I am doing some research to install a stove on the first floor of my 2-story colonial, which also has a finished basement. If I turn off the furnace in the basement, it will stabilize around 55 F. That's a little too cool for comfort for the kids playing down there. I currently have an oversized Dutchwest stove in the basement, and experiments to get that heat upstairs have been unsuccessful: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...-distributing-heat.151712/page-2#post-2067343
I would like the main-floor stove to keep that floor at 70, with the basement and second-floor bedrooms at 65. Is that realistic? Of course I could run the furnace to bring the basement from 55 to 65, but that would cut into the cost savings of wood heat.
So, those of you with a similar setup, do you successfully heat your finished basement from the floor above, or run the furnace, or just let it stay cool? What sort of temperature differentials do you achieve between floors, and do you use any fans to assist?
I would like the main-floor stove to keep that floor at 70, with the basement and second-floor bedrooms at 65. Is that realistic? Of course I could run the furnace to bring the basement from 55 to 65, but that would cut into the cost savings of wood heat.
So, those of you with a similar setup, do you successfully heat your finished basement from the floor above, or run the furnace, or just let it stay cool? What sort of temperature differentials do you achieve between floors, and do you use any fans to assist?