Is it big enough

[Heehaw]

I have an opportunity to purchase a used Quadrafire 3100 and am new to burning wood. The stove will be in the middle of my basement, the house was built in 1981 and has a flue for a woodstove. I’ll be trying to beat about 2200 square feet of a single level ranch and will be cutting in registers in some of the rooms. I’m just trying to figure out if the stove will be big enough.

 

[begreen]

Is the basement fully insulated? If not, this will probably take a 3 cu ft stove. Before installing have the chimney cleaned and checked for wood operation. It may need a stainless liner.

 

[Woody Stover]

That's a tall order for a 2 cu.ft. stove. But depending on basement insulation, insulation and air-sealing in the rest of the house, and location of the stairway into the upper level, it might be possible. Cutting vents may not be necessary. You'll be going down there more often to load the stove, than you would with a larger box..

 

[snaple4]

I would go big. What size is the current pipe?

 

[weatherguy]

If you cut vents put in a fire damper, if something happens the insurance company might not pay out without a fire damper, for the little bit of money they cost it's worth it.

 

[Heehaw]

I would go big. What size is the current pipe?

Thimble is 8 reduced to 6

 

[Heehaw]

That's a tall order for a 2 cu.ft. stove. But depending on basement insulation, insulation and air-sealing in the rest of the house, and location of the stairway into the upper level, it might be possible. Cutting vents may not be necessary. You'll be going down there more often to load the stove, than you would with a larger box..

The basement is not insulated but completely below grade, the rest of the house is pretty tight. I’m thinking I will continue to shop.

 

[begreen]

The basement is not insulated but completely below grade, the rest of the house is pretty tight. I’m thinking I will continue to shop.

About a third of heat the stove produces will go to heating outdoors through the uninsulated walls and floor. That means 1 cord out of 3 will be heating outdoors and not the house. Is the chimney clay lined? What is the chimney liner ID?

 

[EJJohnson]

I have been using a Cunningham 203 wood stove in the basement for supplemental heat in my house for two years now. The house was built in the 1850's, about 2500 square ft with some insulation, but mostly plaster and lath. The basement is granite and brick with a cement floor. The basement stairway is in the center of the house and I leave the door open, with a little corner fan running. The stove is about five feet from the base of the stairs. Half way through this fall I covered the basement walls with double bubble radiant insulation. I can't believe the improvement that it has made in how the house heats when the stove is burning. It is easy to put up and it is not bothered by moisture.

 

[bloyet03]

The basement is not insulated but completely below grade, the rest of the house is pretty tight. I’m thinking I will continue to shop.

About a third of heat the stove produces will go to heating outdoors through the uninsulated walls and floor. That means 1 cord out of 3 will be heating outdoors and not the house. Is the chimney clay lined? What is the chimney liner ID?

The exact amount is pretty simple to calculate really...BTUs lost is equal to the Delta Temp (temp inside minus outside) times surface area times the heat transfer coefficient "U" (which is the inverse of the r-value). The U value of bare concrete is .7. adding just an R-Value of 5 to your walls cuts your heat loss by almost a third. Insulating your basement walls if you're heating from the basement is HUGE. Even if below grade you still have a delta temp. below frost line its only at most 50 to 55 degrees in the dirt. Frost line and above, its 32 or lower. So even below grade, its huge!

 

[jetsam]

I want a refund. This thread is way less sexy than the subject line implied.

Also, 2x4s and roll insulation are cheap, and it's a lot less work to install them than it is to haul an extra cord of wood down to the stove every year.

Don't forget the cement floor. Also an endless heat sink. An easy way to insulate that is 2x2 purlins and sheets of rigid 1.5" insulation. Owens makes one that is scored and breaks into 16"x48" strips for easy install.

The bad part of that is that you do have to move the stove twice, and subtract a couple inches of stovepipe (plus now you have to honor your stove's clearances to combustibles underneath, which may mean building a hearth pad too).

 

[jatoxico]

@jetsam gets points for the opening line!

If you do go big are you ready to feed a 3 cu ft stove? How will you get wood into the basement if its fully below grade? Off hand I'd insulate to minimize the wasted wood used to heat the ground or put the stove where you want the heat.