Going to Menards to buy a stove for the basement for occasional use.

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Hope everyone has a wonderful and warm Thanksgiving!
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here

WiscWoody

Minister of Fire
Dec 24, 2011
2,078
Winter WI
[Hearth.com] Going to Menards to buy a stove for the basement for occasional use.
I see Menards has a deal on a Century S244 wood stove. They have them for $355 after in-store rebate and sale price which is $400 less than another local store has them (L&M Supply). There’s a block chimney in the basement with a 6" capped off port it in where a add-on wood furnace used to be hooked into it so I think it should be a easy hookup. I’d use it just when I’m planning on working in the shop downstairs in the winter since it stays around 50 down there when I’m heating with the wood stove upstairs and there no heat in the basement then. Sound good to you too?
 
View attachment 237842
I see Menards has a deal on a Century S244 wood stove. They have them for $355 after in-store rebate and sale price which is $400 less than another local store has them (L&M Supply). There’s a block chimney in the basement with a 6" capped off port it in where a add-on wood furnace used to be hooked into it so I think it should be a easy hookup. I’d use it just when I’m planning on working in the shop downstairs in the winter since it stays around 50 down there when I’m heating with the wood stove upstairs and there no heat in the basement then. Sound good to you too?
I like the idea, but I am a coward. I would make sure the existing block chimney was sound first.
 
Just for spot heat maybe. That's a very small (1.2cf) stove in a basement, so don't expect it to contribute too much towards heating the rest of the house.

Before you pull the trigger, see what condition the chimney is in and what it is going to cost to line it.
 
Last edited:
I have one. Used it for a couple seasons. It can crank out some serious heat. Burn times are naturally short. If it does not come with a blower I think I still have a link to one on Amazon that fits and works perfect. Very reasonably priced. Mine was a solid little stove. It has a perforated baffle type secondary burn sys. (no tubes) that also uses 4 easily removable firebrick layed flat to close off the rear several inches under the flu collar.
 
I have a century s244 heating a1100sqft house. Have it going now. We have had it for three years. It's been a great little heater. Only con is short burn time and you really need to make small splits. Larger splits doesn't fit real well or burn as well. At least it doesn't for me. We were looking to upgrade to a bit larger stove last year mainly because of a longer burn time. Never did yet. It's been such a good little stove I'm having a hard time replacing it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chuck the Canuck
I have a small Country Hearth 2000 from TSC Supply. I think it was $399. Great little heat machine. About 2,0 Cu ft. If your basement is large and open id go 2.Cu ft at least.
 
View attachment 237842
I see Menards has a deal on a Century S244 wood stove. They have them for $355 after in-store rebate and sale price which is $400 less than another local store has them (L&M Supply). There’s a block chimney in the basement with a 6" capped off port it in where a add-on wood furnace used to be hooked into it so I think it should be a easy hookup. I’d use it just when I’m planning on working in the shop downstairs in the winter since it stays around 50 down there when I’m heating with the wood stove upstairs and there no heat in the basement then. Sound good to you too?
I have one of those sitting in my garage I pulled out of a terrible fireplace install. It's the Drolet brand name and the legs have been shortened. Would give you a great deal on it if your interested. Located by Crooked Lake WI.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
I have a Defender in my trailer up north which is exactly the same stove, it struggles to heat a 12x20 foot space and i dearly wish i had gone bigger.
I think you'll be disappointed in its performance. I'd go bigger and just build smaller fires if needed, better to have to much capacity than not enough.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Seasoned Oak
[Hearth.com] Going to Menards to buy a stove for the basement for occasional use. [Hearth.com] Going to Menards to buy a stove for the basement for occasional use. [Hearth.com] Going to Menards to buy a stove for the basement for occasional use. [Hearth.com] Going to Menards to buy a stove for the basement for occasional use.
Just for spot heat maybe. That's a very small (1.2cf) stove in a basement, so don't expect it to contribute too much towards heating the rest of the house.

Before you pull the trigger, see what condition the chimney is in and what it is going to cost to line it.
This would just be for a small basement and I have a larger 2.3cf wood stove upstairs. I don’t know what condition my chimney would be considered as... it’s fine inside of the house but above the roof there are some cracked blocks but I think the clay liner is sound but I can’t say for certain. The house is 40 years old as is the chimney. I was thinking that I’d take out the chimney in a few years after I replace the water heater out for a power vented one but I won’t demo it if I get the wood stove. The WH is the only thing that uses the chimney anymore. I took some photos of where I’d put the stove and the chimney itself so you all can see what I’m talking about here. I just got a stainless chimney cap too to replace the old rusting one on it now to eliminate the rust stains from it.
 
