Basement installs

[Ctwoodtick]

As we look at houses to move to, I’ve seen a few basement stove installs. I know it’s a general question, but do these ever work well? I’ve read that they can be affected by negative pressure and was curious what to look for as we see houses. Thanks

 

[Prof]

The biggest thing will be insulation of basement walls. Without that, not much heat is going to find its way upstairs. I've had two basement installs--both work fine. If the house is tight, you may need an outside air kit--but I suspect previous owners may have figured this out. In my current house, heat seems to find its way upstairs without help, but I'd be careful punching holes in the floor, it can be a fire hazard.

 

[MR. GLO]

My stove is near the basement stairs...it heats the house but it takes a 3-4 hours to go from 65 to 71 with temp 30 degrees outside.

I have box fans up stairs and fan and in the basement. Im thinking of a hole in the other end of the basement to the 1st floor to bring cold air back to stove...Something that will close during fire. My radiator pipe holes or the gaps help drop cold air back to the basement. If your basement ceiling is insulated it will be tough.

Going to the basement each time to load is a pain but its nice for the wood storage and splitting. I have a camera and wireless temp gauge...without them i wouldn't want a stove in basement unless I was living down there. Perfect setup is the middle of the house or main room and walkable pitch roof.

 

[ABMax24]

I've never lived in a house that didn't have the stove in the basement. I've found they work well as long as there is enough opportunity for the heat to rise in the house, usually the stairwell is enough to allow the heat to rise. One house we live in as kids used a ceiling fan above the stove to force the air up and between the floor trusses to warm the floors and eventually come out the a few vents around the house.

There's a few things to watch for:

Stove overdraft, generally the chimneys are tall and that can be a situation for overdraft.
Backdraft, although never had a stove where this wasn't fixed by opening a window by the stove when lighting.
Insulation, no point having a stove if the basement if the walls aren't insulated to some degree.

I couldn't ever see myself owning a home where the stove wasn't in the basement, unless that stove had some method of moving heat down to the basement from a floor above.

 

[tabner]

I'm in Eastern CT also, and i am heating from the basement. Like anything - Pros and Cons. It minimizes temp swings, if the basement has a walkout or a bulkhead it's really nice to keep all the wood and mess down there. I do miss out on being able to watch the flames all the time, getting the stove loaded and dialed in is a bit of a pain cause i'm up and down the stairs a bunch of times. I have plenty of draft, because my chimney is tall and internal to the house envelope.
If i could do it again, i'd get a BK. being in the basement i'm not watching the flame show anyways, and i'd like to be able to 'set it and forget it' so to speak.
I would pay close attention to the layout of the floor above. think about what areas are going to be cold, or hard to get heat to, and then find a spot to put a return duct or vent. I put a floor register in a back bedroom with a temp actuated duct fan pushing cold air down, to allow hot air from the stove room to float up the stairs. works really well. My stove is in a tiny basement den (200 sq feet), but i'm able to get enough air movement that the stove room peaks around 82 and i can keep the whole upstairs around 70 to 72.
What part of CT you looking in? I live just east of Uconn.

 

[peakbagger]

IMO, older less than airtight homes rarely have backdraft issues with basement installs. Newer tight homes are more of problem.