At the beginning of last burning season, I bought a Woodstock Soapstone Absolute Steel. This is my second season with this stove. I am happy with it overall. Last year, I heated 3200 square feet on less than 3 cords of wood starting in late October. I'm finding that it heats well up to when the outside temps are in the low 20's during the day and teens to single digits at night, but it starts falling behind after several consecutive days of teens during the day and single digits at night. I guess I can't complain about that. But I have an extra flue in a separate chimney in the basement. It's in the part of the basement, in which above it, it is the hardest part of the house to get heat. I recently hooked up an old stove (Americus) in this flue. During this recent extreme cold stretch, I ran it and it helped me maintain the temperatures in the house pretty well (68 and above all through the house). This is an uninsulated basement. The walls are uninsulated, but the ceiling (under the first floor flooring) is insulated. I know this isn't the most efficient way to heat, but it worked to some degree, though I went through a lot of wood. I imagine I would do better in the future in cold spells if I insulated the basement walls with rigid foam insulation. But, I'm not sure I'm that confident with this cellar stove (Americus) I have now. Any suggestions on what kind of stove would work well down there if i was looking to spend say $600 to $800 for a used stove?
cellar stove
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There are two things working against this setup. The upstairs would heat much better if the basement ceiling wasn't insulated. And about a third of the heat the stove(s) are creating is being sucked out the uninsulated walls. One cord out of three burned is heating mother nature. Take care of those two issues and the odds are good that the Woodstock will handle the load.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
Begreen is right on except that he thinks the Woodstock is in the basement. 
You can get a very serviceable brand new stove to help with the coldest days for that price. The Englander NC30 has a lot of fans here, and should be pretty easy to find in that price range this spring.
Any stove is going to be of limited use until you fix the insulation.
You can get a very serviceable brand new stove to help with the coldest days for that price. The Englander NC30 has a lot of fans here, and should be pretty easy to find in that price range this spring.Any stove is going to be of limited use until you fix the insulation.
Correct. The Absolute Steel is upstairs in the great room. I cannot uninsulate the basement ceiling. But my plan is to eventually insulate the basement walls with 1 inch rigid foam or something like that. I realized that what I was trying to do this past weekend by running the basement stove was very inefficient. Cutting vents in the floor is a good idea. Thanks. I will check out the Englander NC30. Thanks.
The most important thing some times to get warm safely and then worry about the details when it warms up. You pulled it off and you deserve a "star" on pulling off something that helped. . Of course I expect your landscaping around the house appreciates the warmer soil from the heat that is leaking out the foundation. With insulation under the floors any basement heating is going to be marginal.
. Of course I expect your landscaping around the house appreciates the warmer soil from the heat that is leaking out the foundation. With insulation under the floors any basement heating is going to be marginal.
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You finish out insulating those basement walls and you will be pleasantly surprised by what those floor vents will do for you!
jetsam
Minister of Fire
I can. I can do it in an hour, and you can pay me in beer¹.
¹Contract is for functional demolition of drywall and insulation via wrecking bar. Homeowners who find a basement full of debris to be inconvenient may wish to clean up after I leave. Certain limitations may apply. Attempted payments in light beer may be grounds for a crowbarrin.
Thanks, I glossed over that. It helps these tired eyes when a new thought starts with a new paragraph. Not sure how many sq ft are in the basement, but the 30 NC probably would be overkill in a completely insulated space if it's under 2000 sq ft.Begreen is right on except that he thinks the Woodstock is in the basement.
Any stove is going to be of limited use until you fix the insulation.
The basement is 1600 square feet. There's a 32 x 32 section and a 24 x 24 section. The Woodstock is on the first floor above the 24 x 24 section. The extra flue is in the 32 x 32 section. I think I would close off the 2 sections and insulate the 32 x 32 section.
If I did that, what about the Englander 13-NC?
If I did that, what about the Englander 13-NC?
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jetsam
Minister of Fire
You lose a lot of heat from an uninsulated cement floor. I guess in your case this is less of a concern, as the stove is going to be used rarely to help with peak heating needs, but any stove will do better with less exposed concrete. Exterior walls and floors are an infinite heat sink for practical purposes.
