Basement install

[crawfish]

So I have finally got around to insulating my basement walls with 1 1/2 in. rigid foam to try and help heat first floor with a woodstove down there. Well starting to insulate anyway have about half of the1000 sf. done so far. I have a Napoleon 1402 on the first floor which keeps it comfortable till temps get in single digits or lower and with no heat in basement the floors are FREEZING! My goal is to at least warm up the floors above basement significantly. No insulation in basement ceiling which should be a plus I think. Leaning towards an NC-30 as I have seen great posts on here about them. Basement is 25' x 40' and not open as it has a 40 ft. cement block wall dividing it lengthwise with two 4-5 ft. openings about 10 ft. in on each end. One side is open for 40ft. but other side has a wall roughly in the middle dividing it into two sections with a 3 ft. wide opening joining them. Was planning on putting stove on 40 ft. open side across from one of the 4-5 ft. openings in hopes heat would radiate towards other side. Has anyone had trouble circulating heat in a basement with dividing walls? I'm sure fans would help if I need them just curious on others thoughts. Also there is a stairway on one end going to first floor. Thinking of putting stove on that side but it would still be maybe 10 ft. from it. Hoping heat would travel up if I put a cold air return to basement at other end? Would an NC-30 be big enough? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

[begreen]

So far your plan sounds reasonable. With the stove pointing toward the 4-5' opening, the stove's blower should blow heat into the other side. A cold air return on the opposite side may work out. It will depend somewhat on the main floor plan above it. Post a sketch if you can.

 

[crawfish]

Thanks for the reply begreen! Not sure if I'll need to sketch an upstairs floor plan as it is pretty simple. There are 4 rooms in a row above the open 40 ft. side of the basement while the other side of upstairs is all open. The 1402 insert is at the opposite end of the house from where the stove would be and like I said keeps the entire upstairs comfortable. But I think the freezing cold floors are zapping a lot of the heat from it. Just thought of a problem I heard from a friend who put a woodburner in his basement below his bathroom and it melted the wax ring on his toilet. And of course the location I am thinking of is only 3 or 4 feet away from my toilet upstairs. Do you think this may be too close? I have only ever had my insert upstairs and never a freestanding stove so not sure how hot floor above would get. Already thought about making a sheet metal shield of some sort to divert heat away from this area if need be.

 

[begreen]

Ha, that is a good one. It's the first time I've heard of a toilet ring melting. This sounds entirely possible with the stove too close to the exposed plumbing. One option would be to enclose the base of the toilet and piping in an insulated chase. Even a heat shield would help. Barring that if the stove has to go there I would change out the toilet seal to one that doesn't use wax at all and put up a metal heat shield.

 

[crawfish]

Think I'm going to have to scratch that location due to some other obstacles, clearances and such. Back to the basement to look for another location. Let you know what I come up with

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

Last year I installed a wood stove in the basement and about half way through the winter a leak developed around the bottom of the toilet! Here I was just sitting down in the basement enjoying my new friend (the stove) when all of a sudden I saw a wet spot on the floor and one thing leading to another as they do, I tracked it right up to the toilet. I had to tighten the sucker up a few turns on each side (which made me pretty nervous about breaking the base of the toilet), but I got 'er done and never had a problem since.... but I never figured, or even thought that it had anything to do with the stove.....

Wow! This place never ceases to amaze me.....

Edit: come to think of it now, ever since that happened, I've always been right mindful not to wiggle around on that toilet seat too much, just in case.....

 

[begreen]

You might be a candidate for a wax-free seal:
http://www.fernco.com/plumbing/wax-free-toilet-seal

 

[Rossco]

So I have finally got around to insulating my basement walls with 1 1/2 in. rigid foam to try and help heat first floor with a woodstove down there. Well starting to insulate anyway have about half of the1000 sf. done so far!

Nice. Do a thread on the rigid foam install, my summer plan right there.

My basement is divided into 3 sections. 1 section is complete, the middle section is so so and the other side I opened up into the so so, now the so so is not so so. To get heat into the finished section I simply open the two doors.

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

You might be a candidate for a wax-free seal:
http://www.fernco.com/plumbing/wax-free-toilet-seal

Thanks begreen. The next time I remove the throne I'll be putting the wax-free seal in!

Cheers

 

[mol1jb]

So I have finally got around to insulating my basement walls with 1 1/2 in. rigid foam to try and help heat first floor with a woodstove down there. Well starting to insulate anyway have about half of the1000 sf. done so far. I have a Napoleon 1402 on the first floor which keeps it comfortable till temps get in single digits or lower and with no heat in basement the floors are FREEZING! My goal is to at least warm up the floors above basement significantly. No insulation in basement ceiling which should be a plus I think. Leaning towards an NC-30 as I have seen great posts on here about them. Basement is 25' x 40' and not open as it has a 40 ft. cement block wall dividing it lengthwise with two 4-5 ft. openings about 10 ft. in on each end. One side is open for 40ft. but other side has a wall roughly in the middle dividing it into two sections with a 3 ft. wide opening joining them. Was planning on putting stove on 40 ft. open side across from one of the 4-5 ft. openings in hopes heat would radiate towards other side. Has anyone had trouble circulating heat in a basement with dividing walls? I'm sure fans would help if I need them just curious on others thoughts. Also there is a stairway on one end going to first floor. Thinking of putting stove on that side but it would still be maybe 10 ft. from it. Hoping heat would travel up if I put a cold air return to basement at other end? Would an NC-30 be big enough? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Hey crawfish

I heat my main lvl from the basement install. I have the nc30. It works well for several reasons. First is adequate insulation in the basement. Last year the basement was not insulated at all. This year 3/4 of the walls are insulated and what a difference. Second, half the basement is closed off so more heat gets upstairs. Spare bedroom and laundry room dont need full heat. Finally, locating the stove somewhat in close proximity to the stairwell is very helpful. My setup is about 20ft from the steps. Ideally it would be closer but with use of fans I have good success getting a good heat upstairs. Good luck

 

[Mo Par]

My stove is also in a mostly finished basement. 1/4 of it's walled off for storage, washer dryer etc. The house is a split level built in 68. The stove is about 10 ft from the stairwell. I also have a vent in the floor with a fan. It heats the whole house just fine. If the outside temps get in the mid 40's or greater I really have to cut it back or it'll run you out of the house.