Choosing the right stove for my basement.

[Luigi]

Good morning all,
I have been lurking for some time and finally decided to join. Great forum with lots of info. I am refinishing my basement and I had a question about choosing the correct stove. I am looking for a contemporary style stove which can be installed in a corner of the room. I found that the Morso 6148 is exactly what I am looking for. I am reading through the installation manual and it is showing that I would need a clearance of 84" from floor to ceiling. Unfortunately my ceilings are only going to be 78"-80" (depending on how the drop ceiling works out. I won't know if the exact height of my drop ceiling until my ductwork for a/c is finished. Am I reading the install manual correctly? If I do not have the 84" then this stove is a no- go, correct? I am also a bit confused by the cad drawing on their website. The website states the stove has a height of 27 3/4" but the cad drawing on their site says the stove is 37 1/2". Maybe a typo? The local dealer does not have this stove on display so I really couldn't confirm it. I plan on installing a through the wall kit, single wall connector, and the flue will be at the top of the stove. My walls are just half inch sheetrock and the floor is going to be laminate. I am still trying to figure out floor protection but I may have an issue because that also will take away floor to ceiling clearances. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[webby3650]

Is there anyway to leave the ceiling height alone in the corner with the stove? If the utilities aren't directly above the stove, maybe you could sheetrock that area. On the floor, just tile right over the concrete. Then run your laminate up to the tile.

 

[Luigi]

Is there anyway to leave the ceiling height alone in the corner with the stove? If the utilities aren't directly above the stove, maybe you could sheetrock that area. On the floor, just tile right over the concrete. Then run your laminate up to the tile.

I suppose I can do this. I'll definitely measure this out to see if it will work. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[begreen]

There are a few misleading numbers for this stove. Note that it states the alcove ceiling to floor height needs to be >54". That seems quite low. Call Morso and ask if an NFPA 211 wall shield can be installed above the stove as a ceiling protector to reduce the 84" requirement. That should be fine, but try to get it in writing from them. I'm wondering if the stove height discrepancy is due to the different models in this series and the 27.75" height is for the non-pedestal model 6100, while the pedestal models come in at 37.5 high?

If the Morso doesn't work out consider the Jotul F370 which has a ceiling height requirement of 72" or maybe the Rais Pina?

 

[Luigi]

There are a few misleading numbers for this stove. Note that it states the alcove ceiling to floor height needs to be >54". That seems quite low. Call Morso and ask if an NFPA 211 wall shield can be installed above the stove as a ceiling protector to reduce the 84" requirement. That should be fine, but try to get it in writing from them. I'm wondering if the stove height discrepancy is due to the different models in this series and the 27.75" height is for the non-pedestal model 6100, while the pedestal models come in at 37.5 high?

If the Morso doesn't work out consider the Jotul F370 which has a ceiling height requirement of 72" or maybe the Rais Pina?

I did consider the Jotul F370 but the 16" clearance to the corner was acceptable to me but my wife was not crazy about having the stove that far off from the corner. I probably should have mentioned that I do not have a large space to heat and that was my reason to try to get as close to the wall as possible. My basement will only be about 450 sq ft. I did install new windows and reinsulated but my house has older siding and is drafty. Obviously I do not want to install a stove that is too big and thats why I thought the Morso 6148 was a perfect fit. The price is right also. The Jotul is a bit more expensive and the Pina is way over budget.

 

[begreen]

Contact Morso and see about the ceiling shielding clearance option. The Jotu F370 has a 6" corner clearance to NFPA 211 wall shielded walls with a double-wall connector.

It is a different style, but have you considered the Englander 17-VL? It's very affordable and a decent small stove with 6" corner clearances and designed by a hearth.com member.

 

[Luigi]

Contact Morso and see about the ceiling shielding clearance option. The Jotu F370 has a 6" corner clearance to NFPA 211 wall shielded walls with a double-wall connector.

It is a different style, but have you considered the Englander 17-VL? It's very affordable and a decent small stove with 6" corner clearances and designed by a hearth.com member.

I'll check out the Englander and I forgot to mention I did write to Morso to see about the ceiling clearance. I'll post what they come back with.
Thanks,

 

[Luigi]

Contact Morso and see about the ceiling shielding clearance option. The Jotu F370 has a 6" corner clearance to NFPA 211 wall shielded walls with a double-wall connector.

