Ranch Home Heating Question

[cueball44]

Good folks of Hearth.com

I am looking for a little bit of discussion regarding the heating of my newly acquired ranch home in the great white Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Background: I sold my 1950's 1500sqft Craftsman style home that I installed a Drolet Deco II into. The setup was less than ideal with lots of small divided rooms making it challenging to get heat into every room, but we still successfully knocked down our natural gas bill by 90% and my family stayed nice and toasty. I'm hoping this new home has a better setup for heating that will help lower our propane bill.

Discussion: As mentioned, I purchased a 1200 sqft ranch (1200 upstairs and 1200 unfinished downstairs) that has a lot of upsides, however the home being reliant on propane for heat was on of the downsides we were able to cope with. It does have a brand new NTI FTVN110 propane boiler, however I'm trying to continue to burn wood as I did in my last home to lower the reliance on propane. The existing wood stove (from 1978) is located in the center of the unfinished basement. At first glance I thought it would be an okay stove to use, but after further inspection I believe it is either homemade or a bit too 'customized' for my likings. Customizations include old disconnected piping that likely fed to an older boiler, an outdoor air breather connecting to the back of the house via metal ducting and an overhead circulating fan that pushes air upstairs. The existing stove is the only appliance that feeds into a large chimney with a liner of unknown material. I'm looking for a setup that allows me to burn for 8ish hours and keep the home warm for my wife and two kiddos. Please take a second to review the questions below or ask new questions if you feel inclined to.

Questions:
1. Is a free standing wood stove a good option for this home layout and existing heating infrastructure?
2. Are there any obvious reasons to avoid a wood stove in the existing location? Proximity to the propane boiler, lack of heat transfer in the basement, etc?
3. What is your recommendation for a wood stove in this location, climate, etc.? I'm currently looking at PE Alderlea T5 LE, but I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks so much!

 

[EbS-P]

Heating an unfinished and uninsulated basement is less than ideal. Think minimum 30% heat loss.

Is T ing into the chimney upstairs an option??

Either way plan on an insulated liner for what ever you choose

 

[kborndale]

How tall would the exhaust be? If it is less than 15ft that will limit you on what stoves you can use. This would be an even larger issue if you try to put a stove on the main floor. If the basement is not insulated I would spend money on that first. Heating from the basement can be difficult but not impossible. Many do it including myself. I prefer it as it keeps the mess down there.

 

[cueball44]

Thanks so much for the responses!

So, part of the basement is "finished" in the sense that they put up rough cut lumber and some less than ideal foam board insulation, however that is going to be removed in short order. New insulation on both the walls and rim joists is on the to-do list in the near term.

The setup is amazing compared to my last place with a walkout basement for quick and easy loading.

Here is another photo of the outside of the house to visualize the chimney height, material if you're a chimney aficionado and size of the home.

 

[Whitenuckler]

Good folks of Hearth.com

I am looking for a little bit of discussion regarding the heating of my newly acquired ranch home in the great white Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Background: I sold my 1950's 1500sqft Craftsman style home that I installed a Drolet Deco II into. The setup was less than ideal with lots of small divided rooms making it challenging to get heat into every room, but we still successfully knocked down our natural gas bill by 90% and my family stayed nice and toasty. I'm hoping this new home has a better setup for heating that will help lower our propane bill.

Discussion: As mentioned, I purchased a 1200 sqft ranch (1200 upstairs and 1200 unfinished downstairs) that has a lot of upsides, however the home being reliant on propane for heat was on of the downsides we were able to cope with. It does have a brand new NTI FTVN110 propane boiler, however I'm trying to continue to burn wood as I did in my last home to lower the reliance on propane. The existing wood stove (from 1978) is located in the center of the unfinished basement. At first glance I thought it would be an okay stove to use, but after further inspection I believe it is either homemade or a bit too 'customized' for my likings. Customizations include old disconnected piping that likely fed to an older boiler, an outdoor air breather connecting to the back of the house via metal ducting and an overhead circulating fan that pushes air upstairs. The existing stove is the only appliance that feeds into a large chimney with a liner of unknown material. I'm looking for a setup that allows me to burn for 8ish hours and keep the home warm for my wife and two kiddos. Please take a second to review the questions below or ask new questions if you feel inclined to.

Questions:
1. Is a free standing wood stove a good option for this home layout and existing heating infrastructure?
2. Are there any obvious reasons to avoid a wood stove in the existing location? Proximity to the propane boiler, lack of heat transfer in the basement, etc?
3. What is your recommendation for a wood stove in this location, climate, etc.? I'm currently looking at PE Alderlea T5 LE, but I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks so much!

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View attachment 339838

I kinda like the setup. Could you try it as is?, or is it now decommissioned and will never run again. You could replace it with a cheap steel Drolet and new piping. You can keep all the mess and lots of wood down there and not worry about getting it too hot down there. You may stud and insulate walls down there but since the stove is in the center that really helps.

 

[cueball44]

I could try it as is, but was a little apprehensive due to it not have been used for 10+ years and the unknown status of the chimney. That paired with the obvious inefficiency of the stove led me to thinking that an insulated liner and newer stove could be a worthy investment.

 

[Whitenuckler]

I could try it as is, but was a little apprehensive due to it not have been used for 10+ years and the unknown status of the chimney. That paired with the obvious inefficiency of the stove led me to thinking that an insulated liner and newer stove could be a worthy investment.

Oh yes you would have to go through the inspection and cleaning process on the existing setup if you want to run it as is. Or like you say, just skip that and get new. You certainly don't want to burn twice as much, or produce twice as much "smog".
Here is the bigger Drolet which it says is made in USA and Canada

High Efficiency Wood Stove | HT-3000

HT-3000 wood stove - EPA certified at 1.32 g/h - 110 000 BTU/h - Heats up to 2,700 ft² - 22" logs - Model on pedestal - Made in Canada Can.

www.drolet.ca

You don't really need a glass door must might be useful in the future if you finish more of the basement. You can also see the status of the flame. You will need to double check the specs for chimney ie height, size, type ect for each stove you might like.

Are your floor joists insulated? If not you should get some heated floors.