Wood Stove in Basement?

[zanp]

I have a new Regency insert in the upstairs portion of my log cabin and it works great until the temp drops below 25 outside. When the temp drops below 25, I can only keep my cabin at around 60 -62. I am realizing that this cabin is not the most insulated. I have a block off plate installed but it is not airtight so I will be sealing that this spring.

There is a finished basement with concrete floors and cinder block walls (three of the walls are below ground and one is exposed) that is equipped with an old Fisher Mama Bear stove. The basement stays around 40 F no matter what the temp is outside in the winter. There is insulation on the basement ceiling.

My question is whether or not people think burning a fire in the basement stove on those really cold days would help heat the upstairs?

 

[daleeper]

It would really depend on how the air moves from the basement to the upstairs, but I would doubt that running it just on an intermittent basis that it would help much. It takes several days for my basement to warm up good when starting the stove in late fall/early winter, heck, it will take several hours for that mama bear to warm up . But, if the stove is there, and the chimney is in ready to burn condition, fire it up and find out for yourself whether it helps. When LP gas was cheaper, and we didn't burn wood 24/7, we would usually try to burn wood the coldest 3-4 weeks of the year, and it really made a difference in the amount of gas needed for the winter, and the comfort level in the house.

 

[begreen]

Be sure the stove and flue are in good safe condition for burning first. Then, give it a try. The heat loss will be considerable, but that stove could put out a fair amount of heat so you might see an improvement. Of course a better solution is insulation and caulking any leaks.

 

[zanp]

The chimney and stove were cleaned and inspected when we bought the cabin last year. Thanks.

 

[bruce]

block does not insulate, old wise tale just a big wick for heat!

 

[Molson]

true. My new stove is in a yet unfinished block/concrete basement. It takes hours to get the surface of the block up to temp, then the room starts to warm up. I am steel studding/insulating the walls this summer, should see a large gain in heat.

 

[Cearbhaill]

I am the exception to the rule I guess, as I am heating my entire main floor with an insert in the basement. Basement is unfinished concrete block, concrete floor, underground on nearly all of three sides, and the exposed side faces south. The ceiling is joists and subfloor and my upstairs is extremely well insulated with new windows and doors. The stairwell is about 9-10 feet from the insert and the room at the top does have a ceiling fan pulling up.

I don't know why it works for me, but I do realize that I am extremely lucky that it does. My upstairs (main floor) stays right at 69ºF and my furnace does not kick on until the outdoor temps drop below about 17ºF or so.
I'll take it :cheese:

 

[johnsopi]

Cearbhaill, is that a Wolfhound in your pictue?

 

[Fire Bug]

I would imagine some of that heat from the basement stove has to find it's way upstairs eventually, even though you are going to lose a lot of this heat through the block walls. Heat rises naturally, especially since your ceiling is uninsullated.

 

[Ken45]

When we bought this house six years ago, it had a wood furnace in the basement (semi finished) but the furnace just vented into the basement room. We did heat the house with it (there is an open stairwell eight feet away) BUT the basement room (16x30) was HOT and the upstair cool. We burned a lot of wood to get some heat upstairs. IOW, heat movement was very poor even with the open stairwell close by.

I finally bit the bullet and cut a hole in the ceiling/floor and connected a duct to the first floor. Wow! Lots of heat! Much less wood being burned. The convection works well, the blower rarely comes on.

You might fabricate a hood around the stove to collect the heat and put a duct from the hood through to the upstairs. This is just a thought and may or may not be legal according to code.

Or you might just get a wood furnace from Tractor Supply and put it in the basement with a duct to the first floor.

Ken

 

[dj2cohen]

I have found in my home that a warm floor will psychologically make the entire room/home "feel" warmer, even if the ambient air temp is down in the mid 60's.

I too have an unfinished block/concrete basement but the warm air rising to the bottom side of the first floor makes a difference. The first floor joists are uninsulated for just this reason.

