New wood stove for basement ideas

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I bought a house this summer on about 14 acres that has a electric heat pump as the main source of heat, a non-vented aesthetic propane heater, and no wood or other heat option. I want to add heat from wood into the house. I just ordered parts for a 6" chimney flue which is insulated Class A and it will be through the wall of my walk out basement and then up 28 feet with one pair of 15 degree elbows for the eave.

The walk out basement is about 1356 sq feet with the same living space above it on the main level. The basement ceiling is unfinished and it is just subfloor and a wood laminate type flooring so thus no insulation. There is a cathedral ceiling A frame style above half of the house and then a second floor of 680 square feet has a hallway that opens up to the open air space. So any heat on the main level will easily rise and heat the two bedrooms upstairs. It appears well insulated with 2x6 exterior wall construction although the 12" block wall in the basement is not insulated. The stairway up from the basement is centered in the middle of the main level so if that door was open, then heat could flow up the stairway.

I was wondering about any recommendations for a stand alone wood stove that might heat the basement area which we use as a den as well as provide radiant heat through the uninsulated floor to the finished areas above. I have heard people talk about the Englander NC30 as being good and a great value but I am not sure which direction to go. It need not be pretty, just put out good heat as I have a lot of area to heat.

Thank you for any thoughts toward great wood stoves you would recommend.
 
Go big. Those uninsulated block walls in the basement are gonna suck up a bunch of heat. The 30 is a utility stove with proven performance. But even at that there is a very real possibility that you won't be providing 100% wood heat. Some do, some don't. You are looking at heating 3000 sqft with 1300 essentially uninsulated. That is gonna take a big stove.
 
Go big. Those uninsulated block walls in the basement are gonna suck up a bunch of heat. The 30 is a utility stove with proven performance. But even at that there is a very real possibility that you won't be providing 100% wood heat. Some do, some don't. You are looking at heating 3000 sqft with 1300 essentially uninsulated. That is gonna take a big stove.
Yea I was thinking I need something pretty big as I know an unfinished basement eats up heat. There is one place on the main level I could possibly add a 2nd wood stove but one fire sure is easier to manage and a 2nd is not in the budget this year. Maybe I need some wall insulation....
 
I was in the same boat last year except 1536 sq ft on both levels. Uninsulated walkout basement. Put in a drolet myriad above 40* it did a passable job but couldn't quite heat the entire house. This year i have the drolet in the basement and a blaze king ashford 20 upstairs in the living room. Should keep the house nice and toast this year.

One stove on each end of the house now.

Only bad thing about my basement stove is it doesn't face the stairwell and isn't right by it. But it works pretty well to keep the upstairs on the south side of the house warm.

I plan on framing out and insulating the basement in the next couple of years because those walls really do suck up the heat.
 
Consider insulating the basement the savings in wood and increased comfort will easily pay for itself over the life of the stove.
 
I was in the same boat last year except 1536 sq ft on both levels. Uninsulated walkout basement. Put in a drolet myriad above 40* it did a passable job but couldn't quite heat the entire house. This year i have the drolet in the basement and a blaze king ashford 20 upstairs in the living room. Should keep the house nice and toast this year.

One stove on each end of the house now.
Which type of stove seems to throw out the most heat? That Drolet Myriad looks pretty nice and the BK Ashford 20 is more of a radiant design. A friend of mine has a Vermont radiant heat wood stove and it can really radiate heat. I did notice that the Drolet has a blower of 75 CFM and perhaps a stove that moves more air might heat things better? 3.1 Cu Ft. firebox on that Drolet Myriad is pretty big and a Pacific Energy Summit claiming 99,000 btu has a 3.0 Cu. Ft. firebox at 80.4% effeciency but also costs over $2K.
 
Which type of stove seems to throw out the most heat? That Drolet Myriad looks pretty nice and the BK Ashford 20 is more of a radiant design. A friend of mine has a Vermont radiant heat wood stove and it can really radiate heat. I did notice that the Drolet has a blower of 75 CFM and perhaps a stove that moves more air might heat things better? 3.1 Cu Ft. firebox on that Drolet Myriad is pretty big and a Pacific Energy Summit claiming 99,000 btu has a 3.0 Cu. Ft. firebox at 80.4% effeciency but also costs over $2K.
This will be the first year with the bk. Been using it for small fires this past week. The drolet puts out good heat and I routinely got 10-12 hours from a load with marginal wood last year. I'm really excited about the burn times on the bk though. It's just a really nice looking stove!
 
