Hey folks. So here is what I have going. I just got this big old Buffalo wood stove from my brother in law. It's about 24" in every direction. Two sets of doors one above the other. Eight inch outlet. It's sweet. Last winter was our first in this new house. It's a ranch on a full basement. Last year the heat bill was absurd. We have a heat pump with electric auxiliary. Once it gets cold. It runs all the time. In the living room there is an old fireplace with a really nice brick hearth and mantle. Below it in the basement there is a clean out. I want to tap into that chimney from below. I understand that the upper one will no longer be usable. Has anyone ever done that? Any advice would be helpful. I can upload some pics. I am gonna try. New to this site so wish me luck.
Basement wood stove install. Need help
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Woodsplitter67
Minister of Fire
Force was not with me. Attempted to up load pics. Was told file to large. Dammit!
jetsam
Minister of Fire
You may be able to knock a new hole in the chimney abd run the flue through it... you will definitely need to clean and inspect the whole thing, and make sure it can hold an 8" liner.
If you want to get a lot of heat out of that stove, haul it down to the scrapyard and put that $25 towards a modern stove. This will also give you the option to run a cheaper and more-likely-to-fit 6" liner, depending on the stove you pick.
Last up, an uninsulated basement is an infinite heatsink. If you want to get heat the upstairs with any stove, consider remodeling the fireplace and putting the stove there. If a remodel is not in the cards, you can put a stove insert in the fireplace. (I heat my whole house with a stove insert; works nicely.)
Bottom line: Do some research before you spend all the money and time to install an old smoke dragon in your basement. This is a great place to do it.
If you want to get a lot of heat out of that stove, haul it down to the scrapyard and put that $25 towards a modern stove. This will also give you the option to run a cheaper and more-likely-to-fit 6" liner, depending on the stove you pick.
Last up, an uninsulated basement is an infinite heatsink. If you want to get heat the upstairs with any stove, consider remodeling the fireplace and putting the stove there. If a remodel is not in the cards, you can put a stove insert in the fireplace. (I heat my whole house with a stove insert; works nicely.)
Bottom line: Do some research before you spend all the money and time to install an old smoke dragon in your basement. This is a great place to do it.
Thank you. I appreciate the input. I want to heat the basement too. It's has thick poured cement walls and the ceiling is insulated. Our laundry is down there and the kids play down there. All the tile floors in the house were freezing last winter because the basement was cold. The fireplace in the living room has a steel jacket inside that looks mortared in to the brick. Is that conducive to an insert? As far as space goes it looks like there is all types of room. The Terra Cotta flu coming out of the top of chimney looks like it's a 10 ". From the ground anyway....lol. Didn't climb up there yet. So I think I wouldn't have a problem dropping an 8" liner down through the whole thing. But if I want to make it down to the basement I think that steel jacket will have to go.
Yes you would have to cut out the metal firebox. Cut through the floor them brick up the face. And you will really want to insulate the basement walls and remove the insulation from the ceiling. I agree if it was me I would be looking for a better stove that will run on a 6" liner.
I’m assuming there are 2 flues in one chimney? Otherwise, running a stove up from the basement into the fireplace is out of the question.
Removing the insulation from the basement ceiling is going to be a must if you have any hopes of heating the upper level.
Removing the insulation from the basement ceiling is going to be a must if you have any hopes of heating the upper level.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
If you're ripping out whatever was installed in the old fireplace anyway, you have your options open as to putting the stove upstairs or downstairs. If you do put it in the basement, plan on insulating the walls (and floors, if possible). You'll get a lot more heat upstairs if you put the stove upstairs. Then again, you'll probably get a lot more kids and dogs downstairs if you put the stove downstairs, which may be seen as a definite plus.
If you are planning on heating with wood and reading about heating with wood, go ahead and accept that at some point you're going to be sick of having an old smoke dragon with poor efficiency and poor burn times, and get a modern stove. If you put an 8" liner in now, you're committing to A) Picking a new stove that uses an 8" liner, B) Picking a new 6" stove that will work with the larger flue diameter, or C) Putting an expensive 6" liner down the expensive 8" liner. A and B limit your stove choices.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
No you can run up through a fireplace we have done it many times. The fireplace needs bricked off but if you do that there is no issue at all.
I understand that, my point was why? Removing a heat form firebox to achieve this is would be an astronomical expense. At least compared to the benefit...
Not astronomical at all. And the whole thing doesn't need to come out anyway. I could easily have that install done in one day for only 15 to 20% more labor than a standard liner install.
We do them most often in historic houses where the only flues available are for fireplaces and the only option for venting a furnace or wood stove is up through as fireplace on the first or second floor. And in my new house I am opening up my heatform and firebox floor to make room for an 8" liner before closing up the face in case I want to install a 5100 or king in the future.
I'll have to put my two cents in here. May not work for you but it seems to be fine with my setup. I also heat from the basement, with cement walls (not insulated) and the ceiling is insulated. Instead of ripping out all of the insulation in the ceiling, I just took out a couple of batts directly above the stove. The heat seems to disperse along the entire upstairs floor, between the insulation and sub-floor. The heat is also directed up the staircase, which is centrally located in the house. I'm sure when I insulate the walls, it would help 10 fold. Once again, may not work for you, but worth a shot before ripping out all of the insulation. My basement is around 1,500 sq ft, and I'm heating with a NC-30.
With a ranch, you would be better off with a wood fired boiler or air. Like all others said, the basement is an infinite heat sink.
With a boiler, and access to the ceilings, you could do a sweet floor heating hydronic system.
With the air handler, you can just run duct work up to the rooms you need and pipe in heat that way.
A fireplace in the basement is just not going to be effective.
With a boiler, and access to the ceilings, you could do a sweet floor heating hydronic system.
With the air handler, you can just run duct work up to the rooms you need and pipe in heat that way.
A fireplace in the basement is just not going to be effective.
No a fireplace won't be effective but a stove will work just fine. In this area heating with stoves from the basement is very common and it works well if the basement is insulated. And it works without power
The 8" liner will work for 8" stoves as well as most 6" stoves. I have not seen a 6" stove yet that couldn't use an 8" flue. I sure wish I could get an 8" BK king to vent through a 6" flue though!
They do not work anywhere near as well on an 8". And if your chimney is on the short side it may not work
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