Advice Needed - Input Please

[SRMobile]

First time poster


I live in a new 1280sq foot town house. I've been looking at pellet stoves for a little while and have been getting conflicting information. I'm trying to move away from electrical heat and towards something more cost efficient; that being said:

I have a pretty much open concept floor plan. My idea was to place a pellet stove in my semi-finished basement.(Semi meaning the walls are insolated and gyped but the floor is concrete. ) If I place a pellet stove in the center of the basement, will this be enough to heat my main floor and my partial bedroom area ?

The floor plan is as such:

Basement: 16f x 40f = 640f
Main floor: 16f x 40f = 640f
2nd floor: 16f x 40f = 640f

When you walk in from the front door, the stairs head up; underneath the same stairs, the other set heads down into the basement.

Will a pellet stove in the basement be enough to heat the main floor from the basement; without cutting holes ect in the floor ?

All input is appreciated,

SR

 

[branchburner]

You might want to post this in the "Pellet Mill" forum as well - mostly wood stove guys around here. That being the case, my advice is forget about the pellet stove and the basement - put a wood stove on the main floor!

 

[Bigg_Redd]

First time poster


I live in a new 1280sq foot town house. I've been looking at pellet stoves for a little while and have been getting conflicting information. I'm trying to move away from electrical heat and towards something more cost efficient; that being said:

I have a pretty much open concept floor plan. My idea was to place a pellet stove in my semi-finished basement.(Semi meaning the walls are insolated and gyped but the floor is concrete. ) If I place a pellet stove in the center of the basement, will this be enough to heat my main floor and my partial bedroom area ?

The floor plan is as such:

Basement: 16f x 40f = 640f
Main floor: 16f x 40f = 640f
2nd floor: 16f x 40f = 640f

When you walk in from the front door, the stairs head up; underneath the same stairs, the other set heads down into the basement.

Will a pellet stove in the basement be enough to heat the main floor from the basement; without cutting holes ect in the floor ?

All input is appreciated,

SR

If you're going to burn pellets you might as well burn propane or NG.

My advice: burn wood.

 

[SolarAndWood]

My advice: burn wood.

+1, but largely everyone here is biased towards wood. If you are set on heating from the basement, I would consider a bigger stove and one that can move some air. Also, if you have a forced air furnace, I would consider an add on wood furnace if you are just looking for even heat. Welcome to the forum.

 

[ccwhite]

+1 on burning wood. I would not go with a stove. I would recommend a wood furnace. It will tie directly into your existing duct work and distribute the heat evenly throughout the house. This is the way I've heated for many years. Last season I changed out my old wood furnace for a new Woodchuck furnace. http://www.usagnet.com/meyermfg/woodchuck.php I love it. Keep all of the mess in the basement and have even heat with no cold spots/rooms. I would recommend you to go with the exact same unit that I have ... The 2900. It will heat your entire house basement included.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Welcome to the forum.

Pics of my setup if you're interested. Wood furnace with heat pump.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/31660/

:coolsmile:

 

[SRMobile]

You might want to post this in the "Pellet Mill" forum as well - mostly wood stove guys around here. That being the case, my advice is forget about the pellet stove and the basement - put a wood stove on the main floor!

Will do, I wasn't aware of that subforum. I did more reading and from what I gather a wood stove / pellet stove are considered space heaters and should be placed in the room they are intended to heat.

 

[SRMobile]

First time poster


I live in a new 1280sq foot town house. I've been looking at pellet stoves for a little while and have been getting conflicting information. I'm trying to move away from electrical heat and towards something more cost efficient; that being said:

I have a pretty much open concept floor plan. My idea was to place a pellet stove in my semi-finished basement.(Semi meaning the walls are insolated and gyped but the floor is concrete. ) If I place a pellet stove in the center of the basement, will this be enough to heat my main floor and my partial bedroom area ?

The floor plan is as such:

Basement: 16f x 40f = 640f
Main floor: 16f x 40f = 640f
2nd floor: 16f x 40f = 640f

When you walk in from the front door, the stairs head up; underneath the same stairs, the other set heads down into the basement.

