because they will be within 4' of either side. I can have my brother in-law build a wall and block off the one window using the thimble I have from the kit I bought at Aubuchon's hardware. Hopefully this will pass inspection. I will talk to inspector tomorrow.

One other question - I will need to run about a 5' length of straight pipe up to the window. Do you think it will be alright if the pipe is at a 20-25 degree angle or does it have to go straight up?

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Double check your manufactures specs. On harman's if you use the outside air kit clearance to windows can be reduced from 48" to 18"

Okay, I'll admit it..I just don't get this proximity to a window thing. I completely understand why the rule is there for appliances that run year round, like water heaters and plumbing vents, but what's the deal with windows and solid fuel heating appliances? What kind of nimrod fires up his pellet stove and then decides to open the window next to it to let in the cold?!? This just seems counter intuitive to me. What am I missing?

Peggy

remember that person who sued McDonalds because they burnt there mouth on hot coffee? he won the suite because the coffee didnt say "WARNING HOT BEVERAGE" Guess somewhere someone fired up a stove in mid august with windows wide open got dizzy and won a law suite.Like forest says.. "stupid is as stupid does"

Yeah, lol you are probably right! The unfortunate thing about rules written to save the lives of idiots is that the rest of up have to abide by them as well. :roll:

Peggy

When I had my Europa 75 installed in the basement, I had the basement windows replaced with glass block. Even in the summer I could already tell the difference. The old windows were really leaky. When I ordered the glass block install, (from Medina Glass Block) I had them cut a 4 inch dryer vent in the one where the stove would be.

This year, glass block installed, Europa 75 pellet stove and a a new kitchen stove. The gas company is going to be wanting to inspect this place when the bills start showing up! 8)

Jerry

I'm interested in the original post to this thread. I want to install my pellet stove (Whitfield Quest) in the basement. I'd rather go through an existing basement window than drill through the sandstone foundation (I know how easy it is, but for various I don't want to do it).

The window is 34" x 20". I'd like to glass block it and run the pipe through it. I'm having a hard time deciding how to design the glass block. I can add a shim on one side and have a 32" x 20" opening. Then run a bottom course of 8x8 block, middle course of 4 8x4's longways, and top course of 8x8. Leave out one of the 8x8's on the top course and put my thimble in that hole (3" pipe, thimble needs 7.5" hole).

If I use one of the blocks in the top course of blocks for the "hole block" (which I need to so that I can get at least 12" ground clearance outside), then the top, inside, nailing flange of the thimble won't let me put the round part of the thimble all the way up the top of the sill. Can I bend that nailing flange out of the way so the thimble fits nicely in that top course of glass block and right up against the top sill?

Does anyone have a picture of pellet vent going through glass block in a window?

Just being the devil's advocate but...why does the stove need to be in the basement? Is it liveable space? Best advice someone on here gave me is to not waste time heating a space we don't live in. We installed a pellet stove in the basement...only to move it upstairs and install it there. Though it kept the basement nice and toasty, it wasn't doing much for the rest of the house without lots of vents, fans, etc and isn't the point of a pellet stove LOW MAINTENANCE? Just another angle to think about....

Fire Goddess said:

Just being the devil's advocate but...why does the stove need to be in the basement? Is it liveable space? Best advice someone on here gave me is to not waste time heating a space we don't live in. We installed a pellet stove in the basement...only to move it upstairs and install it there. Though it kept the basement nice and toasty, it wasn't doing much for the rest of the house without lots of vents, fans, etc and isn't the point of a pellet stove LOW MAINTENANCE? Just another angle to think about....

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I put mine in the basement to keep pipes from freezing, if the grid goes down in the winter. So far, I see no major drawback. My gas records show a major drop in gas use. It ain't making any rooms upstairs toasty warm, but we can get by this way.

Jerry

Murah, save yourself some grief and have the glass block installed. Have them cut a vent into a block and use that. I did this and it worked out well. 4 inch dryer vent was what I ordered.

Jerry

I wouldn't recommend installing the thimble as you described. Another option would be to replace the glass with Lexan and simply cut a hole for the thimble.

As has already been said, unless you have a specific reason for wanting to heat the basement I wouldn't install the stove there. The heat just isn't likely to move up to the living area but you might have warmer floors.

lippy123...about the angle, I don't think you are supposed to do that, however, mine is at an angle because of the same problem you described, and I can tell you that my stove draws great..

as far as heating the basement, what if you put a few heat registers in, that wasn't attached to the duct work, you could put one or so in a room and open and close as needed, it would kind of work like the old floor furnaces used too, wouldn't it?

pegdot said:

As has already been said, unless you have a specific reason for wanting to heat the basement I wouldn't install the stove there. The heat just isn't likely to move up to the living area but you might have warmer floors.

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My gas bill will prove you absolutely wrong.

Don't get me wrong, it could be better and the whole house more comfortable, but bottom line, HEAT RISES! Add in turning on the furnace fan to circulate the heat does make it somewhat better and adds in the benefit of my HEPA filter equipped system. My ducting is less than properly designed. Improvements there would add to the possibilities.

Jerry

This year, glass block installed, Europa 75 pellet stove and a a new kitchen stove. The gas company is going to be wanting to inspect this place when the bills start showing up! 8)

Jerry[/quote]

My gas company came out about two weeks ago came in the house inspected everything then left. If my bill goes up I will be suspicious.

Heating with wood is great