It is a different style, but have you considered the Englander 17-VL? It's very affordable and a decent small stove with 6" corner clearances and designed by a hearth.com member.

You should be a stove salesperson. I did check out the Englander you mentioned and I couldn't believe the price compared to the Morso. This stove may work and the style is very nice and simple. I would consider it a contemporary style stove. Also the size is perfect.

 

[begreen]

Nah, I already have a day job. This was an interesting stove to watch in development. It has good reviews from the owners as long as one's expectations for the smallish firebox are realistic. For your application it should be fine. Home Depot sells them or you can order direct.
www.overstockstoves.com

 

[webby3650]

I found it interesting that the VL-17 has a closer clearance with single wall than double wall. Englander said it was because double wall increased efficiency allowing the stove to get hotter.

 

[begreen]

Efficiency is good.

 

[Luigi]

Nah, I already have a day job. This was an interesting stove to watch in development. It has good reviews from the owners as long as one's expectations for the smallish firebox are realistic. For your application it should be fine. Home Depot sells them or you can order direct.
www.overstockstoves.com

I am pretty much set on this stove. I'll probably order it over the weekend. I went to a couple of my local home depots and it seems to be a seasonal item. None in stock in my area. I had one more question about the floor protection. I am installing laminate flooring on top of concrete. I am going to need the floor protections of .5 R factor stated in the manual. Would a 36 x 36 inch hearth board cover the clearances being the stove will be installed in a corner? Here is a link of what I would like to install.

http://www.hyccompany.com/StoveBoards.html

Unfortunately they do not make a corner style stove board. I wanted something with a low profile and I believe these boards provide over 1.5 R factor of thermal protection which is more than enough. I can live with a square shaped board. I know from corner to corner at a diagonal the measurement is ~ 50 inches. I am overthinking this regarding enough area of floor protection?

 

[begreen]

If the stove is going directly on a concrete slab with no floor covering, you have all the protection you need. You could hold back the laminate in that area as an option. The do make corner hearthpads or you could whip one up yourself if you have some basic skills. Another simple option would be to frame up some regular brick to make the hearth and brush over sand to fill the cracks.

http://www.hearthclassics.com/

 

[Rickb]

Why not just tile that small area where the stove will be? Then you have no issue with ember protection.

 

[Luigi]

Why not just tile that small area where the stove will be? Then you have no issue with ember protection.

I am horrible at tiling. I was going to run the laminate flooring throughout and just place the hearth/stove board on top of the laminate flooring.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

We had to box out.... Or up... In a bathroom in order to have a chandelier fit, I say try to leave a higher space only above the stove if possible. In other words, no drop ceiling in that spot....will that work?

 

[Luigi]

We had to box out.... Or up... In a bathroom in order to have a chandelier fit, I say try to leave a higher space only above the stove if possible. In other words, no drop ceiling in that spot....will that work?

The only thing that is in the way is an air conditioner line set. It can be moved. I would have to have someone evacuate the refrigerant and re route the line set.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

An extra expense but worth it if totally necessary....

 

[Rickb]

On the ceiling why not use a ceiling grid system instead of a dropped ceiling. You can use the same tiles. We did this in our basement. On 1 side we had the gas and water lines so we used a ceiling grid system and put 2x4's running perpendicular to the rafters and laid it on it. On ours we dropped it only 1.75 inches and it turned out great. We boxed and drywalled around the Hvac stuff.

 

[begreen]

I am horrible at tiling. I was going to run the laminate flooring throughout and just place the hearth/stove board on top of the laminate flooring.

This is a small job. Get a quote or two. It shouldn't take more than a few hours total, especially if the tile are large and the pattern simple.

 

[Rickb]

This is a small job. Get a quote or two. It shouldn't take more than a few hours total, especially if the tile are large and the pattern simple.

I agree with begreen. To be honest I am not good at tiling either but a small 4' x 4' area or so should be easy with little to no cuts. If there are any cuts just lay them all out how you want them ahead of time and measure the cut and take it up to lowes/home depot and ask them to cut it for you. Use large 18x18 or 20 x 20 tiles and it will be like 6 to 9 tiles depending on how you do it. With that few tile I wouldnt even mix thinset or grout I would just buy mastic and premixed grout.