To add a stove in the basement or not?

[MICHAEL H]

Quick mental pic of my current situation. Newer two story house. Well insulated. 2200 square feet fairly open floor plan. Unfinished basement. PE Pacific insert on first floor. Keep it fed and it keeps me warm. Would adding a free standing wood stove in the basement add enough extra heat to justify the cost? I am looking at adding say a T6 or T5 Alderlea or maybe a PE Summit. PE is my best choice due to a great dealer who happens to be a good personal friend. Just looking for some input. I will add some more to my line of thinking in a bit.

 

[begreen]

Would adding a free standing wood stove in the basement add enough extra heat to justify the cost?

Is the basement a place that gets used a lot? It's hard to see how the additional $2K+ would be justified. About a 1/3 of the heat is going to be soaked up by the uninsulated walls.

 

[Dix]

If the basement doesn't get used a lot, I'd think about the stove upstairs on the main floor.

But I'd also have to wonder why, if the Pacific does the job (it's an awesome heater)?

 

[MICHAEL H]

Good thought. The basement does not get used alot. I didnt realize alot of the heat would be soaked up by the concrete walls. The reason I am thinking along these lines. My son who is 7 gets alot of breathing problems after I keep the stove going 24-7. I was thinking it may help him and still keep the house warm to give him a break. Sounds like it could be a big money waste. I still hate running the heat pump. Never does keep the house comfy. Why I ask the people who know.

 

[Agent]

BeGreen is spot on about the walls soaking in the heat, especially if you aren't running for 8+ hours at a time. Unless you plan on finishing it sometime soon, it would probably not get enough usage to be considered cost effective.

 

[thewoodlands]

Quick mental pic of my current situation. Newer two story house. Well insulated. 2200 square feet fairly open floor plan. Unfinished basement. PE Pacific insert on first floor. Keep it fed and it keeps me warm. Would adding a free standing wood stove in the basement add enough extra heat to justify the cost? I am looking at adding say a T6 or T5 Alderlea or maybe a PE Summit. PE is my best choice due to a great dealer who happens to be a good personal friend. Just looking for some input. I will add some more to my line of thinking in a bit.

Michael H, we have our Lopi Liberty installed in the basement but our walls are studded up an insulated. We have about 1750 square feet up and the cellar which is close to the same.

I was told that if your walls are not insulated the concrete (cold) will eat up the heat.


zap

 

[wkpoor]

I'm living proof the basement walls do soak it up alot. And we have a walkout so one whole wall has air on the other side. But we pretty much live in the basement outside of sleep and it is our main entry so we choose to do it that way. I you still think a stove downstairs would be workable I would do something like the Englander. Good stove, good price, good heat.

 

[Woody Stover]

My son who is 7 gets alot of breathing problems after I keep the stove going 24-7. I was thinking it may help him and still keep the house warm to give him a break.

How about some sort of air purifier? Gotta be a lot cheaper than a stove and chimney...

 

[mhrischuk]

It sounds like your house air is getting dry. I don't think moving the stove heat to the basement will change that a whole lot. You may want to talk to a doctor and consider humidity levels.