pellet stove in unfinished basement

[ps50]

I use my pellet stove on the main floor to heat my entire house. I have a propane furnace in my unfinished basement. The only time i run my furnace is when it's negative temps outside to prevent my pipes from freezing. Is it possible to put a pellet stove or wood stove down there, so i don't have to use propane anymore?

 

[bags]

Yes it is possible and several here have them set up in basements with mixed opinions and results. Problem with and unfinished basement is the concrete floor and walls sucking up a lot of the heat from thermal mass. People get better results when they finish and insulate. This helps to heat the space. I am sure you could heat the basement this way vs. using propane if you are only looking to keeps things warmer down there and pipes from freezing.

Where the problem mainly lies is where some put a stove in an unfinished basement and expect it to heat the up stairs also but since you have a stove already there you are ahead in that way. Question is though, How much are you really spending on propane over the winter doing what you already are vs. the cost of another stove etc; Would it be beneficial?

 

[BrotherBart]

I have one in my 1,000 sq. ft. unfinished basement. I crank it up when I need to work down there and then shut it down. It runs many hours before you could call it warm down there and zilch makes it upstairs. Like bags said walls, floor, stuff stored down there are a huge heat sink. And that is starting from the constant 51 degree temp down there year around.

 

[dobmaster]

Doing so, works well and heats the whole house. (cottage)

 

[ps50]

I've used about 100 gallons of propane this year just to prevent my pipes from freezing, not to help heat the upstairs. The stove keeps the house plenty warm. It doesn't sound beneficial with the cost of a new stove and more pellets. Just want to be done with propane. Was also curious how much of that heat would rise. Our floors are cold and a lot of cold drafts coming from the vents.

 

[dobmaster]

Temperature here around - 12 C all week. In basement, been at 29-30, first floor at 23 with a hot floor(no sleepers needed) and second floor 21.

I did a test this morning at full speed.............simply too hot in house, need to open window almost

 

[begreen]

It'll work if the basement is not too large, but at a cost. Unfinished basement walls suck up about a third of the heat. That means one bag out of 3 is going to heat mother nature.

 

[ps50]

Yeah it is a small basement. Stone foundation, gravel floor. 100 year old house with hardly any insulation. Just wondering if anyone in a similar situation has had success with putting a stove in there basement.

 

[bogieb]

I put a stove in my unfinished basement last year (P61A). Hoped to heat the whole house but I had issues with the heat rising. Floors were nice and warm though. My basement is small, 650 s/f - with the garage on the other side. I added a smaller stove upstairs (Hastings) in November and this works well for me - but I still run the propane boiler 2-3x/day to keep the FHW pipes that run thru the garage from freezing. Haven't gone thru the 150 gallons of propane I got last fall though, and that is used for DHW and cooking too (precious little cooking goes on in this house though ). The Hastings doesn't run most of the day unless it is really windy or <15 degrees - both because of the Harman downstairs and sun helps warm this place too. Once the sun goes down, it goes on pretty steady until the next morning.

I don't think you will gain much, if anything, by putting in a pellet stove besides maybe warm floors. To keep it warm, you have to have the stove going round the clock to keep the foundation mass warm. Once it cools off, then it takes forever to warm it back up.