Newbie Questions

[pjr2844]

Hello all, I am thinking of purchasing a pellet stove insert for my fireplace. My fireplace is located in the basement of my house. I live in a ranch approx 1800 sq ft. Would an insert throw enough heat to heat upstairs? I am looking to cut oil costs. I could also get a free standing unit if they throw more heat but would prefer the insert.

Also what should I expect to pay for the stove and for pellets?

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Bioburner]

Pellets, you want pellets too. Seems to be shortage east of the Mississippi. Hard to say if a insert in the basement will get enough natural convection to heat the upstairs. Depends on layout and if it's open enough to allow air flow. Yea, I know, not much help. Give us a rough draft of layout and see what we think.

 

[pjr2844]

Basement is fairly open. The fireplace is in the same area as the staircase. The ceiling of the basement has no insulation I was hoping the heat would circulate through the ceiling to the upstairs.

 

[Bioburner]

My stove is almost directly in front of the stairwell and works ok but is also heating the entire slab of the basement. It's weak when temps fall below zero so bump on another stove with a good fan to increase the air heat exchange. Just shy of 50 days with sub zero temps has been a test for all but larger pellet stoves or furnaces. Biggest gripe I have with Harman is the 135 cfm fan.

 

[wsar10]

I would put a vent in basement ceiling and floor above it.

Maybe I'm assuming this but If your asking "will it heat like a wood stove being in the basement", In my experience the answer is no.