Jags said:Are the block walls insulated?? What do you mean by "Heat"? As in heat a work shop to 60F or a class room to 68F?
The Englander NC30 is gonna be your biggest beast that will run on a 6" flue and have a low cost. Or as said above, you might find yourself in more of a "furnace" situation. At first blush, I would say to "go big, or go home".
CTBurner said:only need need to hest 6 hrs a day to 68. the rest of the time 40 is okay
blocks are not insulated, only need need to hest 6 hrs a day to 68. the rest of the time 40 is okay
You just desribed my basement to a tee.
I pointed out that since I let the heat in that space rise to the next level through the stairwell I'm letting a great amount of the heat out of that space. That should more than compensate for not having open block walls in comparing situations. Thats the key point here. And my ceiling isn't insulated.Waulie said:So I looked up the Elm. I have seen these before, and they are pretty cool. While I could argue that having 60% of the structure buried in the ground would make a huge difference in warming the place up, I concede it could be a good option.
I guess its depends on from what to what. Since he is only expecting 68 I would say it will get there faster than you think. But totally agreed that once the source is removed it will drop quickly. I've often wondered just how much of a heat sink the rest of the house really is but we took the door off so I'm too lazy to put it on just for a quick test. Below 10degrees OAT that open wall can really feel cold up to 10 feet away. Plus there is a big window and french door on that same wall. So that basement is a pretty bad area to try and heat.Waulie said:But, you're letting the heat escape into an insulated space. Once your whole envelope is warm, I'm sure it works great. I'm not saying it won't work for the OP, but routinely trying to heat that place from a cold start to 68 is going to be very tough. That is my main concern. It is going to take a long time to heat up and it is going to cool down fast. I just want to make sure the OP has reasonable expectations.