Looking for Install Opinions

[pourlepayssauvage]

A few years ago we installed an Englander 10cpm in our 1000 sq ft ranch home. We installed it in the living room and it worked great – we were able to heat the house with just the pellet stove for the heating season on about 3.5 – 4 tons. We just sold that house and purchased a new one which is a lot newer and in better shape – meaning the windows and insulation are a lot better. It’s also a little smaller at just over 800 square feet and with a relatively open floor plan. It’s current heating system is HWBB heated with an NTI on demand propane heater with an added on storage tank. The new house has a nice walk out basement, and we’ve both been thinking we want to finish it at some point and put a family room down there, and our intention was to heat the area with the pellet stove. Finishing basements is whole other can of worms, I’ve been doing a lot of research and I think it’s a good candidate. However, after calculating roughly what our propane costs will be (propane stove, hotwater,heat) I realize we’ve been pretty spoiled as far as heating costs go heating with pellets and now I’m torn between installing the stove upstairs where I know I can heat the place on just pellets and propane use will be minimal or go with the basement install and hope for some residual heat upstairs to assist the propane. In researching basement installs I realize that concrete has little insulation properties and realize that the walls will need to be insulated. This is the first house I’ve had where the floor is also insulated. My thought is that by leaving the cellar door open with the stove cranking downstairs the cold air from the house should sink to the basement and the hot air should come up into the house. I guess the only unknown is how much and would it be worth it. The door to the cellar is in the center/middle of the house and the floor plan is open. There are lots of opinions out there about basement installs, just curious what your opinion is, and what you would do or not do in the same situation.

 

[Lake Girl]

The insulated floor has isolated your main floor from the basement. This will impede heat transfer to your upstairs floor. It likely doesn`t account for much heat value upstairs but warm floors are a good thing! Many have found that air movement through a basement door can be a tricky thing.

What is the offset between heating with propane vs. pellets? If it is still cheaper to use pellets, I would install upstairs where most of your time will be spent until the basement rehab... If you can get the basement walls insulated before next winter, than it is a tougher decision on upstairs/downstairs.

 

[Bioburner]

I would put it where you most need the heat and probably be less fuel consumed. Can install a stove downstairs when you get to finishing the basement. Have seen basement projects never really get done. Can find a nice used stove in off season to try if that is what you want to try.

 

[bogieb]

Try using an electric space heater to try out your theory. I originally thought to buy two small stoves for my house, but on the advice of several "professionals" (stove sellers, stove installers and general contractors), I ended up buying a P61a that theoretically should have been able to keep my 650 s/ft basement and 950 s/ft main floor nice and warm. I found that in my house the heat won't rise no matter how many holes I put in the floor (with stairway door taken completely out) or how many fans I used. The basement was about 90F, the warmest part of the main floor rarely got to 70 (and the bedrooms were 40-50; I slept on the couch all winter). Even after installing new insulation and windows, I ended up putting another stove upstairs. Now, that being said, I went to $3-4k in propane use, to none at all this winter (except for DHW).

Other people can heat their house well with a basement stove though.

Rent a space heater of whatever BTU capacity you believe a stove would put out, place it in the basement and see how the heat moves for you is my advice.

 

[pourlepayssauvage]

Try using an electric space heater to try out your theory. I originally thought to buy two small stoves for my house, but on the advice of several "professionals" (stove sellers, stove installers and general contractors), I ended up buying a P61a that theoretically should have been able to keep my 650 s/ft basement and 950 s/ft main floor nice and warm. I found that in my house the heat won't rise no matter how many holes I put in the floor (with stairway door taken completely out) or how many fans I used. The basement was about 90F, the warmest part of the main floor rarely got to 70 (and the bedrooms were 40-50; I slept on the couch all winter). Even after installing new insulation and windows, I ended up putting another stove upstairs. Now, that being said, I went to $3-4k in propane use, to none at all this winter (except for DHW).

Other people can heat their house well with a basement stove though.

Rent a space heater of whatever BTU capacity you believe a stove would put out, place it in the basement and see how the heat moves for you is my advice.

Thanks for that idea! I think I'll try that.

 

[bogieb]

Hey, and with an open floor plan, plus the stairway in the center of the house, you may very well have a layout that will allow one stove to work well for you.

My main floor is cut up into a maze of rooms (very inefficient use of space), and the stairway is on one end, so none of that helped my cause.

 

[Ambient]

I've been lucky moving cold air down, which in turn allows the warm air to replace it.