[Shelter] Heat - Wood (was Wood Stoves)

[Gothor]

I did not know this but stoves that have soapstone sides will radiate heat better.

look into soapstone.

I highly recommend this option as well...soapstone is a wonder.

[Grimnir]

I am planning on installing a small Regency woodstove at the bottom of the stairs in an unfinished area of the basement. Since the floor and walls are concrete I don't have to worry about setting them on fire, and I figure they'll act as thermal mass as well. The pipe will run up through the ceiling into the garage, which I figure will help add a little heat there in the event that I have to convert it into a chicken coop. I'm in the northern US and the house is about 1200 square feet. Does anyone want to warn me against doing this before I go ahead and put a deposit down, or dispute my assumptions?

[wisconsin_cur]

I am planning on installing a small Regency woodstove at the bottom of the stairs in an unfinished area of the basement. Since the floor and walls are concrete I don't have to worry about setting them on fire, and I figure they'll act as thermal mass as well. I'm in the northern US and the house is about 1200 square feet. Does anyone want to warn me against doing this before I go ahead and put a deposit down?

The only thing I would say is that with a large concrete floor in a basement and a small stove I don't know how much warmth you would actually be able to retain. You will not be able to compete with the earth which wants to stay ~50 degrees and it will take a lot of wood to heat that concrete up to something resembling "warm".

The heat will want to go up into the main house (not a problem if that is your goal).

Good luck

[Revi]

I like having my woodstove right in the living area of the house. You'll find that every living creature and person in the house is attracted to it. They will all be in there, and go to sleep. I like to see the fire, and know that every piece of wood I cut is warming me and a cheery glow is imparted into the room.

It's profound to have a hearth. It's a great sense of security to have a pile of wood. It's a really nice thing. You'll love it.

[mos6507]

They have been using the system for a number of years, and it works well for them. They are 100% off grid with PVs and use their excess power to heat water and run refrigeration, after charging their electric recumbent trikes.

Hey Roccman, did you check this out yet?? I think you should stop bragging and bow to your new prepper overlords.

[Consensi]

I am planning on installing a small Regency woodstove at the bottom of the stairs in an unfinished area of the basement. Since the floor and walls are concrete .....

I recommend doing a little research on the principles of a Rocket Stove. Can't say enough about them. I am reading through this thread in amazement at how much money people are spending on something they could build basically for just a couple hundred dollars. I checked WisJim's link and saw the workings of the Rocket Stove adapted to an expensive conventional wood burning stove.

If I were going to build a wood burning stove in my basement (I don't have a basement), I would lay down an 8" bed of cob and place the stove on top then surround the stove with more cob on both sides and the back. The cob works just as well as soapstone does by absorbing lots of heat then slowly releasing it for hours after the fire burns out. But cob is basically free of cost.

Another nice thing about Rocket Stoves is that they burn more efficiently, cleanly, and you would use about half of the wood a conventional wood stoves burns to get the same BTU's of heat.

Before spending upwards of a thousand dollars I strongly recommend you look into the rocket stove.

[Quinny]

I am planning on installing a small Regency woodstove at the bottom of the stairs in an unfinished area of the basement. Since the floor and walls are concrete .....

I recommend doing a little research on the principles of a Rocket Stove. Can't say enough about them. I am reading through this thread in amazement at how much money people are spending on something they could build basically for just a couple hundred dollars. I checked WisJim's link and saw the workings of the Rocket Stove adapted to an expensive conventional wood burning stove.

If I were going to build a wood burning stove in my basement (I don't have a basement), I would lay down an 8" bed of cob and place the stove on top then surround the stove with more cob on both sides and the back. The cob works just as well as soapstone does by absorbing lots of heat then slowly releasing it for hours after the fire burns out. But cob is basically free of cost.

Another nice thing about Rocket Stoves is that they burn more efficiently, cleanly, and you would use about half of the wood a conventional wood stoves burns to get the same BTU's of heat.

Before spending upwards of a thousand dollars I strongly recommend you look into the rocket stove.

Got my flue for a small version yesterday! Not lit it yet, but hope to have it working by end of week. Thanks for the advice Consensi.

[davep]

I bought one of these at the weekend to replace my old inefficient insert:

[uNkNowN ElEmEnt]

I got my stove in etc and I don't think its drawing enough air. There are times (maybe on a windless day) when it will die out if you close the door (which its always supposed to be closed as its catalytic).

I talked to the guy who installed it about putting in an outside air intake and he says I don't need it. but its getting frustrating babying the thing for hours so it doesn't go out.

there is an air intake on the back. its a 3" round hole and the plate in the hole has a couple slits in it... what would happen if I took the plate off and enlarged these slits a bit?

Everyone told me that in a mobile home we'd be so hot we'd have to open the windows but we are finding the opposite to be true. Its freaking cold and I'm putting a heater in the other end bedroom to keep it liveable at times.

My pipe (the silver exterior) gives me 6 feet and the double wall inside the house gives me at least 3.5- 4 feet. Is that enough?

[topcat]

I am not familiar with the catalytic woodburners, but we do have an insert in our masonary fireplace. We had problems early on with the draw up the chimney. (It turned out that the previously installed liner through the chimney had several large holes.)

Your last statement about the silver pipe, is this your exhaust chimney? How many turns are in it? How far above the tallest part of your roof does the chimney go?

[davep]

Well, I installed my chimney last weekend and according to my wife it consumes wood even faster than the old inefficient insert.

I guess this is either because the chimney is pulling the air up too fast or that the air entry regulator is buggered.

