I am finishing my basement which about 1000 sq. feet. The foundation is 8 foot poured concrete with about the top 2 feet above grade. The interior walls will be R-19 when the project is complete. The heat loss calculation I completed shows me that I need as many as 30,000 BTU's per hour on the coldest night of the year. I live in central (ish) New Hampshire. I am looking for a small one for the basement. We heat the rest of the house with a Jotul F600 (which is a fantastic stove) that my wife likes. She is pretty firm in wanting an ash pan for the basement stove which leads me to the Jotul F3 or the Vermont Castings Aspen. Does anyone have any experience with these stoves in a basement as I have described? I don't want to get blasted out of the space with heat and I would like a reasonable burn time. Thanks for the help.
Small one for basement
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Welcome. Of those two stoves l like the F3CB much better. It has a better secondary system and a much better fire view. There are other small stoves to consider including the Hampton H200 and PE Alderlea T4.
What is the goal for this stove? Will it only be used occasionally or will you maintain the temp at a certain level?
There are certainly more stoves with an optional ash pan. Do you have an ash pan with the F600 currently or why is your wife so fond of them? Most people here don't seem to use them.
There are certainly more stoves with an optional ash pan. Do you have an ash pan with the F600 currently or why is your wife so fond of them? Most people here don't seem to use them.
Some stove ash collection systems work better than others. And then again some of us are just lazy.
Just shoveled out a lot of ash today. Soft maple creates a lot of ash.
Just shoveled out a lot of ash today. Soft maple creates a lot of ash.
I'm not lazy but I am trying out leaving the ash pan full this season. I will have more control with a nice bed of ashes vs having the ash fall into the pan and leaving me nada. Anyways, about your choices, The F3 may be a better choice over the VC. The VC has had a bad rap lately and most folks are steering away. I'm a Jotul F500 owner, I have enjoyed the Jotul products very much so far. They have a great CS dept and back their products.
We like the ash pan because it is cleaner than shoveling out the ash and getting that dust all over the place. We do not seem to have any problems with keeping a nice bed of coals and and ash in the firebox (I don't shake down the whole bed before or after emptying the pan). I sometimes feel like the stove will burn a bit better/hotter when the pan is not full.
The purpose of the stove...I want to be able to completely heat the basement if needed, but the primary use would be to supplement on cold nights and on weekends. We also prefer the heat from the stove over the heat from the radiator...nothing like wood heat!
The purpose of the stove...I want to be able to completely heat the basement if needed, but the primary use would be to supplement on cold nights and on weekends. We also prefer the heat from the stove over the heat from the radiator...nothing like wood heat!
If Cast Iron isn't a must you can get a lot more bang for your buck with steel and there are some smaller steel stoves that have ash pans steel also tends to heat up faster so if it not something that will get regular use you will tend to get heat out of the steel stove a bit faster. you could take a look at 13-nc from englander the Osburn 900 for example.
Wo, when you say: "The interior walls will be R-19 when the project is complete," I get the impression you plan to install a 2x6 framed wall against the foundation with R-19 FG batts between the studs. If this is the plan, you should rethink it. FG batts have no place up against a concrete foundation wall, or you are asking for a musty, mold-factory result. Go over to greenbuildingadvisor.com or buildingscience.com, and search on insulating basement walls.
Very good advice...my whole plan is based on the information at BuildingScience.com, which is a great website with tons if useful information.
I have installed 1 inch expanded polystyrene foam directly to the concrete, with a 2x4 frame wall that will have unface fiberglass insulation in the cavities. There will be not thermal bridge and the envelope will be vapor permeable. I have actually had a hard time explaining this to my father in law (who is helping me with the project) because he keeps wanting to put plastic up as a vapor barrier. I have explained that this method will lead to serious mold issues and he just sort of rolls his eyes. I think that I have a very good design based on actual "research" and data.
I am impressed that you brought up my design and the info at those sites...
Off toipc, but if you want a better option than fibreglass, look into rock wool products like Roxul. They give you r14 in a 2x4 wall and aren't supposed to support any mold growth at all.
Another marketing myth. Roxul does not support mold growth but neither does FG. The junk that you pour on either may support mold growth, it's not a function of the substrate.
Roxul is a fine product but costs much more. It is only available in unfaced which is fine for this application. Of more value in this application is roxuls apparent ability to shed moisture vs. absorbing it like a sponge.
I did the same in my basement the foam acts as a vapor barrier as well. So far here it is very good insulation. I really like it. As far as your stove choices I have never used either stove, but with a area that small you may want to look into a cat stove. Mine keeps me nice and warm but doesn't heat me out of the room.
Cat stove? Is that a brand or a model?
I also have the styrofoam on the floor in between the pressure treated 2 x 4 sleepers. I think the space will be very efficient, which I why I am looking for something small. I cut my wood to 18" length, so I was hoping to find something that will take that size stick.
The stoves I mentioned are cast iron but you might want to take a look at the Englander 17VL for an efficient small stove with easy requirements and price.
I did not do the subfloor like you did. I wanted to but money/time won out. Most of the floor is covered in carpet / vaporproof pad. Cat is short for catalytic. It utilizes a combuster to burn off the smoke so you can run the stove low.
Sprinter
Minister of Fire
Oh, oh, here we go.
In fact, a small stove with good burn time, maybe you should consider a cat.
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Sprinter
Minister of Fire
FWIW, I wouldn't select a stove based on ash removal. But I understand the WAF factor, perhaps one of the most important factors of all 
. Fortunately, nearly all stoves will offer that option.
. Fortunately, nearly all stoves will offer that option.- Status
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