Keystoker HF 90 in basement

Hi,
I'm new to the forums here, my name is Scott. I'm thinking of buying a Keystoker HF90 to put in the basement in order to heat the whole upstairs. My upstairs is 1,250 sq/ft (24x52), and the basement is divided roughly in half the length of the house. The half the stove will be installed in is insulated and has a drop ceiling installed, and there is also insulation in the floor upstairs. The stove would be installed near the stairwell downstairs which leads to roughly the center of the house upstairs. I'm hoping enough heat will travel up the stairwell, as I have no floor registers installed.

My question is will the Keystoker hf 90 do the job? The person I talked to at a nearby stove outlet suggested a stoker, namely either the Keystoker 90 or Harman Super Magnum. I would prefer a hand fired stove, since we get frequent power outages here.. and also less moving parts means longer life and fewer repairs.

I also will need to build a chimney, are there any special requirements for a hand fired stove vs. a stoker as far as the chimney goes (height)?

Thank you, I hope I was thorough enough with my description of the house layout.
Scott

You might have to rip out the drop ceiling, and definatly the insulation in the floor. Hot air will rise if there is something to take its place(cold air) So you may wind up cutting a duct or two in the floor.

What do you currently heat with, and how well does this system work? Judging from your description your house is a single story?

Eric

Right now I heat just the upstairs with a propane fireplace in the living room. I also have electric baseboard heat in every room as the main heat, but I use that VERY sparingly (only in the bedrooms at the other end of house as needed).

Wouldn't the heat rise with the drop ceiling and insulation in place if I leave the cellar door open upstairs? I figured I may have to put floor registers in, that's no biggy.

Welcome...

Do some reading on here, there are many others in your situation, that are looking at putting their stoves in the basement and wondering if it will heat their homes....

Can I comfortably heat my whole house with only a Stove?

What size coal stove should I buy? + setup tips/suggestions?

Also, every heating home situation is different. What might work for some, may not for others. Yes, heat will rise, but you may have to get some vents or ductwork to move the heat upstairs better and the cooler air back down.

If you got with a stoker stove, you can put in a direct vent or power vent, then you don't have to build a chimney.

A chimney is a chimney, a stoker or hand fed requirements are the same and it should be installed per your local codes.

A lot depends on how your house is laid out and insulated. I would not start tearing out ceilings and insulation and cutting in floor registers until I saw how things worked out on their own. A lot of heat can be exchanged theough a single door if there is a vertical component. The stove you propose can put out a lot of heat. You can probably find an online calculator for estimating BTU requirements for heating purposes. Remember that a stove in the basement will heat the basement before it heats the upstairs. A stoker stove will probably offer the option of direct venting which is cheaper than a class A chimney. I Heat an old 2 story farmhouse with only a stairwell circulating air to the second floor. I have heated with coal for 4 years and with wood for the previous 30 years. One thing that kept me from putting my heating appliances in my basement was concern over the logistics of supplying fuel and removing ashes up and down a single stairway. Good luck.

Thanks everyone so far for your input, greatly appreciated! I will certainly try heating the upstairs without modifications to the downstairs first to see what happens. I guess it will be a trial and error experience. I will be building the chimney myself, my dad and I built his a few years ago so I'm confident we can do another.

I have also been looking at the Alaska Kodiak hand fired stove (100,000 btu), does anyone have experience with this stove?

ytseman3 wrote:
I have also been looking at the Alaska Kodiak hand fired stove (100,000 btu), does anyone have experience with this stove?

Do a "SEARCH" here and you'll find plenty of discussions.

I have a set up in my home which is very similar to yours. I have about 2500 sq. ft. to heat which includes the basement and the upstairs. The stove is in the basement. The door to the upstairs is in the middle of the house and I leave it wide open for the heat to rise to that level. I am heating these two levels with a hand fired Buck Model 24 Coal Stove. The stove is rated to heat 2500 sq. ft. and does a good job. There are a number of good stoves out there that are rated for heating 2500 sq. ft. Keystoker makes a good stove. I would make sure that the stove you get is rated to heat 2500 sq. ft. so you know it will handle your set up.

Thanks Buck24 for that info on your setup, hopefully it gives some indication on how things would work out for me. I'll be sure to look at the sq/ft ratings of the stove I eventually buy. I'm really going through the propane right now with this bitter cold.. hopefully not next winter!

Thanks

So, an update on the coal stove. I've decided to buy an Alaska Channing III stoker, rated for up to 85,000 btu or up to 2500 square ft. I'm also in the early stages of the chimney project (footer poured, 3 block layed). Thanks everyone for your help so far, it's been a while since I have been on here just wanted to thank everyone who posted. I'm hoping it is a good stove choice, Alaska seems to build a quality stove.

Just remember that as the hot air rises the cold air has to rush down those stairs back to the stove. This can cause uncomfortable drafts in the rooms above. If you add registers in the far rooms going back to the basement to act as a cold air return the circulation will be much improved and more comfortable since the stairwell no longer has to serve as both feed and return.

franco b wrote:Just remember that as the hot air rises the cold air has to rush down those stairs back to the stove. This can cause uncomfortable drafts in the rooms above. If you add registers in the far rooms going back to the basement to act as a cold air return the circulation will be much improved and more comfortable since the stairwell no longer has to serve as both feed and return.

Thanks for the info franco b. I will keep that in mind!

Update, I have finished my chimney 2 weeks ago and just tonight purchased a 2007 Keystoker 90 stoker! She needs a little stove paint, but in great condition. I can't wait to fire it up this fall, I hope it does a good job heating.

Thanks to everyone for your input!

Getting the hot air moved upstairs is a must. Either a duct or stairway, etc....hopefully you can get the air circulating good. The room the stove is in will be much warmer then the rest. Also, make sure you put in a Baro Damper and set your draft correctly when firing it up.

WNY wrote:Getting the hot air moved upstairs is a must. Either a duct or stairway, etc....hopefully you can get the air circulating good. The room the stove is in will be much warmer then the rest. Also, make sure you put in a Baro Damper and set your draft correctly when firing it up.

Those baro dampers, are they pre calibrated? Is it just install and forget it, or do you have to adjust it? I imagine once I get the stove fired up I'll be back with alot more questions for the experts on here I'm new to coal, so it's a learning experience.