Advice needed on wood stove/chimney

[Blackbeard]

New to site, I've been reading for a week and love all the great discussion. I've already learned tons from you all. Long story short, I grew up cutting wood with my dad and brother to fuel our wonderwood type box stove and we also had a coal stoker, those two did the job.

Fourteen years ago my wife and I had our house built and for reasons unknown never included a chimney or wood stove in the plan. After 14 years of high electric bills and our only heat being electric, we are ready for an alternative heat source. My house is 1200 SF upstairs (ranch) with a 400 SF addition (1600 SF total), sitting on top of a 1200 SF basement that is carpeted, has living space, but only painted walls (no insulation).

The basement is your typical 8' block, one open end with a door, and the other three sides are in the ground. The basement is damp due to mortar joint cracking (mining nearby in past caused the cracking). Basement is mostly open except for small walled off furnace and bathroom on opposite end of where the wood stove or furnace would be located. The stairway to the basement is open and in the center of the basement. I own 35 acres and have access to firewood there and I also come from a family of loggers so wood is not a problem.

We were hoping that installing a wood stove in the basement would dry out the basement and provide some heat upstairs to allow us to not run the heat pump so much. We have no existing chimney. I was originally thinking a wonderwood with a triple wall pipe stack (approximately 30 ft of pipe needed to get above the roof line). After reading here I'm now thinking an Englander 30, Englander 28-3500, or Drolet. A wood furnace cannot be located in close proximity to my electric furnace but could be ducted into my main trunkline. Our budget is $2000. Insulating the basement is not really in our plan although I know that would be the best thing to do.

My questions:

1. Large wood stove or wood furnace?
2. Which stove or furnace?
3. Can I expect the basement to be dried out from heat from wood stove or furnace?
4. What can I do to get some of the heat upstairs?
5. Should I have the local Amish build me a chimney or just go with triple wall pipe stack?
6. Can I do a stove or furnace for $2000 that will make a difference or am I grasping at straws?

Thanks in advance for all information.

 

[begreen]

Welcome. With an uninsulated basement you are starting out with the deck stacked against you. The walls will suck up about a third of the heat output, thus raising the cost of heating. The answers start with #4, put the stove upstairs where you really want the heat unless you spend a lot of time in the basement. If the basement is occasionally used, then use a gas or electric space heater and a dehumidifier down there. A wood furnace sounds like a good idea, but you should budget at least $1200 for the chimney if you DIY. You don't need triple wall. Double-wall insulated Selkirk or DuraVent class A pipe is fine. That leaves you with about $800 which isn't going to buy much furnace. The Englander 28-3500 runs about $1150 and that doesn't include ducting. $800 won't pay for an Englander 30NC unless you get a closeout sale. Figure $2500 for the furnace system installed and connected and I think you will be more in the ballpark.

 

[Pallet Pete]

New to site, I've been reading for a week and love all the great discussion. I've already learned tons from you all. Long story short, I grew up cutting wood with my dad and brother to fuel our wonderwood type box stove and we also had a coal stoker, those two did the job.

Fourteen years ago my wife and I had our house built and for reasons unknown never included a chimney or wood stove in the plan. After 14 years of high electric bills and our only heat being electric, we are ready for an alternative heat source. My house is 1200 SF upstairs (ranch) with a 400 SF addition (1600 SF total), sitting on top of a 1200 SF basement that is carpeted, has living space, but only painted walls (no insulation).

The basement is your typical 8' block, one open end with a door, and the other three sides are in the ground. The basement is damp due to mortar joint cracking (mining nearby in past caused the cracking). Basement is mostly open except for small walled off furnace and bathroom on opposite end of where the wood stove or furnace would be located. The stairway to the basement is open and in the center of the basement. I own 35 acres and have access to firewood there and I also come from a family of loggers so wood is not a problem.

We were hoping that installing a wood stove in the basement would dry out the basement and provide some heat upstairs to allow us to not run the heat pump so much. We have no existing chimney. I was originally thinking a wonderwood with a triple wall pipe stack (approximately 30 ft of pipe needed to get above the roof line). After reading here I'm now thinking an Englander 30, Englander 28-3500, or Drolet. A wood furnace cannot be located in close proximity to my electric furnace but could be ducted into my main trunkline. Our budget is $2000. Insulating the basement is not really in our plan although I know that would be the best thing to do.

My questions:

1. Large wood stove or wood furnace?
2. Which stove or furnace?
3. Can I expect the basement to be dried out from heat from wood stove or furnace?
4. What can I do to get some of the heat upstairs?
5. Should I have the local Amish build me a chimney or just go with triple wall pipe stack?
6. Can I do a stove or furnace for $2000 that will make a difference or am I grasping at straws?

Thanks in advance for all information.

In addition to your moister problem you need to paint the block with so etching like dry lock which soaks into the block and dries hard and moister proof. Only repaint after you tuck point the walls which is easy to do as well. it is used on home foundations and basements as well as garages among other things. I have to agree with BG on the rest it is very hard to heat from the basement.

Pete

 

[Blackbeard]

Any other suggestions for a wood stove then that I can spend $800 on in order to provide the most heat possible to the basement? Ihave an office in the basement and definitely need heat down there. I don't mind feeding the wood to it if I will dry things some and provide heat. And I do plan on working on the walls as Pete mentioned.

 

[begreen]

Would an electric heater for the office and moving the stove upstairs work?

 

[Blackbeard]

That's my current heat in the basement, an electric heater, but I'm looking for an alternative to electric downstairs. Putting the wood stove upstairs also presents too many obstacles.