Sizing a wood stove install on the main floor of a house with basement

[lambeths]

I've read enough on here, that it seems placing the stove in the basement isn't as ideal as one might think (or at least, as I thought). We've decided on a top floor install for several reasons (not the least of which is ease of exhaust install). We're mostly upstairs, the stove will be an aesthetic addition to the living area as well as a functional one.

With a top floor install, does one size the stove purely for the top floor space, or should we consider part of the basement floor as well? I'm considering add a vent somewhere with a fire damper for the purpose of circulating air down through the basement and up the stair way, but I'm really not sure how effective that would be.

The house is 3,000 sq ft, 1500 a floor, and basically a rectangle 30 ft x 50 ft. The basement is a daylight basement (length ways), the front wall is fully framed with windows, doors, and about 30% of the side walls are framed with windows and the rest is concrete. I already know I'm going to have to oversize the stove because we have vaulted ceilings at about 12 ft at the peak. The stoves I've been looking at are sized for up to 2500 sq ft. In our location in Montana we see 20 below now and then, single digits often, with teens and 20s most of the winter.

 

[Sawset]

Trying to move heat down is an inviting idea, but ultimately results in failure. Warm air contains a tremendous amount of energy, and will fight your every move. And it will win. Locate the stove where you intend to spend the most time. And don't underestimate the desire to "sit by the fire". Very comforting. So size it for the space it occupies and above. If using it full time - 3000sqft, 4+cords, thats about 13,000lbs of wood. A straight route to the stove would be ideal.
1cuft stove/1000sqft is a figure I've seen used. I have 2000sqft, 2cuft stove, so I guesse it's close in my case. Good here from -40f to 40f.

 

[John Galt]

Our first house here was a 36x36 log cabin with a walk out and a second floor loft, the stove was on the main level. The cabin was not sealed well when we moved in, and the first year it got down to -23 and below zero for a week. It was tough to keep it above 55 inside. After a couple of years and a lot of sealing the winters were good inside but it was always a chore to keep a good temperature. The open loft was always hot and the basement was generally unpleasantly cold. The stairwell was open to the main level but the heat never was able to move down with our setup. There was a thermocline layer when you walked down the stairs. The main level was where we spent 95% of our time so it wasn't a terrible situation for us but our new house has a completely different setup and will have new issues that I didn't think about.

 

[kborndale]

I burn in my finished basement and have no problem heating the first floor as well. My basement does have drywall, carpet and a centrally located stairwell. Not saying all basements are good candidates for a stove, but some work just fine. If your basement isn't a massive concrete heatsink, and you have an easy path to get the heat upstairs then there is nothing wrong with a stove in the basement. Heat rises on its own. When the stove is cranking and I sit on the basement stairs there is a lot of air moving in the convection loop. If I put a fan at the top of the stairs pointing down there is even more. Trying to get heat to go downstairs is not so easy.