How to heat my cellar

[nhgirl]

I'm in the market for opinions, so if you have a surplus of them, feel free to toss them here.

I've had an Englander PDV pellet stove in my cellar for the last couple of years. My house in New Hampshire was built in 1835, is about 3600 square feet, and requires, shall we say, creativity in heating. Upstairs, I have a Jotul Oslo 500 in the central fireplace, and a Quadrafire Castile Pellet in the back room (kitchen). One side of the house, though, pretty much relies on the cellar stove for heat--and that same heat source also makes sure that my pipes down there don't freeze.

So what's the problem?

Well, my Englander is crapping out on me. It might be fixable, and lord knows I'm trying, but I'm also getting less and less fond of pellet heat in general. Don't like all the moving parts; don't like the necessity of power. So I'm mentally shopping around for alternatives. Any ideas?

I've got a chimney down there (obviously), with a six-inch stainless steel liner, and a concrete pad for footing. Most of the cellar, however, is dirt floor, with stone walls, and granite capstones. The floor above is uninsulated, and thus a prime candidate (I think) for rising, radiant heat. What would you guys start thinking of for a type (or specific) heat source down there? Wood? Coal? Argue me back in to pellets? I'm open.

Thanks!

 

[mtarbert]

check the R values of the walls....I think you may be trying to heat the ground surrounding your home.

 

[Wet1]

As mtarbert said, your first order of business should probably be to insulate that basement if you're going to heat from down there, otherwise you'll be losing 30% or more of your heat through the basement walls.

With that said, you'll have to check what fuel is cheapest in your area. I suspect wood is probably your best bet. If you can get coal fairly cheaply, it's great to heat with. It burns really hot and lasts a long time compared to wood, plus it's easy to store and doesn't go bad. Pellets are easy, but they can be costly (like 2005 and 2008/9). If you want to stay with pellets, I have the same stove you have sitting in my basement not being used. If you want to take a ride to CT, I'll sell it to you cheap since I'm not using it.

 

[Todd]

If I had that big of a house I'd consider a wood furnace in the basement.

 

[nhgirl]

Yeah, I know insulation is an issue... The problem with these old cellars, as I understand it, is that if you create any kind of real moisture barrier up here, you're asking for frost heaves to collapse your walls and capstones. Some people go ahead and mortar these stones walls anyway, but I'm definitely gun-shy about the whole angle.

The previous owners actually had the oil furnace down there, pumping god knows how much heat just into the ground. (They told me they spent about $8K on heat per year. Yikes!) With proper insulation (upstairs at least), I've got the house down to 4 tons of pellets and 4-5 cords of wood, so we're at around a$2K for the annual expense. But it would be awfully nice to feel confident on those -20 degree days.

Wood *is* the cheapest around here--but if I go that direction, what kind of stove would you all recommend? I've had the Englander up around 5 (both heat and blower) most of the time when it's running (only on single-digit or below days), 8 at the highest. It's sitting down there on a concrete pad, with plastic hung around it from the joists, directing heat up toward a vent in the floor. Real high-tech, I know. I need to put in a return, but all it's really doing is tempering the floor a bit and allowing the stoves upstairs to reasonably handle the rest. If I thought about it in terms of square feet, the cellar is about 20x20, and the stove helps to heat the same amount of space on the 2 floors above--so 800 to 1200 sq. ft. Recommendations?