Will a pellet stove in the basement be enough to heat the main floor from the basement; without cutting holes ect in the floor ?

All input is appreciated,

SR

If you're going to burn pellets you might as well burn propane or NG.

My advice: burn wood.

I’ve looked into NG and the nearest connection is out of reach, I’m in a new development so the company would need more “users” to justify brining a connection to my home.

From what I gathered, using propane for a homes primare source of heat is on the expensive side. I would accomplish moving away from electricity but would be close to the same $$$ in consumption over the winter months.

 

[SRMobile]

My advice: burn wood.

+1, but largely everyone here is biased towards wood. If you are set on heating from the basement, I would consider a bigger stove and one that can move some air. Also, if you have a forced air furnace, I would consider an add on wood furnace if you are just looking for even heat. Welcome to the forum.

Interesting! Hadn't considered that, thanks!

 

[SRMobile]

+1 on burning wood. I would not go with a stove. I would recommend a wood furnace. It will tie directly into your existing duct work and distribute the heat evenly throughout the house. This is the way I've heated for many years. Last season I changed out my old wood furnace for a new Woodchuck furnace. http://www.usagnet.com/meyermfg/woodchuck.php I love it. Keep all of the mess in the basement and have even heat with no cold spots/rooms. I would recommend you to go with the exact same unit that I have ... The 2900. It will heat your entire house basement included.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Welcome to the forum.

Pics of my setup if you're interested. Wood furnace with heat pump.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/31660/

:coolsmile:

Wow now thats a cool setup! Thanks for the advice, I guess from the last few suggestion a furnace would be the way to go. The only problem is that this is a new house; I’d hate to start cutting holes in the floor and walls to pass ducting. I could get away with some of that in the basement to the main floor but the top floor would a problem.


Anything else ?

Thanks again everyone!

Cheers,

SR

 

[ccwhite]

+1 on burning wood. I would not go with a stove. I would recommend a wood furnace. It will tie directly into your existing duct work and distribute the heat evenly throughout the house. This is the way I've heated for many years. Last season I changed out my old wood furnace for a new Woodchuck furnace. http://www.usagnet.com/meyermfg/woodchuck.php I love it. Keep all of the mess in the basement and have even heat with no cold spots/rooms. I would recommend you to go with the exact same unit that I have ... The 2900. It will heat your entire house basement included.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Welcome to the forum.

Pics of my setup if you're interested. Wood furnace with heat pump.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/31660/

:coolsmile:

Wow now thats a cool setup! Thanks for the advice, I guess from the last few suggestion a furnace would be the way to go. The only problem is that this is a new house; I’d hate to start cutting holes in the floor and walls to pass ducting. I could get away with some of that in the basement to the main floor but the top floor would a problem.


Anything else ?

Thanks again everyone!

Cheers,

SR

What kind of heat does the house currently have? Forced air, Radiant (floor or radiator), electric baseboard?? I ask because if you already have forced air then you use the duct work that is already there. If you have Radiant with a boiler then you should go with a wood fired boiler (I'm assuming that this is not what you have since you said there is no NG available). Electric baseboard would be the worst because you would be basically starting from scratch.

 

[SRMobile]

+1 on burning wood. I would not go with a stove. I would recommend a wood furnace. It will tie directly into your existing duct work and distribute the heat evenly throughout the house. This is the way I've heated for many years. Last season I changed out my old wood furnace for a new Woodchuck furnace. http://www.usagnet.com/meyermfg/woodchuck.php I love it. Keep all of the mess in the basement and have even heat with no cold spots/rooms. I would recommend you to go with the exact same unit that I have ... The 2900. It will heat your entire house basement included.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Welcome to the forum.

Pics of my setup if you're interested. Wood furnace with heat pump.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/31660/

:coolsmile:

Wow now thats a cool setup! Thanks for the advice, I guess from the last few suggestion a furnace would be the way to go. The only problem is that this is a new house; I’d hate to start cutting holes in the floor and walls to pass ducting. I could get away with some of that in the basement to the main floor but the top floor would a problem.