Any ideas?

[Tanada]

Well, I installed my chimney last weekend and according to my wife it consumes wood even faster than the old inefficient insert.

I guess this is either because the chimney is pulling the air up too fast or that the air entry regulator is buggered.

Any ideas?

Third option, you got in a supply of what we always called Gopher Wood to feed it. Light softwoods like pine burn up darn quick, hence to keep the fire going you have to "go fer wood" frequently

If you are burning hardwood and still having this problem it sound to me like someont forgot to put the damper on your flue. Once the fire is burning well you should close the damper to restric airflow and conserve fuel. At least that thats the way it worked when I was growing up and we lived on wood heat because fuel oil was too expensive.

[skyemoor]

I got my stove in etc and I don't think its drawing enough air. There are times (maybe on a windless day) when it will die out if you close the door (which its always supposed to be closed as its catalytic).

My stove is similar, and I leave the door slightly ajar as there seems to be a 'catch' that allows the door to stay open a crack but keeps it from flying open.

When I'm starting a fire, I leave it open a crack and the air rushes in through said crack, creating a high velocity flow of combustion air that fans the flames, so to speak. After about 5-10 minutes of this, the fire is sufficiently started enough for me to completely close the door.

Is this unsafe? It could be, though I stay in close proximity to the stove during this time anyway, as it is the crucial part of the burning process. I leave the removeable handle in the down position in the latching mechanism, which further reduces the likelihood that the door will fly open. It's only happened once, when I did not create a stable wood stack, and one of the pieces rolled into the door. I make sure the stack is stable now...

I also have an adjustment to control how much air comes into the combustion box, and during the early burn I normally have this wide open until I prepare to 'calm' the fire before engaging the catalytic.

[dunewalker]

I got my stove in etc and I don't think its drawing enough air. There are times (maybe on a windless day) when it will die out if you close the door (which its always supposed to be closed as its catalytic).

I talked to the guy who installed it about putting in an outside air intake and he says I don't need it. but its getting frustrating babying the thing for hours so it doesn't go out.

there is an air intake on the back. its a 3" round hole and the plate in the hole has a couple slits in it... what would happen if I took the plate off and enlarged these slits a bit?

Everyone told me that in a mobile home we'd be so hot we'd have to open the windows but we are finding the opposite to be true. Its freaking cold and I'm putting a heater in the other end bedroom to keep it liveable at times.

Are you saying you live in a mobile? It's essential in that case, or even in a modern airtight house, to have an air intake from the outside for your fire. Otherwise you create drafts as air is sucked in under the doors, windows, etc, or if built too well, not enough air is drawn in, which is what you're describing. Put an intake near the stove, either through the wall or floor, depending on circumstance and it should work better. Make this opening closeable, so you can regulate it or even abandon it if it doesn't seem to be helping.

[frankthetank]

I'd put in an air intake. I wouldn't listen to that guy. I did one for my pellet stove when i had it installed and it worked great. When i get my woodstove in i'll do another one. There simple to do and the hole isn't that big... You might want to ask over on Hearth forums.

http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.ph ... ategory/1/

[vtsnowedin]

I'm curious, where are you guys finding this wood? Do you have huge backyards, can you get a lot more out of a single tree than I'm imagining, or are you planning on having access to public land after TSHTF?

I tell the wife as long as she can look out at our side hill and see one tree we are not out of wood. I'm on the family farm I grew up on and have been cutting 20+ cords a year here for over thirty years and I am losing ground.

[vtsnowedin]

I'd put in an air intake. I wouldn't listen to that guy. I did one for my pellet stove when i had it installed and it worked great. When i get my woodstove in i'll do another one. There simple to do and the hole isn't that big... You might want to ask over on Hearth forums.

http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.ph ... ategory/1/

Think about it. If you have an 8" flue freely flowing hot expanded air out of the house there has to be at least a 6" pipes worth of cold outside air coming into the house to replace it. As the draw of the chimney places the interior of the house under a slight vacuum it will suck this air in from cracks around windows and doors and it will drop to the floor and move into the direction of the stove inlet creating a nice cold draft on your toes. Even worse if the cracks are in one room and the stove in another the air going into the stove and up the chimney will be air you have already heated to room temperature perhaps with your oil furnace. A cold air supply line that brings cold outside air right up to the hearth so that people can't get between the cold air and its destination will make a house much more comfortable and save wood.

[vtsnowedin]

Well, I installed my chimney last weekend and according to my wife it consumes wood even faster than the old inefficient insert.

I guess this is either because the chimney is pulling the air up too fast or that the air entry regulator is buggered.

Any ideas?

Looking at the picture you posted I do not see any draft controls or a damper handle. Are there any? If the fire box of the insert is air tight all you would need is an air inlet control to control the flow of oxygen to the fire. If you shut off air flow completly the fire would go out which would be a bad thing but you should be able to throttle it to what ever speed you want. Of course the wife may just be heating the house to sauna temps if thats the way she likes it and in that case your not going to get there without burning some fuel.

[frankthetank]

Yup. There was a long discussion on it over on that other site maybe last year. The air has to come from somewhere for combustion.

Also REMEMBER TO HAVE A CO DETECTOR. Small price to pay for waking up dead. I swear every year around here someone/some family dies because of CO poisoning.

[vtsnowedin]

Yup. There was a long discussion on it over on that other site maybe last year. The air has to come from somewhere for combustion.

Also REMEMBER TO HAVE A CO DETECTOR. Small price to pay for not waking up dead. I swear every year around here someone/some family dies because of CO poisoning.

FTFY