Maximizing basement woodstove efficiency

[Drabe95]

i recently bought an old farm house with a Kent tile fire in the unfinished basement. The Kent has seen better days so I replaced it with an Englander SHSS0W1. I'm well aware that basement stoves are not a great setup. I want a wood furnace to connect the forced air central heating system but a furnace was not an option due to budget. Is there anyway to maximize the what I can get from the stove to heat my house that's not expensive or over the top?

 

[bholler]

Insulate the basement walls. I personally really prefer heating from the basement but you will be very unhappy with the results if your basement isn't well sealed and insulated.

 

[kennyp2339]

Insulate the walls. Install foam blocks into the sill plate area and then spray foam the sides to make it air tight, have a large air return for the cold air to dump into, once the cold air starts moving the warm air will fill its place setting up a convective loop. FYI a bare concrete wall with no insulation can suck up to a 1/3 of the heat that's produced by the stove, so if you burn 3 cords of wood, 1 cord goes into the concrete wall and then into the earth.

 

[Drabe95]

It's a stone foundation that leaks occasionally when it rains hard, is there any way to deal the leaks. I would think placing any type of insulation over them would be a disaster

 

[kennyp2339]

It's a stone foundation that leaks occasionally when it rains hard, is there any way to deal the leaks. I would think placing any type of insulation over them would be a disaster

You are correct on that, the best is to first fix the water issue on the outside (could be a big job) most people install a rubber membrane liner around the outside of the foundation to deflect the water and then new drainage tiles to take the water away. Then since most stone basements have many air holes people elect to spray foam the inside walls.
You may want to think about moving the stove to the upstairs living area, its way cheaper then deal with the wet basement when the funds allow.

 

[Drabe95]

Moving the stove would not be cheap or easy due to way the house was constructed and the layout. The existing flue currently runs through the kitchen and lady does not want a stove in her kitchen. I think a furnace will work well in the house. I've seen decent furnaces going for $2k. I only had about $800 to spend on a new wood burner for the unit and install. I was able to use all the original stove pipe to install the new stove. I'm hoping to have a furnace and ditch the stove in a couple years. I'm just trying to work with what I got until then. I have propane but it's quite expensive

 

[Seasoned Oak]

It's a stone foundation that leaks occasionally when it rains hard, is there any way to deal the leaks. I would think placing any type of insulation over them would be a disaster

The way its usually done on an already built structure is cut a channel in the floor as close to the wall as you can get,around the entire 4 walls or at least the ones that leak ,ending in a sump in which a pump is installed. After first having exhausted all the ways you might stop it from OUTSIDE.

 

[venator260]

I've got a basement stove with cinder block walls. Moving cold air to the stove works between floors as well. In my living room, I have a fan from a window air conditioner pointed downward through what was once a return for a coal furnace, which pushes cold air downward and heat comes up the steps into the kitchen. I also have to look ahead at the weather in the shoulder season , as the first cycle through the stove goes to heating the basement. So if it will cool down at night, i need to start a fire when i get home from work. I also consider drying out the basement to be a benifit. Also, be sure to keep your basement door open. If you have any insulation below the first floor, tear it out, at least the areas around the stove.

All that said, my next house project is to install an exterior French drain and begin to insulate the basement. I'm putting a zc fireplace in the living room, but I don't think that will heat some rooms back a hallway as effectively as the stove underneath. The freestander in the basement will also be nice to have in the event of a power outage, making it more effective will make it all the better.

 

[edyit]

if you don't plan on using the stove forever as a heat source and are going to get a furnace later a quick relatively cheap fix to get you through the winter would be to buy some 4x8 sheets of 1" or 2" Rmax Foil faced insulation board and friction fit them along the walls this will help hold in heat during the winter.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rmax-Commo...ate-Garage-Door-Foam-Board-Insulation/3014057

 

[jwfirebird]

the basement is the best place, pipes and stuff down there, you can keep the mess down there too, my house is old just means its easier to heat the whole house. same foundation I have, till it gets 30s though I heat on the second floor, no fans whole house is fine.

just have to deal with the water, no cost effective way around it, have everything on a poured riser, panel, furnaces, water heater and wood. made to direct the water to the sump

 

[semipro]

Related post on basement insulation of stone basement walls.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...membrane-over-stone-wall.163638/#post-2202287