Which type of stove seems to throw out the most heat? That Drolet Myriad looks pretty nice and the BK Ashford 20 is more of a radiant design.
The BK Ashford series is a convective design. It is a cast-iron clad steel stove with a convective lid. If you are looking for inexpensive and radiant consider the Englander 30NC and the Drolet Austral, but note the higher clearances for the more radiant stoves.
 
I wouldn't go smaller than a 3.0 cubic foot fire box. I had a stove in an uninsulated basement and didn't like dealing with it, although it is probably worth the hassle for you since it's finished. I had to get the basement boiling hot in order to get much effect on the floors above it.
 
My 30-NC heats 2,500 sq. feet from the main floor. If it was in my unfinished basement we would freeze to death. I know because I have tried it with both wood and pellet stoves from down there. The grass outside loved it but the heat mostly just goes out the block walls of that 1,000 sq. ft. basement into the dirt.

Every few years, since I never learn and own more stoves than a stove shop, I try it again. Never works.
 
My 30-NC heats 2,500 sq. feet from the main floor. If it was in my unfinished basement we would freeze to death. I know because I have tried it with both wood and pellet stoves from down there. The grass outside loved it but the heat mostly just goes out the block walls of that 1,000 sq. ft. basement into the dirt.

Every few years, since I never learn and own more stoves than a stove shop, I try it again. Never works.

That info is really helpful to know and makes me think a wood stove in the basement really won't help much up on the main levels unless I insulate the basement walls well. We do use the basement but it actually is unfinished although there are some beautiful double pane windows looking out into the yard from the basement. I still want to heat that area though. Hmmmm. Appreciate the info.
 
That info is really helpful to know and makes me think a wood stove in the basement really won't help much up on the main levels unless I insulate the basement walls well. We do use the basement but it actually is unfinished although there are some beautiful double pane windows looking out into the yard from the basement. I still want to heat that area though. Hmmmm. Appreciate the info.

Your kind of in a tough spot. The heat from the wood stove may not make it upstairs. However, if we did not have the wood stove in the basement it would be real cold down there, and we would probably not use it as much without the stove down there. Ideally you need a stove on each level, or install a furnace/boiler right now. I would love to have a stove upstairs, but not sure I really want to keep up with two stoves, and the wife doesn't want one up there, so I don't push it too hard.

We have a home about the same size. We have insulated most of the outside walls of the basement, and it makes a world of difference, but still gets cold in some parts of the basement. We have some interior walls that hamper air movement in the basement though. I like the convection heat in our basement better, and utilize fans to circulate air. That helps prevent the overpowering of radiant heat close to the stove. Just what seems to work best for us.
 
I second the idea of insulating your basement walls. EPS or XPS foam insulation glued to your block walls would probably work well. Even 1" of the stuff would make quite a difference, but check your local codes for proper R value. I did a layer of foam board and then a layer of roxul in a stud wall, coupled with an insulated sub floor in my basement and it now stays warmer than the rest of the house.

As far as stove goes, the Jotul F55 is popular and has a 3 square foot fire box. An open floor plan does help move heat, but don't expect a lot to reach the upper levels - I speak from experience. A wood furnace might be the way to go if you are trying to get better heat distribution.
 
My 30-NC heats 2,500 sq. feet from the main floor. If it was in my unfinished basement we would freeze to death. I know because I have tried it with both wood and pellet stoves from down there. The grass outside loved it but the heat mostly just goes out the block walls of that 1,000 sq. ft. basement into the dirt.

Every few years, since I never learn and own more stoves than a stove shop, I try it again. Never works.
What is your basement winter temp before putting heat in it?
 
I second the idea of insulating your basement walls. EPS or XPS foam insulation glued to your block walls would probably work well. Even 1" of the stuff would make quite a difference, but check your local codes for proper R value. I did a layer of foam board and then a layer of roxul in a stud wall, coupled with an insulated sub floor in my basement and it now stays warmer than the rest of the house.

As far as stove goes, the Jotul F55 is popular and has a 3 square foot fire box. An open floor plan does help move heat, but don't expect a lot to reach the upper levels - I speak from experience. A wood furnace might be the way to go if you are trying to get better heat distribution.

