Placement of pellet stove

[pc9460]

I'm thinking of having a pellet stove installed in my family room in my basement. I own a single story ranch with a family room and two car garage underneath. There was a previous wood stove installed in my family room and the exhaust was through the chimney which is about in the middle of the house. I figure if I have the pellet stove installed downstairs the heat would rise upstairs through the staircase which would be fairly close to the stove. I currently am not using my family room because it's cold but I use it in the summer because its cooler then the upstairs.

I am planning on buying the Englander pellet stove from home depot for $1000 but want to know how much I would be looking at to get it installed. Ball park is all I'm expecting from you guys so I won't be shocked if it is higher then I expected. I figure the installer might use the chimney to vent but where would they place the air line? Also am I placing the stove in a good spot?

The Englander is good for 1500 sqf and my house is 1657 sqf. Is that too under powered or is the difference alright?

 

[Madcodger]

You can run both inlet and vent pipes down the chimney, but it makes for an expensive install. For good quality venting/OAK the materials alone will add several hundred dollars, but will have many years of warranty. I can see you paying 50-75% or more of your anticipated stove price for this install from a reputable dealer / installer. Chimney installs are great, but when done optimally (proper liners all the way up, etc.) they are among the most expensive options because of the materials required.

 

[skrypj]

So I cannot speak specifically to the stove you want to buy, but I can speak to the basement install. I have a 2 Story gambrel which has a 50% finished basement(other side is a double length garage) for a total of about 2100 sqft of actual living area. Part of the basement is above grade as the house is on a hill, so that is where I installed the stove. The stove is about 15-20ft from the basement stairs. i can tell you that it does effectively heat the entire house to a reasonable temperature, both the first and second floors, entirely through the natural convection created by the hot air wanting to move upward. The only issue I have had is that the natural flow path does not make its way into some of the outlying rooms on the 1st floor. This is not because the stove does not pump out enough heat, its just that the air is not forced into these rooms naturally. If I stand on either set of stairs(basement/1st floor or 1st floor/2nd floor) I can actually feel the hot air rushing upwards near the ceiling and the "cold" air rushing down near the floor, so it's created a pretty effective natural cycle within the house. The other benefit is that my floors are actively heated from below so I can usually walk around barefoot without getting cold.

With that said, I only keep the house at 60-65 degrees. I have a Tempurpedic foam mattress which becomes uncomfortable at temperatures over 65 and I've been walking up because I am too hot. My stove is an Enviro Maxx which is a monster, but 90% of the time I run it on level 2 of 5 and the pellet feed trim set as low as possible. The highest I have ever had to run it was lvl 3 of 5 when it was like 5 degrees out. I averaged about 1.5 Bags a day starting in the end of November. I am in Central Massachusetts to give you an idea of the temperatures.

 

[pc9460]

Thanks for your input guys! I won't have the stove installed until summer but am really appreciating your input. I didn't know you could put the outside air kit inside the chimney and run it up with the exhaust pipe. Seems like it would take it the exhaust fumes when they get released.

What's a good pellet stove for my type of house? Keep in mind that I don't have a lot of money to purchase to top end model but will buy a good model that I can run pretty much 24/7 for the cold months up in maine. So it has to be reliable!

 

[Madcodger]

Intake can be positioned to avoid taking in fumes - installer will handle that if experienced.

If not installing until summer, don't buy now! It's peak season still! SHOP! Englander has great tech on here but I haven't used their stove so can't comment. Do NOT buy less stove than you need. If a stove is rated for less SF than you have, I'd pass on it. Skimping on the purchase is a mistake you'll regret for years. Better to save a little longer and buy quality and proper size. Buying one that can handle 20%+ more than necessary (if stat controlled) is better than 1% too little. Go visit dealers. It's fun and you'll be a better buyer. Use the time to your advantage.

 

[pc9460]

Can you guys give me a ballpark estimate on how much it would cost me to buy and get a pellet stove installed? I just want a general idea. It could be any stove that you guys think would be good for me. Just keep in mind I don't have all the money in the world. Probably a stove under $2000 that's reliable because I'd probably be running it close to 24/7. Maybe something I don't have to clean often!

Just don't want to be shocked when I get an estimate later on.

 

[bridgerman]

though i *think* the thermguard is designed more to keep the basement from freezing.
we really need someone who actually uses one to comment to be clear on the subject.

but perhaps expecting a stove rated for 1,500 sq. feet (in optimum conditions and climate) to heat more than that while also placing it away from main living areas, may be optimistic if you want temps of 70 or more.

Hi St. Earl,

Though the ThermGuard is used by many people to keep their basements from freezing, most folks use it to even out the temperature in the whole house. It can increase the temperature in back bedrooms for instance and minimize hot spots in the room with the stove.

Cheers,
John

 

[pc9460]

After a lot of thinking I've been leaning towards installing a pellet stove myself. Its gonna go where a wood stove used to be. I would be venting from the existing hole in my chimney. Just need to know what products to purchase and I can figure it out myself. The current opening is 8" I believe so I would need some type of reducer.

