Quad 5700 in basement

[woody1]

Installed a Quadra Fire 5700 in the basement of my 2200 sq. ft. center hall colonial and not heating the house as the dealer said it should. The basement is not finished other than the insulation in the ceiling and I removed the basement door to allow the heat to rise. On a 20 degree night with the stove temp. around 600 degrees I can't keep the house above 60 and the heat is kicking on. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[savageactor7]

Maybe the unfinished walls are sucking all the heat in and the insulated ceilings prevent the natural rising of the heat. To bad you cant move that stove up to the living area with that stove temp it would be good for 75*. Anyway it's very, very hard to heat a house with a basement stove.

 

[73blazer]

I would hazard a guess ans say perhaps the insulated ceilings are your biggest issue in this case? It's doing it's job, insulating the basement from the rest of the house.
Why is the basement ceiling insulated? Is it an older basement with real rock walls and a dirt floor? I'm not saying the insulation is wrong or bad, just not so common, and in this case it may be a contributing factor.
What's the temp in the basement when it's running 600?

Other factors may include, but not limited to:
- Improper drafting
- Inexperience with how to best burn the stove
- Wood not suitable for burning (not dry enough)

 

[woody1]

The house is 5 yrs. old. The ceiling was insulated in order to get our c.o.

 

[rustynut]

hey woody
just got my 5700 in a couple weeks back
trying to find the sweet spot for my temps as well
had a stove in my basement in the last house
sounds like you need some floor grates installed to allow for the heat to rise into the main living area
that helped alot for my last one
one thing i'm finding with this 5700 is it seems to run better with the stove blower at about half speed
must be cooling the stove a bit too much at anything above that
dont know if you have a blower or not
just a couple things i've experienced
good luck
rustynut

 

[Wet1]

Most consider it to generally be a bad idea to place a stove in the basement if the goal is to heat the floor above. You're basically trying to heat twice the area so the results will obviously be diminished compared to placing the stove in the living area. Although, lots of people do it with reasonably good results.

With that said, you have two major problems. First is the fact that you have an uninsulated basement. You are effectively trying to heat a LOT of concrete and all the surrounding earth around your foundation... there are huge losses here. My guess is you're probably losing about 30% (or more) of your heat trying to heat the foundation. The remaining 70% of your heat now has to overcome your second major problem, the insulated ceiling. It makes it difficult for heat to rise to the living quarters with that layer of insulation working as an efficient barrier. Just as the insulation in your walls and attic keeps the warm temps from escaping your house, the insulation in your basement is doing the same thing.

Ideally you'd want to move the stove into the main living area, this way you'll capture all the heat it puts off and you'll be heating a much smaller area. If this is not an option, you have three other options (as I see it anyway):
1) Live with what you've got (not a good option IMO).
2) Get rid of the stove and replace it with a wood boiler/furnace. This might be your best long term solution, although it will cost some $.
3) Insulate your basement and remove the insulation on the ceiling (which could possibly be reused for insulating the basement walls). This will make a significant difference, but it still might not yield the the results you might be looking for (I don't know what your expectations are).

 

[iceman]

what everyone else said is completely true.... you can try a fan at the bottom of the stairs blowing towards the stove ... it might help get warm air upstairs but basement stoves are not usually gonna heat a whole house to your ideal temp... unless maybe small ranches with a big stove in the basement
however i am sure you will ge more more heat once you learn your stove better that is just a given for any one with a new stove.. but as mentioned earlier you need to insulate the walls! if your ceiling is open with insulation you can try removing it and it will give you some radiant heat through the floors... but i would def keep a foot or so along the walls around the perimeter just in case air is getting in some how

 

[RonB]

Insulation in the ceiling is not helping with heat transfer to the upstairs. How large is the basement?? 1100 sf? How warm is the basement when the stove is going? Where are you measuring the 60 degree temp (first floor or second floor)? The stove has the capacity to do the job. Please provide more details of installation and wood being burned. Are you burning 24/7? All I can tell you is I have the same stove in my basement and with 20 degree temps I can make the main floor any comfortable temp I want. Perhaps you are new to burning wood? There is a learning curve, but don't get discouraged. Please provide more details.

 

[mikepinto65]

My much smaller vigilant is heating my 1600sf (1 yr old) home from the basement with no real problems and i have insulation in my unfinished basement ceiling as well, along with the basement walls. The first floor stays on a nice 70-76 degrees with only a small door frame fan pushing the air up the stairs to the first floor. The second floor stay about 63-65, we have to keep the two extra bedroom and spare bath doors closed on the second floor to achieve this though. I have a floor grate i've yet to put in but once in (located on first floor above stove next to second floor stairs) I think I will really have no problems achieving temps of 70 on the second floor (with the extra doors open).

I really think you have more practical options beside moving the stove, getting a wood furnace, etc. My grandfather is heating his 4100sf home strictly with wood heat provided by an allnighter big moe, which sits in his basement. Granted he has vents going through the wall to the second floor, but the main floor has none and is always warm and comfy.

If im not mistaken, your stove is rated for heating a larger living space than the big moe.

With that being said, I would do five simple things:

1. Remove ceiling insulation
2. Put ceiling insulation in the walls
3. Go to local hardware store and buy insulation for remaining walls
4. Buy a small door frame fan from hardware shop and install to push air up the stairway
5. Install a floor grate near the stove on the first floor.

I really think you'll get some nice results from this.

 

[fullbore]

I am currently heating my 2000 sq ft home from the basement with a quad 5700. I have 1/2" foam insulation covering the 10' concrete basement walls(heavy insulation on ceiling). The 5700 cruises at 600* on the front door/face area and keeps the basement at 85* and the 1st floor at 70* to 75*. I'm not using any fan or registers in the floor. I haven't burned any of my oak and hickory yet as I am trying to finish off the cherry wood. If your wood quality is not an issue the 5700 should work out for you.

 

[woody1]

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I will start by removing the insulation from the ceiling and see if that helps. I grew up w/ a stove in the basement as did the rest of my family so the concrete walls sucking the heat out kinda threw me as we didnt have insulation on our walls and can remember sleeping w/ the bedroom window cracked because it was so warm.