That's fine then. The 13NC has stiff hearth requirements if the stove is placed on a combustible surface.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
I guess if you wanted to insulate an area and then build a noncombustible pad over it for the stove, it might have a noticeable impact, yes. The remaining exposed cement will still be transmitting heat to ground.
I don't have a feel for how much impact this would actually make- hopefully someone here has tried it with their basement stove?
Ideally of course you would insulate the whole floor, which is a project (leveling, moisture barrier, sleepers, insulation, subfloor, new flooring). That is more work than most people would go to for increased stove efficiency on a stove that burns a few times a year. However, if you want to turn the basement into a nice warm living space, it would be a great start, and would help your stove out.
Bootstrap
Burning Hunk
I would rather let my houses primary heat source kick in during such times. With your upstairs stove going the oil/propane or natural gas furnace/boiler wouldn't run all that much. Its got to be less effort overall than burning a wood stove in the basement and losing all that heat.
I learned the hard way about basement stoves. The only way I would want one is if it were a ducted furnace or boiler.
I learned the hard way about basement stoves. The only way I would want one is if it were a ducted furnace or boiler.
Yeah, I guess Bootstrap makes a lot of sense. It’s seems like a lot of effort to go through to achieve what I want and only really use it a few times a year. But, I imagine, like many people in the forum, I’m enthusiastic about burning wood. I enjoy providing all of the heating energy my family needs if I can and I’m fortunate enough to be able to just go out and get it.
So, thanks for all of the input. I think I’m going to view this as a long term project. Even if I get the stove within the next few years and insulate the walls a few pieces at a time. I’ll probably just sit the stove on the cement floor and get what I get. Thanks.
So, thanks for all of the input. I think I’m going to view this as a long term project. Even if I get the stove within the next few years and insulate the walls a few pieces at a time. I’ll probably just sit the stove on the cement floor and get what I get. Thanks.
What if I rethought the whole entire thing and eventually threw the Englander wood furnace down there? I would have to somehow figure out how to run duct work upstairs to the first and second floors, right? I'm not sure how it works. I have an oil burner with radiant heat under the first floor and forced hot water baseboard upstairs, so it couldn't be tied into that.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
My neighbor heats his house with wood-fired hydronic baseboards. It does his domestic hot water, too. He has an outdoor boiler, but I think they make indoor units also.
His only complaint is that he has to get someone to feed the boiler daily if they take a vacation in the winter, or his pipes freeze.
Bootstrap
Burning Hunk
You could ditch the whole idea and get an indoor boiler. I would keep the existing boiler for times that you wont be around to feed it. I have a wood stove insert in my fireplace but if I had to have a basement stove in this house, an indoor boiler is the way I would go.
That's what I was thinking. It makes no sense to go through all that work to insulate in the cellar just for using the stove for a few days per year. The Englander wood furnace is only a few hundred dollars more. I've seen it for $1250 and I imagine I could get it on sale at the end of a burning season. If I did that, it would change the way I heat my house. In cold weather, I would use the furnace. In milder, more marginal weather, I would probably use the Woodstock. But I would have to find a way to run duct work to the 1st and 2nd floors. I'm sure there's a way and I have a friend who is a contractor who I can hire. And maybe there's a way I can dump some heat in the basement if I need to. I have an air exchange system down there that gets icy in really cold weather. Just wondering if the Englander Furnace is too much heat for my house. My house is 3200 square feet (first and second floors, I'm not including the basement just to be clear), but it's made of Structural Insulated Panels and it holds heat really well.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
He said "boiler", though. You have hydronic baseboards, not ductwork. Is the downstairs stove's flue close to the oil burner? If not, there are combination units.
(broken link removed to http://mainewoodfurnaces.com/residential/indoor-cc500/)
(broken link removed to http://mainewoodfurnaces.com/residential/indoor-cc500/)
The only other thing is that it would be nice to do hot water too. I'm sure other boilers/furnaces would do that, but I bet they're a lot more money.
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