Anything else ?

Thanks again everyone!

Cheers,

SR

What kind of heat does the house currently have? Forced air, Radiant (floor or radiator), electric baseboard?? I ask because if you already have forced air then you use the duct work that is already there. If you have Radiant with a boiler then you should go with a wood fired boiler (I'm assuming that this is not what you have since you said there is no NG available). Electric baseboard would be the worst because you would be basically starting from scratch.

You guessed it. Electric baseboards. I'm trying to see if I can rearrange my main living space to accomodate a stove. Doesn't look like I have much of a choice at this point.

Cheers,

SR

 

[ccwhite]

Perhaps the simplest solution in your situation may be to go with a wood boiler. You would locate it in the basement. All you have to run to the upstairs area is piping for the radiators or even radiant heat flooring. But only a couple pipes to get upstairs rather than duct work. If you visit the "boiler room" section of the forum you can read all about the really cool, new, super efficient boilers that are available now. You can even heat your domestic hot water with a boiler (I guess I could with my wood furnace too but I haven't). I really considered going this way myself but couldn't see it as I already had forced air.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

+1 on burning wood. I would not go with a stove. I would recommend a wood furnace. It will tie directly into your existing duct work and distribute the heat evenly throughout the house. This is the way I've heated for many years. Last season I changed out my old wood furnace for a new Woodchuck furnace. http://www.usagnet.com/meyermfg/woodchuck.php I love it. Keep all of the mess in the basement and have even heat with no cold spots/rooms. I would recommend you to go with the exact same unit that I have ... The 2900. It will heat your entire house basement included.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Welcome to the forum.

Pics of my setup if you're interested. Wood furnace with heat pump.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/31660/

:coolsmile:

What does one of them bad boys cost?

 

[Wet1]

We're only talking about 1280 sq feet here, that's very easy to do with a wood stove. Find a place to stick the stove on the main floor and you'll be thrilled with the results.

I have both a pellet stove and a wood stove(s), I'd suggest wood if that works for you.

 

[ccwhite]

+1 on burning wood. I would not go with a stove. I would recommend a wood furnace. It will tie directly into your existing duct work and distribute the heat evenly throughout the house. This is the way I've heated for many years. Last season I changed out my old wood furnace for a new Woodchuck furnace. http://www.usagnet.com/meyermfg/woodchuck.php I love it. Keep all of the mess in the basement and have even heat with no cold spots/rooms. I would recommend you to go with the exact same unit that I have ... The 2900. It will heat your entire house basement included.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Welcome to the forum.

Pics of my setup if you're interested. Wood furnace with heat pump.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/31660/

:coolsmile:

What does one of them bad boys cost?

I believe it was about $2500 for the Woodchuck and about $4000 for the 3 ton Goodman heat pump W/electric backup including installation of both units.

 

[thinkxingu]

Hi There,
I have a split with electric baseboard that is 1k square feet down and 1,200 up. Last year, we put an Englander 13 down with the expectation that heat rises. Well, it does, BUT not until after it heats the basement up to 75 (we keep it at 60). We are able to keep the upstairs at 63-65 without using any electric, but that is with the stove cooking all the time. This year, we are getting a stove for upstairs and will only use the one down for emergencies/parties. SO, I would agree with one of the previous posters: put the stove centrally on the main floor, and it should do ok.

By the way, everyone poo poos electric baseboard, but I love it: dead silent, super fast, no allergies/dust issues, no maintenance, cheap to fix, no room lost to equipment, and the ability to adjust individual zones. With the new thermostats, that only turn on for a few seconds at a time (cool technology/reasoning), I'm spending the same as my parents who have NG and a whole lot more to deal with. AND, when using a woodstove/pellet stove, only the rooms that aren't warm get heated by electric--my aunt's house is cold in most rooms because the thermostat is located in the room with the stove.

S