Great site! First question.

[Linesider]

What a great find! I've been reading and have been learning alot. I try and talk wood burning with friends and co-workers and people look at me like I'm crazy when I explain it as a hobby.

I've been buring for a couple of years now and have loved it. I recently moved and will be putting the stove in the basement, because of a lack of space in the living room. I have a Jotul 3CB which I took from my old home (buyer didn't want it!) and I have a chimney in the basement from an oil burner which was removed. Can I utilize this chimney and whats the best way? The chimney is not being used for anything else, because the new furnace is gas direct vent. I'll do what ever I need to make it right and I like the idea of going "overkill" so I have piece of mind everything is safe.

Also the chimney above the roof line is starting to tilt and needs to be repointed/ rebuilt. I was wondering if that chimney can be reduced and rebuilt with prefab pipe attaching to the brick?

Any help appreciated, of course I am just starting to read threads here, so I apologize if I am asking some common questions.
John

 

[begreen]

Welcome John. Can you describe the house size and layout? Sounds like you could be making a lot of trips to the basement. The 3CB is a great little stove but it has a small firebox. If the basement is uninsulated and perhaps a little leaky about half of the stove's output will be warming mother earth and not the house. Putting the 3CB in the basement might be classic underkill. This stove has pretty close clearances. Are you sure you can't find a location for it upstairs?

If not, check out the chimney, it should be tile lined and in excellent condition before hooking a woodstove into it. Then you'll need to check the flue size to see how it matches the stove requirements. But there are a lot of other questions to be answered like - how is the heat getting from the basement to the rest of the house?

 

[Linesider]

The house is small and my wife (who's expecting) doesn't want to sacrifice any space for the stove. Plus, I can't really figure out anywhere to put it. They can't be near, or under windows, correct? I have the stove and I figure if I at least have it in the basement, I could use it for some heat and to keep me in the hobby. I figure the heat would just rise up, although I haven't put much thought into it. The house is a 1910 with a few big gaps in the floor, does that work?

 

[begreen]

A close clearance stove can be near a window, but the question is how close? We would need more details to answer that. As far as the floor gaps, are they large enough for a person to pass through? If not, don't expect heat to seep upward. It may be expensive to put the stove - safely - in the basement, so at least look closely at all the alternatives.

 

[Linesider]

Begreen,
Thanks. You got me thinking, and I'm trying to figure out where I can keep it on the first floor. I may have to post some pics for ideas.
But can anyone answer this part of my question:

"Also the chimney above the roof line is starting to tilt and needs to be repointed/ rebuilt. I was wondering if that chimney can be reduced and rebuilt with prefab pipe attaching to the brick?"

 

[Tfin]

I was in the same situation as you. My wife and I have a small ranch (960 sq ft). I was considering putting the stove in the basement as well since our living room is quite small. But after doing much reading/research on this site, I decided to make it work in the living room. My main concern was I wanted to make sure I saw a difference in my oil bill. Having it in the basement and relying on the heat to rise and warm the first floor enough worried me.

I couldn't be happier with my choice! I built a hearth pad and put the stove in the corner (kitty corner style). It looks great and doesn't take up that much more room. Plus with the glass door, its nice to just sit on the couch and watch the fire. I did have to install a stainless steel double wall chimney to go up through the attic and out the roof which was an added expense. But it heated our house with ease, and I only used around 80 gallons of oil from last Oct to this last May (mainly heating hot water only).

Best of luch in your decission.