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but you can't hook up a wood stove to that chimney as the way it seems in the pictures that is the vent for the water heater!

@bholler
 
  • Like
Reactions: bholler
In some places it would be legal to drop 2 liners down the chimney, one for each appliance, but it doesn't look like there is room for that from the photos. If there is room for an insulated stove liner and an uninsulated water heater liner, I wouldn't see any safety problems with that.

Nowhere are you allowed to have an oil/gas burner and a wood burner sharing a flue, at least if they are separate appliances.

(broken link removed) if you want further reading (I don't agree with everything on this site, but this shared-flue page seems pretty solid.)
 
Last edited:
View attachment 237878 View attachment 237879 View attachment 237880 View attachment 237881
This would just be for a small basement and I have a larger 2.3cf wood stove upstairs. I don’t know what condition my chimney would be considered as... it’s fine inside of the house but above the roof there are some cracked blocks but I think the clay liner is sound but I can’t say for certain. The house is 40 years old as is the chimney. I was thinking that I’d take out the chimney in a few years after I replace the water heater out for a power vented one but I won’t demo it if I get the wood stove. The WH is the only thing that uses the chimney anymore. I took some photos of where I’d put the stove and the chimney itself so you all can see what I’m talking about here. I just got a stainless chimney cap too to replace the old rusting one on it now to eliminate the rust stains from it.
You can't run the stove and water heater in the same chimney. And 40 years is about the expected lifespan of clay liners have it checked.
 
His post says he will be switching the water heater out for a power vented model, and either demo the chimney or keep it for a wood stove.
 
His post says he will be switching the water heater out for a power vented model, and either demo the chimney or keep it for a wood stove.

Not everyone reads...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ludlow
In some places it would be legal to drop 2 liners down the chimney, one for each appliance, but it doesn't look like there is room for that from the photos. If there is room for an insulated stove liner and an uninsulated water heater liner, I wouldn't see any safety problems with that.

Nowhere are you allowed to have an oil/gas burner and a wood burner sharing a flue, at least if they are separate appliances.

(broken link removed) if you want further reading (I don't agree with everything on this site, but this shared-flue page seems pretty solid.)
Ah... thanks for that information! I bought this house last summer and I took out a wood burning add-on furnace that was connected to the chimney in the spot where you can see that some creosote had dripped from it. So for now I think I’ll wait on getting a stove for the basement and wait and see what I think about it in the future but I’ll probably just use the existing water heater for a few more years and then replace it with a power vented model and then take down the block chimney, first from the top as much as I can and then slowly demo it from the basement letting it come down as I hit it with a sledge hammer. It’ll be a mess I’m sure!
 
Last edited:
His post says he will be switching the water heater out for a power vented model, and either demo the chimney or keep it for a wood stove.
Well no he said he was thinking about that in a few years.

Not everyone reads...
Yes but the ones saying he can't do this are not the ones who didn't read.
 
Ah... thanks for that information! I bought this house last summer and I took out a wood burning add-on furnace that was connected to the chimney in the spot where you can see that some creosote had dripped from it. So for now I think I’ll wait on getting a stove for the basement and wait and see what I think about it in the future. Now I think I’ll probably just use the existing water heater for a few more years and then replace it with a power vented model and then take down the block chimney, first from the top as much as I can and then slowly demo it from the basement letting it come down as I hit it with a sledge hammer. It’ll be a mess I’m sure!
That is not how you take down a chimney I hope you were kidding. Because you would be very lucky to survive that.
 
That is not how you take down a chimney I hope you were kidding. Because you would be very lucky to survive that.
I wasn’t joking. If I take down all that I can from the roof I’d have about 15 feet left to take down. If I carefully hammer at it I’d think that it would come down bit by bit as I hammer at it. I don’t want to open up walls on the main level of the small rambler to take down the chimney from there and then move down to the basement to do the rest but I’m open to any advise.
 
I wasn’t joking. If I take down all that I can from the roof I’d have about 15 feet left to take down. If I carefully hammer at it I’d think that it would come down bit by bit as I hammer at it. I don’t want to open up walls on the main level of the small rambler to take down the chimney from there and then move down to the basement to do the rest but I’m open to any advise.
You think wrong. It will not come down straight. It will buckle the bottom will kick one way and the top will go the other. It will destroy the walls you are trying to save along with the floors and very possibly kill you. Do not attemt this.
 
I'm still hoping he is just joking.
 
Hire a professional who is insured.