Basement

[rmcgr8one]

This is my first year with the stove. I was wonder how cold does it need to get in the basement for the pipes to freeze? Also how cold is your basement?

I bought one of those indoor outdoor thermostats and the basement has been sitting at 50.

This morning it was 48 so I fired up the furnace for one heat cycle and it raised it to 50.

Does anyone else do this?

 

[Melissa220]

I have one basement - where the pellets are, that cannot go below 55 as it is it's own heating zone. So the only room the oil burner is heating right now is that one. (Can't let the pellets get cold you know) My other basement, where the oil burner is, and from whence all the pipes emanate, is 51.8 right now. All that is heating that room is the burner when it occasionally comes on to heat the pellet room or my hot water. We'll see how cold it gets with the -10 degree temps predicted here.

This is also my first year and I would think that as long as you don't have any pipes hidden in crawl spaces (as someone said to me) 48 would be fine. Personally, I don;t know how much below 45 or so I would go, just to be on the safe side; but perhaps someone who has had an issue with this has a better response.

One thing I have done, is open the cupboard door under my sink as that gets quite cold being on an outside wall. This way there is some warmer air flow into that area as an added preventive.

 

[DexterDay]

My basement is about 85* now...

But my first 3 yrs, I used the Quadrafire only (freestanding upstairs) and NEVER used my LP furnace. It would get into the 40's and 50's, but it has to be below 32* to freeze pipes.

There are products out there to wrap the pipe (get your main and all will be well) and insulate it or a product called Therm Gaurd is well reserved around here.

But above 45*, I wouldn't worry much.

Going on 5 yrs and still no LP.

 

[subsailor]

Unless you have very cold outside air blowing on your pipes or pipes outside of your foundation, they shouldn't freeze.

 

[Melissa220]

Interesting. I went downstairs to check and the thermometer read 49.6. I went to post this and wasn't sure what it read 30 seconds ago (getting old!) so I went back and it read 50.0 Guess that answers the question of getting too cold: All I have to do is keep going up and down stairs and creating air flow to move the warm air down and I'll be all set!

 

[rmcgr8one]

I just finished insulating my sill plate with rock wool r21 to prevent potential drafts.

 

[pelletizer]

This is my first year with the stove. I was wonder how cold does it need to get in the basement for the pipes to freeze? Also how cold is your basement?

I bought one of those indoor outdoor thermostats and the basement has been sitting at 50.

This morning it was 48 so I fired up the furnace for one heat cycle and it raised it to 50.

Does anyone else do this?

55 right now with 5 outside.
Since installing pellet stove basement has dropped 10 degrees in winter as furnace hardly runs.
Been thinking of putting a vent hole in floor near stove with old blower motor to pump warm air to basement as I hang out there with PC work bench,TV ,tunes etc (to get away if you know what I mean)
Would need a cold air return vent to push colder air back up due to warm air being forced into basement.
Maybe a carbon filter on cold air return to handle "as wife says basement smell" concrete and occasional beer burps rank weekend friends etc. LOL.

 

[ehkewley]

Our basement averages between 42 ~ 45 degrees in the winter. It's sealed pretty tight, and forced heat gas is the main system, so warm air travels down the vents and into the basement. Unfortunately it can make the floors a bit cold when the temps drop below 28.

 

[Hitch]

Wrap your pipes!

 

[pelletizer]

Pellet boiler in basement is the answer or small wood stove or 2nd pellet stove.