clrearance q, and what to do about heating basement

[OhioBurner©]

Haven't been on the forums all summer. But time to get ready for winter now. I plan to start spending more time in my basement, and perhaps even living down there (long story ). There is an old US Stove Co furnace down there. We tried to use it the first year we moved in but it didnt seem to do much anything. Couldnt even feel any air movement out of the registers. Heated up the basement more than anything.

Last year we put a new woodstove in the upstairs and took out the old pre-epa behemoth. Its still sitting on the porch strapped to the dolly. Anyhow I got thinking about putting it down in the basement. It would be a feat getting it down the stairs, but I have moved other heavy items down there by making a ramp out of 2x12's over the steps and a tow strap between dolly and truck and slowly rolling it down the stairs. However it usually takes someone on the low end to guide it straight on the boards and between the door frame. The stove would be the heaviest thing I'd have moved down there and probably dangerous for someone to be down there on the receiving end like that.

It quite possible it would be too much stove for the basement anyhow, but IDK it gets pretty cold down there and I've not any experience in what it takes to heat a basement. Its 22x36 feet for the newer basement and through a doorway is 24x32 older cellar.

I don't really know if the furnace has something wrong or its just not that good or efficient. Maybe I should just disconnect it from the ducts and leave it to blow around the basement and maybe it would work better. And then not fuss with bringing the stove down. But I know the stove works well.

In either case I noticed the stovepipe seems close to combustibles the way its installed. I'm not sure what the rules are, any experts here help me out? The top of the thimble is 10" below the floor beam thingy and 19" from the regular floor joists. Here is a pic:

I'm not sure if it would be any different for the stove, just a little concerned.

Here is the stove I have extra:

Might not be clean burning but it heats well. Also a heck of a lot easier to cook on than our new Hearthstone so I really wanted to have it for power outages.

So what would y'all do? Try the furnace as is to heat just the basement? Or try to get my good old stove down there thats just sitting on the porch? Or are the clearances going to screw me out of either?

 

[OhioBurner©]

I didnt get any takers for my question, perhaps I put it in the wrong section. Anyone help me out whether this setup in my basement passes clearance or not?

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...swap-wood-furnace-w-stove-for-basement.91148/

 

[pen]

I merged your two threads together for you.

That stove pipe needs to be 18 inches lower than wood framing. Making a heat shield may reduce that for you, but I can't remember by how much right off the top of my head.

What kind of furnace is that in the pic?

A different angle shot might be helpful. It's hard to get a perspective from this angle of what is going on there. Maybe one looking straight onto the thimble? In the pic, it looks to be way more than 10 inches away now.

Would you be putting the wood stove right under the thimble?

ETA: here's a chart I just found that may be useful from this site http://www.msue.msu.edu/objects/con...sion_id.499646/workspace_id.-4/01500596.html/.

pen

 

[OhioBurner©]

Hey thanks Pen, looks like this installation isnt up to specs. And they probably used it that way for a couple decades.

Or does it only matter when the combustible is directly over it, as it is offset by about 4"... does that count?

Just went down to get some more pics...

They are linked to larger versions.

The furnace is a US Stove Co. Not sure how old the stove is but that addition was built around 1990 and I dont think its any newer than that and quite possible older. The front of it has quite a bit of rust on it. I've just envisioned a method of getting the other stove down to the basement so I think I may go that route. Still though the thimble is only about 9" down from the 2x12's or whatever those are, but I think it shouldnt be too hard to make a heat shield as indicated in your picture for the 9" stove pipe clearance. And yeah, the replacement stove would go right by the thimble.

