Stove for Basement Install

[Nelson]

At the risk of cluttering up the forum with another "what the hell do I do!" thread, I'm starting my own thread for my current situation.

We've been in the house for a little over a year. Coming into it, had no plans to do any serious burning but shortly into the fall of last year, I got the bug. Now that I'm addicted I'm seeing the opportunity to, at the very least, supplement our heating needs with burning wood.

The Particulars:

House: Approximately 3600 sq foot split ranch (lower level partially exposed). Lower and Upper levels at approximately 1800 sq feet each.
Fireplace: Masonry. 38" wide and 25.5" tall. Depth is approximately 23". Hearth extends out 17" from the opening
Current Stove: Lopi Answer circa about 1989 (guessing around 1.5 cu ft box) (pic attached)
Stove Location: Lower Level
Pipe: Added an insulated liner last winter (Jan 2014)
Wood: ~ 3 full cords of seasoned hardwoods (cherry, oak, elm) - I have a MM and have been making sure to stay on top of making sure it is where it needs to be. I burned in the Lopi last year and I was pleasantly surprised at how clean the pipe was (thanks to this forum teaching me about seasoned wood!)
Current Heating System: Forced air burning LP

We will be having the attic air sealed and insulated in November of this year.

Current Plan:

After spending way too much time researching stoves on this forum (admittedly, I've thouroughly enjoyed it), I am leaning towards the Pacific Energy Summit Insert. I would love to put a freestander down there but the current fireplace has very limited options for putting something in or in front, at least without a major renovation. At this point, a major renovation isn't a great option from a fiscal standpoint.

Admittedly, I have been looking into add-on wood furnaces over the past few weeks. While I think this would be a great option, my current set up in the utility room (where furnace is) isn't very condusive in terms of space. At this point, I'm thinking this will be a 5+ year option once we replaced water heater and move it, which would make room for an add-on wood furnace.

The Ask:

1. Given the situation, have I missed anything? Maybe a freestander that would fit into that opening?
2. Would love to hear from any PE Summit owners who are heating from the basement and what their experience has been

My biggest concern is that I'm expecting too much from the Summit. I don't want to be disappointed with a $3000+ investment. Granted, I realize that I won't be able to heat 3600 sq ft, from the basement, with just one stove, but I'm really hoping I can put a major dent in my LP costs with my plan.

Finally, thanks to all of you who spend the time to share their experiences and provide a great service for those of us who are new to wood burning. I frequent quite a few forums and this one ranks at the top.

 

[begreen]

The Summit will have double the capacity of the Answer, so yes it will put a bigger dent in the propane bill. It's a very capable insert. But with 3600 sq ft to heat in a cold climate it sounds like this is a two stove house. Getting the attic well insulated and sealed is a good start. Is the basement fully insulated?

 

[Nelson]

Basement is a walkout so is partially exposed. Most of the walls are insulated (everything but the utility room) and I did all of the box sills I had access to. Floor is not. That's a future project I would like to tackle.

 

[Grisu]

If you don't want to change to an 8" liner then a 3 cu ft insert like the Summit will be about the best you can do. For a freestander your lintel height is not enough, unless you want to place the stove in front of the hearth but that would make for a pretty long horizontal section. If you want to get the most heat out of your insert a block-off plate is a must and take also a look also at this thread: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/finally-got-around-to-insulating-my-fireplace.75755/

One big difference you will see with the larger insert is an extension of the burn times. While the Answer probably stopped giving meaningful heat after 4 to 5 hours the Summit should last you easily 8 hours. Thus, it will take longer for the furnace to kick on to make up for the declining heat output from the stove. However, if you plan on running the stove 24/7 you will need more than 3 cords. It's twice the firebox size so having 2x as much wood will be a good first estimate.

 

[begreen]

You should see a nice improvement compared to last year. My guess is that you will still need to let the furnace cycle when temps get very low, but the overall season's consumption of propane should be greatly reduced as long as the wood is well seasoned. And you will really appreciate less frequent loading and the larger fire view. The secondary burn once the air is turned down in the Summit is mesmerizing.

 

[Nelson]

Thanks guys. I'm resigned to the fact that I will need a wood furnace to fully heat this joint. If I had the funds to retrofit the utility room, I would do it in a heartbeat. I'm thinking I will roll with the larger insert for the next 3-5 years while I build up my wood supply and then pull the trigger on a Kuuma or something similar at that time. These inserts seemed to fetch a decent dollar even after a few years of use.

I'm thinking that tightening up the attic will, by itself, produce decent savings in the propane department. Having to keep the thermo at 66 all last winter was not fun. Not to mention the 1600 gallons of propane we used just to keep it at that temp. I think the lopi helped a little but with only one year of burning with it, it's hard to tell.

 

[Nick Mystic]

If your insert is in your lower level and you're wanting to get heat upstairs I'd leave off insulating your floors. If you really want the insert to make a dent in your heating cost then you'll have to be burning it 24/7 once it gets cold. The lower level will need to get rather hot if you hope to get much heat upstairs with an insert. Some heat will transfer up through the floors if you don't insulate them.