Lopi newbie

[Mfoley312]

Hello,

My wife and I are embarking on the build of our custom home. We have a lower floor/basement that is approximately 1500 and an upper main floor that is about 1700 sq feet. We have a chimney from the basement to the roof with room for two stoves, one on each floor.

A few questions:
Can the basement stove be used to heat the upper floor? If so, does it need to have a rating of about 3000 sq feet to cover the total of the basement and upper floor?

The Lopi options we are looking at are the answer and the evergreen or endeavor. The answer says it doesn't include a bypass damper; this seems like a necessary feature, why is it missing? The evergreen and endeavor are practically identical stat wise to me and the main differences are mostly cosmetic that I can tell, is this true?

When looking at the heat capacity of, for example, the Answer, it says 1400 sq ft. Is this likely to be adequate enough for a 1500 sq ft floor, or does the heating capacity need to exceed the room size?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Highbeam]

In a normal climate I would always match the heater to the home size since I expect to heat the home. In Georgia? Hard to imagine heating needs, home losses or climate.

 

[aansorge]

Two stoves in a Georgia home seems excessive.

A basement, in Georgia?

I would suggest one stove in the lower level and just add supplemental heat when necessary.

 

[aansorge]

I have two stoves and run them both for only about two weeks a year. For the rest of the year (actually about 5 to 6 months), I just run one. But I live in Minnesota! Running two stoves is extra work, extra mess, and simply isn't worth it for you in your climate. Heck it isn't even worth it here. I have two stoves because I was obsessed with burning. Now, after a good long while of burning, I'm less obsessed and more practical about it. In retrospect, one stove is plenty to do most of a house's heating (even in my climate) and then just add a little extra heat when needed from supplemental sources like the furnace.

 

[kborndale]

Is the basement insulated? If not it will be very difficult heating the basement let alone the second floor. Also, now is the time to get your firewood so it will be dry when you are ready to burn.

 

[Mfoley312]

Y'all are correct, we don't have harsh winters but would like to use wood as main source of heat in our mild winters vs. using electricity.

We also like the look of the stoves vs. An ugly gas fireplace or a plain open fireplace.

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[begreen]

This question is not easily answered because there is some much variation in home design. And GA has a lot of variation in winter temps from the northwestern mtns. to the southern border with FL.

If the basement is fully insulated, the stairwell open with a 36" door opening at top and the stove is placed reasonably close by with no obstructions to the stairwell, then yes, the basement stove will be able to heat the house most of the time.

A bypass damper is not a necessity. It makes startup a bit easier, especially when draft is weak, but there are many good stoves without a bypass that work fine. A bigger concern is whether the basement will end up a negative pressure zone. This can be a problem for basement installations. Plan on an outside air kit. The other consideration for a basement install is access. How will the wood get to the basement stove? Will this be a daylight basement or will the wood need to be toted down stairs. If the latter, that gets old quickly.

 

[Mfoley312]

This question is not easily answered because there is some much variation in home design. And GA has a lot of variation in winter temps from the northwestern mtns. to the southern border with FL.

If the basement is fully insulated, the stairwell open with a 36" door opening at top and the stove is placed reasonably close by with no obstructions to the stairwell, then yes, the basement stove will be able to heat the house most of the time.

A bypass damper is not a necessity. It makes startup a bit easier, especially when draft is weak, but there are many good stoves without a bypass that work fine. A bigger concern is whether the basement will end up a negative pressure zone. This can be a problem for basement installations. Plan on an outside air kit. The other consideration for a basement install is access. How will the wood get to the basement stove? Will this be a daylight basement or will the wood need to be toted down stairs. If the latter, that gets old quickly.

Thanks for your reply. The basement will essentially be a walk out basement - concrete walls on three sides then the fourth side is open to facilitate walking out. So it's technically a lower level vs. a true basement.

The stairway is an open stairway, no door and it's situated within 10 feet from the fireplace location.

I know there are a ton of variables but I do appreciate your insight and we are continuing our research!

 

[begreen]

Your plan sounds workable. Are you located in the lowlands or more in the Smokies? regardless of one stove or two, the stove(s) will want fully seasoned wood for burning. Pine and ash can be dry if stacked top-covered for a year. Hardwoods like oak, hickory will need 2 yrs after splitting and stacking. A good, open sided woodshed, oriented so that the prevailing winds can blow through the stacks helps dry the wood quicker.

 

[PaulOinMA]

I have an Answer insert. Never felt i needed a bypass damper. Nice little insert for my needs.

 

[Mfoley312]

More of the lowlands. It truly is overkill to have one let alone two stoves but we enjoy it and I have a little experience with wood stoves from growing up in a house that had one, so that's where the want for one comes from. Our house is on 10 acres and we started a wood pile with trees we fell on the property back late last year when we first bought the land so it's already started the seasoning process.