 

[blades]

That furnace looks like a 14xx series from US stove. From what little I could see in the picture there doesn't seem to be a tie in to the cold air return line from upstairs which is why nothing moves. The flue pipe looks kinda close to the joists for a proper install. Which it likely isn't. As far as heating the basement with it , that would work provided you can correct that flue connection. It is a very inefficient unit , I have one also, wrestled with it for a couple years, best I could get burn time wise was about 4 hours, Can't trust the auto damper on the loading door either as it tends to get hung up( took that apart a mess of times trying to correct it- no luck), real easy to over fire. From the spot on the back looks like it happened at least once. Better off just sealing off the auto damper on door and using the spin draft control on the bottom ash drawer. Mine is so poorly cast that you can't completely shut it. So I just regulate it by what I feed it. I only use it if I am going to be working in the basement so I can keep an eye on it. Never trusted it.

 

[pen]

With a good heat shield made, it looks as though you can just squeeze by keeping that chimney in use.

This situation is another good example of why building codes are in place in so many locations. Nothing more disappointing than to see something in masonry (especially something as important as a wood burning appliance) set poorly.

Keep us posted on how you make out.

pen

 

[OhioBurner©]

Thanks again fellas. I never thought of the air return limiting the furnace that much but it makes sense. The cold air return is under the other side of the house (propane furnace sits 20' away or so). If I can pull it off I plan on moving the old freestanding stove down in place of the furnace. The flue size is matched to it anyhow. I'll just make a heat shield over the triple 2x10 beam that runs under the floor joists... is there a certain amount the heat shield must be larger than the beams by? Does it have to be at exactly 1" out or can it be further away from the wood?

 

[rwhite]

Is the propane furnace in the same room just 20' away? Just wondering if you ran just the fan on the propane furnace at the same time you ran the wood furnace if it would draw the make up air into the room. It should at least create the negative pressure upstairs so the wood furnace can blow.

 

[OhioBurner©]

Is the propane furnace in the same room just 20' away? Just wondering if you ran just the fan on the propane furnace at the same time you ran the wood furnace if it would draw the make up air into the room. It should at least create the negative pressure upstairs so the wood furnace can blow.

No, the propane furnace is under the original part of the house. The pictures above are under the addition. I'm not sure if I ever tried running them both together, but even if that worked it would mean the heat would only go to the one side of the house., since it would have to push backwards against the propane furnaces blower to go to that side of the house.

But I wasnt really worried about heating the house anymore, thats why we purchased two brand new stoves. I'm just debating on running it to heat the basement since I'll be down there a lot more. I'd disconnect it from the forced air system and just have it blow out into the basement. Or bring down our old woodstove thats currently sitting on the front porch (2nd pic down from top).

Blades - I just checked its has it marked as 1500 model. That control on the front panel I could never get to work, seems jammed or rusted in place. When we tried to use it the first year I just used the big spinner knob. I feel a whole lot safer with my old freestanding stove. It doesnt look like much but seems to operate just fine.

 

[pen]

I just checked its has it marked as 1500 model. That control on the front panel I could never get to work, seems jammed or rusted in place. When we tried to use it the first year I just used the big spinner knob. I feel a whole lot safer with my old freestanding stove. It doesnt look like much but seems to operate just fine.

Sounds to me that you have a plan.

pen

 

[OhioBurner©]

Made some progress getting the old stove into the basement.

I spent a bit more than I wanted to, but built a rig I could use to hoist heavy stuff into and out of the basement, and a platform to place under a load once its up.

I ended up having to buy everything except the hoist I already had. However the hoist is a 440# hoist which I didnt even think about but it proved to be a bit undersized. However with another rope and some hand powered assistance it was able to lift the stove, and then lower it down.

Moving the old stove from my porch to the platform over the basement with a dolly and my little wagon I built. Couldnt do that with my old poly dump cart! Was going to use the ramps off the cart to the platform over the gap but that made me nervous... instead I realized if I backed up to the side there was just barely enough of the platform and it was just the right height to roll it right off the trailer to the platform.

Took a little extra oomph to get it up but once it was airborne I slid the platform out from underneath and lowered it down.

Not installed yet but at least its in the basement. Anyone have a clue how much the furnace weighs? I'm wondering if its not worth the bother even trying the 440# hoist. Not sure how much that pipe the hoist is on will hold either, it was bowing a little.