Advice on new stove???

[rdubs20]

A little background information first: I grew up with a woodstove in the house so I know what to expect as in the work that goes into burning wood. I have a 2 story house(1900 sq ft) decent insulation with a full basement. I have a newer pellet stove on the main floor (which really does a great job of heating the whole house) I would like to put a wood stove in the basement this summer as I would like to eventually make that my man cave. Right now the basement is about 7 ft below grade and 2 ft above and it is not insulated. In the winter is stays probably between 40-50.

My question is: How big of a stove should I be looking at? Basement is about 800 sq ft. I would love to have the longest burn times that I could get. I don't know anything about the new cat stoves. Should I be looking at them? Do they have less chance of a chimney fire over non cat stoves?

I like the idea of the woodstock IS because of the price and performance that I have been reading about and I also like the PE T5 and T6. Don't know if those would be to much stove for my needs. Anything else I should be looking at?

 

[JA600L]

A little background information first: I grew up with a woodstove in the house so I know what to expect as in the work that goes into burning wood. I have a 2 story house(1900 sq ft) decent insulation with a full basement. I have a newer pellet stove on the main floor (which really does a great job of heating the whole house) I would like to put a wood stove in the basement this summer as I would like to eventually make that my man cave. Right now the basement is about 7 ft below grade and 2 ft above and it is not insulated. In the winter is stays probably between 40-50.

My question is: How big of a stove should I be looking at? Basement is about 800 sq ft. I would love to have the longest burn times that I could get. I don't know anything about the new cat stoves. Should I be looking at them? Do they have less chance of a chimney fire over non cat stoves?

I like the idea of the woodstock IS because of the price and performance that I have been reading about and I also like the PE T5 and T6. Don't know if those would be to much stove for my needs. Anything else I should be looking at?

Are you doing this with the expectation of it helping to heat the main level? Are you going to leave the door open from the basement to the upper level or keep the heat downstairs?

That will be a major determining factor. Insulating the basement will majorly cut down the wood usage and is highly recommended. Also, consider your chimney system. Woodstoves in basements are typically subject to harsh low pressure area problems. The stack effect of your house can cause smoke issues and poor performance.

It is important that the attic is air sealed and well insulated. Otherwise, the air moving through the attic causes low pressure in the basement which then competes with the chimney.

Proper chimney height is essential.

If your going to use this to heat your entire house stay above 3.0 cu ft.

 

[Deano31]

Check out the Kuma sequoia 3.6 cft fire box rated for 3500 sq ft and is supposed to be great at heat convection 8" chimney from what you have explained the chimney would probably be around 26 ft give or take so that should help with draft

 

[Dix]

I think insulating the basement would be a good idea. Dunno if that's in your plans, but that would get you the most bang for the buck.

Are you looking to heat the basement only, or the entire house?

 

[begreen]

Tell us more about your expectations for this stove. Uninsulated walls are going to suck out about a third of the heat produced by the stove to the outdoors. If you are ok with this and just want an occasional warmer for 800 sq ft then a 2 cu ft stove like the PE True North 19 or 20 will do or an Englander 13NC. But if you want to also heat upstairs then that is another animal.

 

[edyit]

speaking from 1st hand experience, i had a stove installed in an uninsulated basement, it heated the house but man did i burn a lot of wood, and i had pita getting the warm air up out of the basement. moved the stove upstairs and the difference has been night and day, warmer house, happier wife (priceless) and less wood burned.

 

[St. Coemgen]

First, I agree what most already said here.

Second, if your basement is uninsulated it remains at 40-50 without heating for a reason: that is probably due geo-thermal heat capacity. That is, the surrounding soil and rock keep it at that temperature year round because of the mass load of the surrounding earth. Unless you insulate, some, maybe a lot, of your heating will get sucked into that surrounding heat sink.

Personally, in a basement, if you do not have a boiler heater that you can divert heat to the basement, I would just insulate it really well, then add electrical heating.

 

[rdubs20]

I forgot about the pipe. That much would really hurt the wallet. I do plan on insulating within a few years. I would like it to help heat some of the upstairs if that is possible. I was planning on opening up a few registers that I covered up during my floor remodel this past year to help the heat rise. I wonder of another pellet stove would be a better option for me.

I do have a boiler unit in the basement. I wonder how I can divert it so it heats that area too. Would I have to add another zone?

 

[begreen]

Adding a separate zone with it's own thermostat is definitely possible. If you go that route I would still place insulating the basement as top priority.

 

[JA600L]

If you go any further with wood I would start with a chimney inspection. If that is found faulty or insufficient you could be paying a lot of your budget on that alone.