- Nov 27, 2012
- 0
Question:
Hello, my wife and I just bought an Irish Waterford Trinity II fireplace. It is located in the basement of our house. My problem is that it isn't heating like I thought it would. I get a hot bed of coals and add wood to it. Then I close the damper slightly so I don't shut it completely off. The fire seems to go good but the unit is not giving off sufficient heat. Our finished basement is only about 400 sq.ft. and it only keeps it around 69-70 degrees, max. The heat doesn't even touch the upstairs. My wood has been cut for a year and it is dry. Is this stove just for looks or is their anything I can do differently?
Answer:
The large cement mass of basement floors and walls can soak up heat like a sponge. Imagine trying to heat up against the effect of all that weight! This is especially true if they are not well insulated.
Are you putting a decent amount of wood through it? 100 or more pounds on a cold day?
If the stove has some single wall surfaces on it, buy a magnetic thermometer and place it on the stove. Try to get temps above 500 degrees on single wall parts of the top and front. If you get in the range from 500-750 F, a decent amount of heat should be thrown off. Also, if they sell an optional blower for the stove, you might want to try it.
In the Hearth.com forums there are many discussions about putting stoves and fireplaces in basements, it is not at all unusual for people to experience less than ideal results, especially if they are trying to get the heat to move to other areas of their homes.
Hello, my wife and I just bought an Irish Waterford Trinity II fireplace. It is located in the basement of our house. My problem is that it isn't heating like I thought it would. I get a hot bed of coals and add wood to it. Then I close the damper slightly so I don't shut it completely off. The fire seems to go good but the unit is not giving off sufficient heat. Our finished basement is only about 400 sq.ft. and it only keeps it around 69-70 degrees, max. The heat doesn't even touch the upstairs. My wood has been cut for a year and it is dry. Is this stove just for looks or is their anything I can do differently?
Answer:
The large cement mass of basement floors and walls can soak up heat like a sponge. Imagine trying to heat up against the effect of all that weight! This is especially true if they are not well insulated.
Are you putting a decent amount of wood through it? 100 or more pounds on a cold day?
If the stove has some single wall surfaces on it, buy a magnetic thermometer and place it on the stove. Try to get temps above 500 degrees on single wall parts of the top and front. If you get in the range from 500-750 F, a decent amount of heat should be thrown off. Also, if they sell an optional blower for the stove, you might want to try it.
In the Hearth.com forums there are many discussions about putting stoves and fireplaces in basements, it is not at all unusual for people to experience less than ideal results, especially if they are trying to get the heat to move to other areas of their homes.
