Where to heat/quick burn

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.

MwCrf450r

New Member
Jun 9, 2021
23
Maine
Hey there from Maine! So I'm new to the wood heat scene. The wife and I bought our first house in February, a single level ranch,, 1200sq ft with a full basement. We didn't move in till April but had a few nights where we came out and played pool in the basement with family and friends and decided to light a fire in the wood stove in the basement. (I stuck a brush down and emptied the clean out first. Hopefully that was safe enough) I posted in a other forum on here and was referred to here because no matter what I did I couldn't get more than about an hour to an hour and a half per reload. The stove needs some work and I plan on doing that once I figured out if this was even the proper stove for my goals. It might be too small and be more of a decorative stove? Theres a few handles where the Wooden bit came off. The front door is hard to latch. I only burned while I was there and never left it unsupervised with flames or even coals for that matter and just leaned a chunk of steel on the handle so it wouldn't pop open. (Looks like a simple matter of unbending the bracket) and I have 1 peice of the door seal on the front that likes to fall off but you can put it in place and close the door and it seems to seal just fine. I then just load from the side. I am not sure how old the wood is but I assumed that was probably the reason. It was there when we bought it and no one had lived there for about 8 months prior. Also previous occupants seemed like they used it for more of an ash tray than a heat source... I'll post some pics. I assume the Waterford stamped on the side is the manufacturer but I don't see any other markings.
Also I was told that in having my stove in the basement I was potentially losing a lot of heat unless it was well insulated. Does well insulated go beyond a actual concrete basement? I.E. framed, insulated, and sheathed? I really liked the idea of warm floors haha.
ALSO, I fully intend to move my wood pile from that location. Was there when we bought the place. I have a nice nook on the other side of the basement to store it.
Thanks in advance.

20210610_182405.jpg 20210610_182401.jpg 20210610_182338.jpg 20210610_182330.jpg
 
Hey there from Maine! So I'm new to the wood heat scene. The wife and I bought our first house in February, a single level ranch,, 1200sq ft with a full basement. We didn't move in till April but had a few nights where we came out and played pool in the basement with family and friends and decided to light a fire in the wood stove in the basement. (I stuck a brush down and emptied the clean out first. Hopefully that was safe enough) I posted in a other forum on here and was referred to here because no matter what I did I couldn't get more than about an hour to an hour and a half per reload. The stove needs some work and I plan on doing that once I figured out if this was even the proper stove for my goals. It might be too small and be more of a decorative stove? Theres a few handles where the Wooden bit came off. The front door is hard to latch. I only burned while I was there and never left it unsupervised with flames or even coals for that matter and just leaned a chunk of steel on the handle so it wouldn't pop open. (Looks like a simple matter of unbending the bracket) and I have 1 peice of the door seal on the front that likes to fall off but you can put it in place and close the door and it seems to seal just fine. I then just load from the side. I am not sure how old the wood is but I assumed that was probably the reason. It was there when we bought it and no one had lived there for about 8 months prior. Also previous occupants seemed like they used it for more of an ash tray than a heat source... I'll post some pics. I assume the Waterford stamped on the side is the manufacturer but I don't see any other markings.
Also I was told that in having my stove in the basement I was potentially losing a lot of heat unless it was well insulated. Does well insulated go beyond a actual concrete basement? I.E. framed, insulated, and sheathed? I really liked the idea of warm floors haha.
ALSO, I fully intend to move my wood pile from that location. Was there when we bought the place. I have a nice nook on the other side of the basement to store it.
Thanks in advance.

View attachment 279474 View attachment 279475 View attachment 279476 View attachment 279477
Waterford made great stoves but yours probably needs regasketed possibly torn down and recemented. In addition the handle under the side opposite of the door looks like it may be for a shaker grate which may mean it is actually a coal stove not a wood stove. Can you show us some pics of the inside?

Also have you had the whole system inspected by a pro to see if the stove and chimney are safe to use?
 