Last night I was researching basement wall insulation and it appears DOW has a THERMAX wall board that meets fire codes left exposed where sheet rock and a stud wall is not required. Also found Ecofoil material that appears inexpensive and would meet fire code. That Jotul is a pretty stove but based on comments perhaps I need to look toward a furnace that can move some serious warm air through ducts.
 
What is your basement winter temp before putting heat in it?

Low fifties. Not only do the walls suck heat but the slab floor does also.
 
Low fifties. Not only do the walls suck heat but the slab floor does also.

BrotherBart is right, actually worse for us is the floor. We can get the ambient air temp up, but your feet will be frozen if you spend time down in the basement when the wood stove hasn't got the floor warm yet. Takes about a week to get the floor warmed up,
 
I have a fully insulated shop with a slab floor. It's heated with an electric space heater. When I first tried to heat it the heater ran constantly and it still felt cold. Then I put 1/2" foam based flooring down. The difference was day and night. Now the place heats up quickly and stays warm.
 
So three levels? Basement & two floors above?

There is ductwork in place now?

Sounds like a good place for a wood furnace.

But insulate the basement walls regardless.
 
So three levels? Basement & two floors above?

There is ductwork in place now?

Sounds like a good place for a wood furnace.

But insulate the basement walls regardless.
You are correct. I am beginning to think that is the way to go so I can vent some heat into the basement, and then send the rest up to the main level of the house so my wife doesn't get grumpy when it is cold. Even if I cannot get all the duct work installed right away, I could make it pump out heat and then either DIY on the duct work or hire someone who knows more than me about such things. This thread has been helpful. Now I think I will head over to the furnace forum to figure out exactly what furnace. Why do good products cost money? lol :)
 
I have photos of our home and our stove in this thread:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/pipe-q-changing-from-top-exit-to-rear-exit-stove.138673/

Each floor is approx 1900 sq feet. Walk out basement is poured concrete on 3 sides (or most of the three sides, anyway). The wall with windows and doors is insulated, as is the area above the concrete.

Stove is a Avalon Arbor. I think it's rated to heat 1800-2k sq feet. We had no intention of heating the entire 4k sq ft home with it, but I wanted to use it to support the propane furnace.

First of all, we noticed a HUGE difference in the floor temps upstairs. Floors were quite cold without the stove, and comfortable warm when stove was running. This was for the entire upstairs (though I suppose mostly the tile kitchen and laminate living room/hallway, as the rest is carpet).

I think we went through 4-5 cord of wood, however I'm attributing some of that usage due to my learning curve on a new EPA stove. I'm not used to the afterburners...my last wood stove experience was the King we used in my parent's home as a kid.

The stove kept the basement quite comfortable, even though there is a TON of concrete to suck up the heat (floors, 3 exterior walls).

Based on our propane usage before we fired up the stove, vs usage (ie, fill ups) after, I'd say the stove made a disproportionate ding in our propane bill. I think it helped / saved us far more than I expected. No way we could rely on it to heat the whole home, though. We did love having it going while we watched movies downstairs. :)

I love wood heat. I like cutting, I like splitting (power splitter), I like knowing we have heat regardless of propane/electrical situation, I like the smell, I like the even heat. Last winter was the first time I'd ever deal with wood heat as a homeowner (grew up with it as a kid). After the test run last year, with the Avalon...our Kuuma VaporFire 100 should be delivered tomorrow. :)
 
I have a fully insulated shop with a slab floor. It's heated with an electric space heater. When I first tried to heat it the heater ran constantly and it still felt cold. Then I put 1/2" foam based flooring down. The difference was day and night. Now the place heats up quickly and stays warm.
What is foam based flooring?
 
Low fifties. Not only do the walls suck heat but the slab floor does also.
Interesting, my basement never gets below 58. I even took temps during frigid cold snaps. My problem is that my office/lounge area is about 1/3 of the basement. And I don't want to put up any walls.
 
You may not find Drolet Myriad as its been replaced with a Drolet Myriad II. Not sure how much longer they will be making the older version.
They may just be burning off old stock.

The older Myriad met emissions but at 5.7 grams, as it was designed to radiate heat like the steels stoves of yesteryear.

The newer Myriad now uses a more insulated firebox with fire brick going all the way up the sides and now uses (instead of an uninsulated stainless steel secondary air baffle) a baffle board with insulative properties to keep the heat up for better secondary combustion for a cleaner burn (4.47 grams emisisons).

They had to do this due to the new emissions regulations just passed.
 
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