Hey all, right now I have a buck 74 which is supposed to heat up to 2600sqft (40900 btuh). Im trying to heat a 1500sqft main floor (1500sqft basement not heated) with 15ft sloping down to 11ft ceilings. I have added 2 ceiling fans to try and push the air down but the 74 seems to start to lose the battle once the temps get down to upper teens. Ive been contemplating switching to a buck 91. Firebox is almost twice the size and is supposed to heat too 3500sqft (50400btuh). Do you think it is going to smoke us out? I would enjoy the longer burn times but i worry about it being to big in the shoulder season and warmer winter days. It would be quite an investment because i would have to switch to an 8" liner. any opinions, experience, input, etc??? 74 has an insulated liner and insulated masonry with roxul**
I would put a second stove in the basement and run it on cold days. Add insulation to the foundation as required and you can remove any insulation between the basement and first floor.... a warm floor will go a long way toward helping you to have even heat in your house... got any diagrams or pics? Would there be any other benefits from heating your basement?
The basement is finished and insulated we just dont use it really other than holidays. its stays 58 or so down there. I had thought about putting one in the basement but the staircase is opposite side the basement of where the stove would go and it didnt seem like much heat would come up other than heating the floors like you said.
Yep! That nails it! So, if adding a stove to the basement- Komatsu360, you might also consider (if possible) to cut some registers into the floor, and build “ducts” from the underside of the subfloor to within 6”-8”s of the basement floor. The cold air on the main floor will readily drop down and drive the heated air up the stairs; and of course in its convective/conductive journey along the joist bays (as well with radiant heat cast off the stove), those floors will toast them tootsies
Is your first floor carpet? If not and you have hardwood, tile or linoleum an 80 degree basement should allow the floors to provide an even radiant heat., Basement ceiling will obviously affect this. Does the basement have a drop ceiling or drywall? There are a few threads in basement burning... here’s one. Maybe time to revive the idea.. basement stove
I've never heated a basement... My guess is you'd burn a lot more wood in a second stove heating from the basement, than in a larger stove on the main floor. Twice as much additional wood? But you'd have a nice warm basement. I'd also be looking at real world usable cubic footage of the two stoves, not sure about Buck but many manufactures exaggerate a lot.
It really depends on how well insulated the basement is on the perimeter. If it’s just poured concrete with no insulation, then yes, your assertion is correct. If there is insulation on the outside perimeter of the foundation, the concrete then acts as a heat sink radiating absorbed heat back into the basement and that heat is allowed to rise within the building envelope. At a given room temperature, one could feel colder due to cold feet from walking on a cold floor. As mentioned by the OP, it’s not every day that his 74 can’t keep up, but I’m not sure how many days the temp is down in the upper teens there. We have several basement burners here, maybe they will join in. Stinny DexterDay KaptJaq
I have the Buck 91 and love it. Heating 2200 up and 1000 finished down from the basement. Much easier to build a small fire in a big stove than run a small one to the max. I think with an insulated 6" liner if you have good draw you may be fine with the 91. I do have an insulated 8" liner so just guessing though. Heading for bed that is just all I can offer. I have an insert not a freestanding and the stove is on one end so in single digits I do have to supplement but I have the perfect set up for that with hot water natural gas on 2 ,zones so just have to help the back rooms away from the stove room.
All I'd add about my set-up is, having the dirty space (wood, stove, ash cleanout, etc) is in the basement of our ranch style home. My honey loves that part. I do too these days. I can bring wood in from outside down thru the Bilco door area and store it right near the stove. Now... if I really wanted to drive more heat upstairs, I know from experimenting with one 6" duct pipe going up from the stovetop to a floor register almost above it... that it can be done. I have 2 other floor registers in the kitch and livrm ready to go. I'd add a 12volt muffin fan (so it could have backup in a power out) inside the cold air return... send that air thru the Liberty's blower section... and then insulated 6" ductwork out to those 2 floor registers. I have no doubt it would drive us out of the house with the stovetop at 600 degrees...
My house is a ranch on the side of a hill. 1,800 sf upstairs over 1,000 sf downstairs. Part of downstairs is un-heated garage. Since we are on the side of a hill the finished lower level is walk-in with full windows. Upstairs I have an insert which can handle our normal winter temps, highs in the 30s, lows around 20. The lower level is a little cool but livable. When we get the cold spells the insert needs help. I have a register at the colder end of the living area that can draw the air down to the lower level when I am not burning downstairs. This forces air up the stairs and helps even out the whole house temperatures. When the downstairs stove is lit, it forces warm air up, reversing the direction of the loop. Downstairs is a French multi-fuel stove. It burns anthracite coal very well but goes through wood quickly. If it is going to be a short cold spell, I'll burn a wood fire there in the morning and evening to keep the house comfortable. For long term freezes I burn coal. I can load & tend coal in that stove once a day and it will keep the downstairs at or above 80°F. The fan moves a lot of that heat upstairs to help the insert. I find two small fires a lot easier to manage and more efficient that keeping one stove running full blast. Heating with both stoves does not increase fuel use radically. There is an increase due to more area being heated. With warmer air downstairs the walls absorb a little more also. The big difference is that when the downstairs stove is running the upstairs stove is at a moderate burn level, not cranking hard and wasting a lot of heat up the flue. KaptJaq ps: Yesterday's high temperature was 15°F and last night was in the single digits. We have not been above freezing for a few days and it is not forecast for another week. Both stoves are running 24/7.
What it comes down to is surface area of the building envelope that is heated, ΔT and R value. The square footage may double but the surface area of the heated building envelope doesn’t. In the case where the heat starts in the basement, if you have a low R value on the perimeter, a larger ΔT will cause a big waste of BTUs. A high R value on basement walls would promote less transfer of BTUs through basement walls and more transfer of heat to the first floor.. So doubling heated square footage when the floors are on top of each other doesn’t necessarily have to significantly increase fuel required.. will at least some be required? Yes.. but not as much as you may think. it does often require an investment in insulation and air sealing as many foundations are not insulated..
Komatsu360 , do you have to sell one stove to be able to afford the other? Not sure what the used stove market is like where you are.. and whether or not you could sell the liner too. That is an aspect we have not yet discussed.... many variables here.
Well explained stuckinthemuck, also explains why so few single story homes in the Northeast, however it does lead to challenge with an aging demographic and the inevitable stairways. Single story newer homes here command a 15% premium over similar sized home with more than one floor.
I have a Buck 74 placed on an outside wall located on the far South end if my house. 2,800 sq. ft. Open floor plan, 2 story cape cod, with a large open basement. New windows, doors, and full blown in insulation. Been running the stove at a "medium" range during these frigid days and it is doing very well at keeping my oil furnace off. The only thing that would be better IMO is if it was in the basement. My living room, where the stove is located, is sweltering hot while the rest of the house stays a happy 68-70. My furnace does run during the "lows" of the Buck's heating cycle but otherwise it keeps up. The 74 is a great stove, but if I was going to rely on it 100%, I would probably go with their cat model (I think it's the 81?) For the reduced wood consumption and little even heat cycles. I talked my cousin into one and he loves it so far!
