Wood stove in an unfinished basement?

[xman23]

Of course the stove will work in the basement, if you are planning to make the basement full time living space. Getting heat out of there is defiantly an issue, more than your solution. The stove needs regular monitoring, adjusting and reloading. If I was living on the main floor and needed to go up and down stairs to run the stove, it would get old real quick. So the first thing I would consider is where I will be and where I need the heat. For me it's the main floor.

 

[Karl Hungus]

my .02
Basement is best place for a wood stove,all heat goes up. Without it in the basement your basement will get really cold.
As mentioned I would get rid of insulation between basement and 1st floor.
I would add Holes in the floor to aid heat flowing up. These were standard fare at one time, We had a home that had these, called "heat registers".
You can buy grills for this purpose.
You don't loose alot of heat out of basement walls and floor where they are underground.
I would look for a large wood stove with decent size ash bin so you don't have to keep emptying it.
Once my wood stove is up and going, about and hour after starting, I don't do any fiddling with adjustments. Some people are knob twiddlers and just can't keep their hands off and let it go on its own.
I toss some wood in it 3-5 hours and that's it.
It can go for days like this.
The chimney will be the biggest hurdle.
Best to keep it inside the heated envelope.

Do some research on the chimney.
look at how your going to load wood into basement.
thru a window is a decent answer.
my neighbor has a old cistern that he knocked a hold in the wall so he could fill it with wood for the winter.
you won't be the first one to do what you want, lots do it, its a good alternative way to heat a house.

 

[BradleyW]

I used to have a basement stove and didn't like dealing with it. I want to be able to check the stove after I load while I go about my business, not trudge down to the basement every five or ten minutes. Not to mention there's too much heat loss, and you don't get to enjoy the fire and the radiant heat. If it's not living space, the basement won't get so cold as to matter. Should stay around 50 degrees even if it's not heated. Put your stove upstairs and enjoy it.

 

[bholler]

You don't loose alot of heat out of basement walls and floor where they are underground.

Yes you do that heat goes into the ground really well. I saw a huge difference after I insulated my basement.

Put your stove upstairs and enjoy it.

To me with a stove upstairs that means I cant enjoy the room the stove is in they are always way to hot for me. But I do agree I didn't like going down to check the stove all the time which is why I got an auber remote thermometer. But to each their own. I prefer softer heat upstairs and warm floors others prefer the other way neither is wrong.

 

[Mike M.]

I agree, get wood now. Put in a nice 6in chimney and plan for a stove. Watch here and Home Depot for late season sale prices. Once you have a chimney you can always upgrade to some type of wood furnace if the stove doesn't work out. Just choose a chimney spot that works for both options.

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[NoobTube]

Having a stove or furnace in the basement wouldnt get old quick at all. The reason its nice to have a furnace down there are two reasons.
1. Its going to push hot air upstairs no matter what ( you also can add an in-line humidifier to keep your humidity levels in check)
2. It will throw off radiant heat into the basement, so if and when you choose to finish your basement you will have supplemental heat down there with an option to add a duct off the main plenum to your finished space in the basement.

The reason I suggest the furnace over the stove is this:

1. No need to insulate your basement walls and floors right now.
2. It will provide heat with a somewhat even distribution to your living area upstairs
3. Ultimately it will be more efficient in getting heat up to your living area vs a stove.


In order to get the same kind of efficiency out of a stove in the basement you need to:
1. Take out the insulation in the floors.
2. Put heat registers in that are up to code with a wax snap ring. (somewhat pricey)
3. Insulate the walls and floor of the basement ($3-5K... likely more)
4. Get a pretty good sized stove with a big firebox, you will be feeding it all the time (even a BK King might not cut it if its in an uninsulated basement. In fact there is a thread right now where it can't handle the heating requirements.


So in short, look at your budget for the now... Plan for the future, and decide on what you would like to ultimately have. A stove can work in a basement, but it does need a bit more investment.

 

[RichW_SC]

I'm in the same decision making process...

Already bought an NC30 and was planning on putting it in my fireplace on the first floor however I just finished encapsulating and insulating my crawlspace and half unfinished basement.

I'm going to finish off the basement (leaving crawlspace open to basement) as a media/mancave/kids play room and now I'm leaning towards putting the stove down there. There is chimney access from an old boiler so that would be easy. It will also have heat/air returns and no first floor insulation.

Fyi... I did the spray foam myself and it makes an enormous difference in not only insulating but sealing all the holes and cracks in my masonry (keeps critters out too). I did 1-2" thick on all the walls. Basement stays at a constant 58 degrees. I took a chance and bought a 600sq/ft kit off of ebay for about $550 shipped ($150 cheaper than the more well known kits) and it was flawless.