Pellet stove to heat basement?

[royce318]

We currently have a unfinished basement and are looking at getting a pellet stove to heat it. We use a forced air propane furnace to heat the rest of the house and plan to continue doing so.
I have a few questions about the pellet stove however. We are looking to just heat the basement, and possibly dry out the area. Will a wood pellet stove take the dampness out, there is no standing water just damp? How should we go about venting, it is a 12 block basement with only 2 block exposed. Is it possible to vent out a small basement window?

 

[kappel15]

My exhaust goes out above the brick, thru the sill area(space between brick and floor) between two floor joists. I don't know how well it will dry out your basement. It will some. You may need to use a dehumidifier for that. I put styrafoam insulation sheets on my brick walls to help insulate. It did help. Is your furnace not in the basement? kap

 

[royce318]

That was an idea we had about venting it as well. We run a dehumidifier but still is damp and musty, we are hoping the pellet stove will lessen the need for it. The furnace is in the basement. There is no insulation in the basement however so to keep it at a comfortable temp the rest of the house is hot and propane cost were high. Thanks for the venting idea.

 

[kappel15]

Do you not have registers blowing heat into the basement off furnace runs? If not, you could put some in and then partially close the ones upstairs to force more heat down, which will heat your floor and help heat the upstairs. I also covered the floor above the exhaust with a heat deflecting foil to prevent any flash fire. kap

 

[royce318]

Yes there are registers in the basement. We are looking more for the drying aspect than the heat which is just a bonus and cost saver on propane. Was just curious how others vented from the basement and if it would actually help keep the dampness down. Thanks

 

[Wilbur Feral]

The only real benefit to heating an area to avoid dampness is that warm air can hold additional water. But it will not likely be enough to avoid the problem. If dampness is your issue, you would be better off addressing that directly. Start outside, ensuring that grading and downspouts are moving external water away from the foundation. I won't recommend digging and waterproofing in that way, as that is a very drastic step. Then consider calling a basement waterproofing company as the cost may be no more than a pellet stove. You may also consider a larger, or just additional, dehumidifier. Many people think, "Well, I have one" - but it is far too small to handle their size basement, and the amount of dampness involved.

A pellet stove is a moderate investment that is not likely the best approach to addressing a dampness issue, and it certainly won't address the issue in summer.

 

[bags]

I agree with everyone above but I will also say that my pellet stove dries my inside air out within the house drastically. This could be the combination of dry cold winter air (zero or less humidity than summers) but I also know since the pellet stove the air has been much more dry.

I think the answer to the OP's question is yes it will help with the moisture and yes it will also heat and make your basement warm and more cozy. What Kap and crew are getting at is the fact / facts that other lesser expensive options are out there to possibly remedy your moisture issues. Another words you do not need a few thousand dollar "dehumidifier" in a sense or have high hopes that if you go to the expense it is the magical answer.

IMHO I think you would help combat moisture in the air down stairs and you would definitely benefit warming the basement to a comfortable temp along with helping your central HVAC system and overall warmth. Keep in mind that heating uninsulated concrete and foundation walls you will not see as much benefit as if those same walls were insulated. With even simple foam board insulation glued directly to your walls you would have much better results and gains. Use less pellets etc:

 

[bogieb]

It should "dry" out the basement just fine (okay, it works for me, YMMV). My basement is also damp (not wet) during the summer, but once the pellet stove fires up it stays nice and dry and there is no smell even from any of the cat boxes (which during the summer, smell even though cleaned everyday - just because of the dampness).

My exhaust and OAK are going out one of those narrow basement windows. The installers used a piece of 1/2" plywood to replace the glass and then silicone it in. There is a thimble there too, which is also silicone in. Note that the window is just tall enough to install the thimble, so if you have narrower windows, that may be an issue. In the picture, the OAK is to the left (wrapped with foil backed fiberglass insulation) and the exhaust on the right.


Last summer I glued rigid foam insulation on a lot of the exposed block, used foil tape to seal the seams (used spray foam for larger seams), then covered that with heat reflective material. That reflective material is mainly to help keep the rigid foam from outgassing as quickly in case of fire, although I did use some to insulate around the OAK egress and it blocks any moisture or wind from entering the house. I still have a lot of exposed rigid foam, but it is further away from the stove. Also did not insulate directly behind the stove since the pipe is too close and the foam board would melt (the silver behind the exhaust pipe is the reflective material only - you can see the transition of where the foam board edge is directly under the foil tape out the window).

Wow, I gave you way more information than you probably wanted, but I hope it helps.

 

[rickwai]

You should drylok paint the basement walls also. The stove running down there will dry it out by cycling the air up stair thru convection if you leave the door open. The bad part would be summer time when the stove is not running and is sitting down there in the dampness rusting away! You need to get the moisture under control w/ sealing and dehumidifiers in the summer then use the stove for the dual effect in the winter of drying and heat. I turn my dehumidifier off in the winter and end up having to run a humidifier in the coldest part of the winter unstairs

 

[bogieb]

You should drylok paint the basement walls also.

That is a good point. I painted on 2 coats of drylok on the walls before installing the rigid foam (the white wall under the exhaust pipe in the pic). The walls were painted seafoam green (as was the whole interior of the house - yuck), prior to my dryloking and installing the rigid foam.

 

[kappel15]

I too painted drylok on my walls. Forgot to mention that part. kap

 

[mass_burner]

OP, is your dehumidifier big enough for your area? That could make all the difference.