Adding a pellet stove in the basement

[Jason Knapp]

I've made the decision to add a 25 PDVC in my basement to help with heating my home. Currently, My 25 EP is working overtime with the current temps in the Northeast.
I'm planning on installing it myself. I'm using a 3" OAK and 4" exhaust pipe. I'll be putting the cleanout tee directly off of the stove, and continue vertical with a 3' run to a 90. then 2' horizontal through the foundation. I plan on another 90 and then go 3' up. This is to maintain clearances stated in NFPA 211, which is what my town uses as its guidelines for building codes,
Does anyone see an issue with my plan?

 

[Bioburner]

I think your EVL is ok with 4 inch

 

[moey]

Is your basement insulated and sealed?

 

[Jason Knapp]

Is your basement insulated and sealed?

No, my basement isn't insulated or sealed. I do have my furnace and water heater down there too. I figured that the stove having a dedicated OAK, this wouldn't be an issue. Am I correct?

 

[moey]

No, my basement isn't insulated or sealed. I do have my furnace and water heater down there too. I figured that the stove having a dedicated OAK, this wouldn't be an issue. Am I correct?

The reason for my comment is you'll have to pump a lot of pellets into that stove to make only a little difference to your temp upstairs.

 

[Jason Knapp]

I see.
As of right now, I run a small kerosene heater in the basement when I'm working down there, and I see a significant difference in how hard my living room pellet stove needs to work to maintain a decent temperature.

 

[bogieb]

Last year I had only the Harman in the basement and had it blasting - kept the downstairs 80-85 and the 3 rooms closest to the stairway were mid 60's (except single digit outside temps or lower), bathroom was colder, and the 2 bedrooms in the 50's (except when temps were single digits). I slept in my living room all winter because it was so cold in the bedroom. The Harman was installed beginning of January and I went thru over 3 tons plus a whole bunch of propane.

I added a smaller stove upstairs this year (the St. Croix) and now enjoy bedroom temps 69-71, and other rooms warmer, with the basement between 73 and 75. I have gone thru just over 2 tons since September and figure I will go thru another 3 tons, or a little more, for the rest of the heating season.

I seem to be going thru about the same amount of pellets and my basement is not insulated except the two walls next to the stove. I did insulate around where the house meets the foundation - but I did that last winter while I was trying to get warm in the upstairs. Full disclosure - I did install new windows and demo'ed the outer walls to put in new insulation and vapor barrier in all but my kitchen upstairs, so I am sure that has helped. But I can tell you that before I put in the second stove just before Thanksgiving, I could tell that the Harman would not get the bedrooms warm - which is why I got the second stove.

Of course, all houses vary, but my best guess, based on my experience is that a basement stove will help, and not jack up your pellet usage too much.

 

[MacGyver]

The reason for my comment is you'll have to pump a lot of pellets into that stove to make only a little difference to your temp upstairs.

I somewhat agree with this comment. I will admit that I had big expectations of how well my ECO-65 would heat the upstairs from the basement - so it's been a real wake up call. When I crank the heat and get it going for awhile, I can get the upstairs fairly warm (usually a little electric heat to help). In hindsight, I probably would have just installed the stove upstairs and put on a little electric heat in the basement to keep it somewhat warm. This is coming from someone with an uninsulated basement as well. I just installed an OAK tonight and it definitely seems to be helping with the drafts though!

 

[Jason Knapp]

So maybe it's not worth the effort to put the stove in. I'll have to think about it more.

 

[Fatherof2]

The reason for my comment is you'll have to pump a lot of pellets into that stove to make only a little difference to your temp upstairs.

That has been my experience as well.

 

[ExhibitGuy]

Jason,
I did the very same analysis for my situation but came to a different conclusion.
1. Pellet stoves are space heaters - it's repeated all over these boards. I needed to heat my uninsulated basement so that my wife and I could use it more (home office, laundry, kids disaster zone, etc.). When I crank my stove (PH35) it heats the space wonderfully. I use the basement for a few hours then go back upstairs.. My stove only take about 15-20 min to get my 800sq. ft. basement cozy.

Any residual heat thru the floor to the upstairs is a bonus. The pellet stove is not my primary source of heat.

2. With that in mind.. when I keep it on Low, I definitely feel more comfortable on the feet upstairs and I know the baseboard forced hot water heat isn't working so hard. I also found that my hot water for showers in the morning comes on faster because the pipes were kept warm all nite.

3. Air Circulation in my house isn't the best. It's a small house with a lot of walls. I tried to get fans pushing Cold Down and Push Heat up..as well as the reverse. Nothing seemed conclusive in my layout. Just ended up making a lot of noise with the fans. I did cut a single Floor Register on the far side of the basement away from the stove (thinking I would get some circulation) where my old cast iron steam pipe came through the floor, but I think its simply too small to get things going properly. I'm considering getting a register fan and giving that a go..

Regardless - the lesson here is that Air Circulation is critical in your placement of the stove. If the stove is placed away from natural openings in the floor (ie: Stairwell..etc.) it's less likely you'll do any more than heat the basement. If the pellet stove is centrally located vented through a chimney, there is a better chance of success in general.

I've learned a lot from trolling the site. There are a lot of knowledgeable people here. Lastly, I've read on here that uninsulated basement can suck 30% of your heat out through the walls.. an important calculation to keep in mind. Your OAK and Venting seem fine to me (first season pellet burner) as long as you can reach the top of the 3' section outside the house for cleaning and maintenance.. Stick with 4" Vent...

Pellet stoves are great for heating the space. Pellet Boilers are apparently the way to go if you want to heat the house.

- j

 

[CladMaster]

I'm going to be doing the same thing as soon as spring comes round, this is my main project for 2015, my 25-PDVC is going to be in the basement. I've also got to insulate it in places.

Looking to add secondary walls down there with insulation in between the block walls and the stud walls. This should help keep the basement warm.

 

[MadMax31]

Im on the fence myself, Ive got the stove, piles of pellets and pipe coming in from supply house. Not exactly sure where Im putting it. Id like it in the living room, as originally planned. But our basement is 60 when its 0 outside. Bldg Code required us to insulate basement. Floors of house are not.

I bought stove to supplement Propain boiler, but if its in basement it may become primary heat as it doesnt make sense to allow it cycle off when were not home if its in basement. Once 100 tons of concrete is warmed, you dont allow it to cool....

I have a suspicion it will bake us out in the living room.

 

[Burd]

I installed mine in the basment to help with the kids war room. The house was built in the 30s and in the winter the basement would get in the 40s. Now that I install the Quadra Fire castile in the basment my first floor has never gotten below 65. This to me was well worth it and it also helps with the firewood consumption.

 

[novah]

I have a raised ranch with the typical drive under, two car garage. The ceiling and the half wall above the concrete are insulated as is the wall between the garage and the other half of the basement - where the furnace is.

I converted the garage into a workshop. Took out one garage door and put the pellet stove where it used to be. Prior to the stove, the shop was approaching freezing when we had nights down at zero. I run the stove 24/7 in the heating season and consume 3 tons. The basement dropped to 65 during the recent cold spell and normally runs 70 to 75, dependent on the outside temperatures.

After I made this change, I found my oil consumption dropped from 800 to 500 gallons per year so the heat was easing the load on the oil furnace. I don't have any vents to the upstairs but I do leave the door between the garage and the rest of the basement open all the time.