The only thing that is throwing me off a lot is how to get an outside air kit installed for my pellet stove being that the chimney is in the middle of the house and don't want to run an extremely long pipe to an exterior wall. Probably like a 10-25' run depending on where I put it. Probably 25' if I use the existing central vacuum intake but I think that defeats the purpose of having an intake.

I'm fairly handy! Really good at electrical work!

Probably leaning towards something like this:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Pleasant...H50CABPS/203726438?N=c4km#product_description
That way I can slowly pay it off with 0% deferred interest.

 

[pc9460]

the pleasant hearth is like the heatilator PS50 & CAB50, but without the quad burn pot and motors etc... which are major selling points for the heatilators.
the pleasant hearth has an odd design for clearing the burn pot too. an automatic "high burn" that happens periodically.
at least one fellow posted here saying the pellets/ash were building up too much in it.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/no-holes-in-bottom-of-burn-pot.118846/#post-1591086

is it lowes who sell the englanders new? could you get the same payment plan there?

and still, the AM/FM energy warrantied refurbs are the best price for the englander stoves. pretty amazing actually.

i also wanted to post a link to someone who is happy with their basement install
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/should-basement-ceiling-be-insulated.121054/

i've never had a basement install, so weigh my previously stated opinion against others with experience.
i've read both good and bad regarding basement installs.

This is another option, http://www.homedepot.com/p/Englander-2-000-sq-ft-Pellet-Stove-25-PAH/202053361#customer_reviews
But it isn't getting that good reviews. It's home depot that sells englanders not lowes. I just want something reliable mainly and don't mind cleaning it because it's better then stacking wood! Would like a bigger hopper and something I don't have to clean but reliability is a good trade off. Probably would run 24/7 during the cold months to save heating oil, but would still use boiler to prevent pipes from freezing. It's brand new but I feel like I'm using the same amount of oil that my friends use in there house. I estimate that I'll use around $2000 and I bough the house in June, currently at $1600 about 514 gallons ordered. Just filled up Tuesday.

Still wondering how to install in basement level of one story ranch. It's going where a wood stove used to be. I have a two flue chimney and I believe it's line with clay? It's red. I've been looking at liners that you can get from home depot for around $500 but still at a bit of confusion for actually installing it through the 8" hole in my chimney from the previous wood stove. Plus I don't know how to get a air kit installed where it's practical!

The general idea of the install seems straight forward but still need advice.

 

[SwineFlue]

It's home depot that sells englanders not lowes.

I think Lowe's sells them under the "Summers Heat" name.

 

[pc9460]

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/united-states-stove-pellet-heater-with-140-lb-hopper-large

Is something like this good? Or should I just look for an Englander that will suit my house? I don't want to spend too much money on a pellet stove because I spent a lot of my money on this house I purchased recently. I won't be getting it until Summer but would like to get a plan started. Especially with installing it!

 

[pc9460]

I'll probably look into a stove around the $2k area maybe the Harmon P38 since they have some rebates and whatnot in my area which brings to down to low $2k's.

What's I'm more interested in is how to install it...

I've seen something made by Selkirk that kinda combines the air intake and exhaust pipe together that I put into the chimney and would work great for my situation. Couldn't find much info on it. Anybody have any info on what I'm talking about?

 

[SwineFlue]

Like this?
(broken link removed to http://www.selkirkcorp.com/selkirk/Product.aspx?id=7428)

It's called Selkirk DT. There are several threads here that discuss it.

 

[pc9460]

Like this?
(broken link removed to http://www.selkirkcorp.com/selkirk/Product.aspx?id=7428)

It's called Selkirk DT. There are several threads here that discuss it.

It's something like that. I believe the one I saw somewhere around this forum was slightly different.

Is this the one I can put in my masonry chimney?

 

[Hoot23]

It's something like that. I believe the one I saw somewhere around this forum was slightly different.

Is this the one I can put in my masonry chimney?

How did your install work out. I'm having a the same OAK problem. I'm going trough a chimney also. I have to use a flex liner to the top but I also want to OAK the stove.

 

[wolfie770]

This is another option, http://www.homedepot.com/p/Englander-2-000-sq-ft-Pellet-Stove-25-PAH/202053361#customer_reviews
But it isn't getting that good reviews. It's home depot that sells englanders not lowes. I just want something reliable mainly and don't mind cleaning it because it's better then stacking wood! Would like a bigger hopper and something I don't have to clean but reliability is a good trade off. Probably would run 24/7 during the cold months to save heating oil, but would still use boiler to prevent pipes from freezing. It's brand new but I feel like I'm using the same amount of oil that my friends use in there house. I estimate that I'll use around $2000 and I bough the house in June, currently at $1600 about 514 gallons ordered. Just filled up Tuesday.

Still wondering how to install in basement level of one story ranch. It's going where a wood stove used to be. I have a two flue chimney and I believe it's line with clay? It's red. I've been looking at liners that you can get from home depot for around $500 but still at a bit of confusion for actually installing it through the 8" hole in my chimney from the previous wood stove. Plus I don't know how to get a air kit installed where it's practical!

The general idea of the install seems straight forward but still need advice.

Lowes sells Englander's as well. The Summer's Heat brand are Englander stoves. Very happy with mine.