Also have you had the whole system inspected by a pro to see if the stove and chimney are safe to use?
I had in inspection done by a reputable local inspector before I bought the house and he checked it out and said it was good. Upon closer inspection I noticed I do have a broken fire brick. So I'll have to add that to the list. And apparently I have a chunk of door gasket missing on the bottom of the door so that probably made a huge difference in how it ran.
 

Attachments

  • 20210610_193712.jpg
    20210610_193712.jpg
    171.7 KB · Views: 138
  • 20210610_193655.jpg
    20210610_193655.jpg
    116.6 KB · Views: 126
  • 20210610_193652.jpg
    20210610_193652.jpg
    127.8 KB · Views: 120
  • 20210610_193634.jpg
    20210610_193634.jpg
    116.9 KB · Views: 126
  • 20210610_193614.jpg
    20210610_193614.jpg
    135.1 KB · Views: 133
I had in inspection done by a reputable local inspector before I bought the house and he checked it out and said it was good. Upon closer inspection I noticed I do have a broken fire brick. So I'll have to add that to the list. And apparently I have a chunk of door gasket missing on the bottom of the door so that probably made a huge difference in how it ran.
Ok that is a pretty modern woodstove I work on a few of them but can't remember the model name. They work pretty well my guess is it just needs gaskets. And good luck getting those refractory panels. I have had to cast a few of them.

Was it a chimney sweep or s home inspector? Did they scan the chimney? Did they mention the upside down pipe or the fact that it can't be galvanized?
 
Was it a chimney sweep or s home inspector? Did they scan the chimney? Did they mention the upside down pipe or the fact that it can't be galvanized?
Just a typical home inspector. I'll have to check what they did. They were pretty tech savvy but I'm not sure how involved he got with the fire place. And no and no. I'll change that out too then haha. And good to know about that brick..I'll call some local stove shops and see what I can find.
 
Just a typical home inspector. I'll have to check what they did. They were pretty tech savvy but I'm not sure how involved he got with the fire place. And no and no. I'll change that out too then haha. And good to know about that brick..I'll call some local stove shops and see what I can find.
The last ones I did the customer had ordered them from Waterford 2 years earlier and they still hadn't come.
 
Jeesh that's awful. Is casting a semi common thing among stove shops/repair shops?
A few do it but most don't they just sell stoves.


Parts availability is almost non-existent since Waterford stopped selling stoves here.
 
It's a Waterford Trinity and a decent stove. Woodman's sells some parts for it.
What you were told about an uninsulated basement is true. About 1/3 of the heat generated by the stove will head outdoors through the uninsulated walls.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MwCrf450r
If you have plantings around the foundation they will bloom early in the spring with a wood stove in the uninsulated basement as you will be heating the ground outside the basement. Snow will also tend not to pile up against the foundation. If its not a living space you can get the walls, sills and plate spray foamed but you would need to have the foam coveed with somethings like sheetrock if its living space. Just an inch of foam will make big difference.
 
It's a Waterford Trinity and a decent stove. Woodman's sells some parts for it.
What you were told about an uninsulated basement is true. About 1/3 of the heat generated by the stove will head outdoors through the uninsulated walls.
Thanks! I'll try ordering parts while I got all summer to wait. I'm sure covid hasn't helped make parts more available..
 
If its not a living space you can get the walls, sills and plate spray foamed but you would need to have the foam coveed with somethings like sheetrock if its living space. Just an inch of foam will make big difference.
Ok thanks! I have a decent chuck of 2" blueboard kicking around that needs a purpose :)
 
I believe that would still need drywall in front of it as fire barrier.
 
Generally, if the foam, be it in sheet form or sprayed on is exposed to an "occupied space" it needs to be covered with thermal barrier like 1/2" sheetrock. There are also spray applied products that also work but are rarer. An unfinished basement is not an occupied space. A finished basement is.
 
  • Like
Reactions: stoveliker
Generally, if the foam, be it in sheet form or sprayed on is exposed to an "occupied space" it needs to be covered with thermal barrier like 1/2" sheetrock. There are also spray applied products that also work but are rarer. An unfinished basement is not an occupied space. A finished basement is.
It isn't a finished basement so should be fine without any drywall