The biggest difference was made though, for the worse, when I installed laminate flooring in my kitchen. I used the upgraded underlayment and was very disappointed to find that a simple 3/8" inch of padding works as well as 3" to 4" of fiberglass insulation when it is under the laminate. It made a dramatic difference in the floor temp.

 

[Fire Bug]

I have found in my home that a warm floor will psychologically make the entire room/home "feel" warmer, even if the ambient air temp is down in the mid 60's.

I too have an unfinished block/concrete basement but the warm air rising to the bottom side of the first floor makes a difference. The first floor joists are uninsulated for just this reason.

The biggest difference was made though, for the worse, when I installed laminate flooring in my kitchen. I used the upgraded underlayment and was very disappointed to find that a simple 3/8" inch of padding works as well as 3" to 4" of fiberglass insulation when it is under the laminate. It made a dramatic difference in the floor temp.

No psychology about it. A warm floor is a draft free floor. I agree with you 100%.

 

[CREEKY]

I have found in my home that a warm floor will psychologically make the entire room/home "feel" warmer, even if the ambient air temp is down in the mid 60's.

I too have an unfinished block/concrete basement but the warm air rising to the bottom side of the first floor makes a difference. The first floor joists are uninsulated for just this reason.

The biggest difference was made though, for the worse, when I installed laminate flooring in my kitchen. I used the upgraded underlayment and was very disappointed to find that a simple 3/8" inch of padding works as well as 3" to 4" of fiberglass insulation when it is under the laminate. It made a dramatic difference in the floor temp.

No psychology about it. A warm floor is a draft free floor. I agree with you 100%.

 

[CREEKY]

definitely burn the stove. keep in mind that it will take some time to heat the basement. Once the basement is warmed the heat has no where to go but up under your floors. just walking on warm floors makes a huge difference.

 

[Cearbhaill]

Cearbhaill, is that a Wolfhound in your pictue?

Good call!

 

[johnsopi]

My parents rised and showed Wolfhounds while I was growing up. They had them for 20 years or so. Wonerful dogs.

 

[bjorn773]

I heat my home with a stove installed in the basement. I do have a furnace blower pulling air from the stove area and pushing it through my hvac ductwork. The basement walls are concrete, uninsulated. Do I lose heat out of the walls, yes. But for the cost, time and effort required to stud, insulate, and finish the basement walls I can process a lot of wood. I burn about 4 cords a year and this is my primary heat source. Just my $.02

 

[MainePellethead]

I have a new Regency insert in the upstairs portion of my log cabin and it works great until the temp drops below 25 outside. When the temp drops below 25, I can only keep my cabin at around 60 -62. I am realizing that this cabin is not the most insulated. I have a block off plate installed but it is not airtight so I will be sealing that this spring.

There is a finished basement with concrete floors and cinder block walls (three of the walls are below ground and one is exposed) that is equipped with an old Fisher Mama Bear stove. The basement stays around 40 F no matter what the temp is outside in the winter. There is insulation on the basement ceiling.

My question is whether or not people think burning a fire in the basement stove on those really cold days would help heat the upstairs?

My situation was: I have a 1986 2 story Cape. 1268 Sq. Ft.....I heated for several years with an Ashley Woodstove in the basement...I kept the cellar door open and I tell you...there was NOT a cold spot in the house. Heated it very well. I have a foundation and not block foundation though. Thats my experience with a wood stove in the basement.

 

[FatttFire]

I have a big bear Fisher stove and it works very well! I have a 1500 sqft basement, uninsulated except for the sill plates, block basement with 12 foot ceilings! This stove is my true heat source, I have a new furnace and it has run 12 minutes since December of 2006! You will have to keep more of an eye on this stove as in I have to feed it every 3 hours but, it is free heat, and keeps my up stairs ( 1500 sq ft ) at 70 to 75 ! :coolsmile: