Coal stove in basement

xandrew245x · By: **xandrew245x** On: Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:27 pm

KLook wrote:Lets see, how to say this...... Ok, there are many, many, many people in here with one flue and 2 appliances. If the coal is running the oil ain't. And the barometric for the oil is the same as for the coal boiler. At any rate, the use of GAS and another heat source was frowned upon. I also ignored this for years as I knew that if the coal/wood was running the gas wasn't. And multiple safety devices had to fail all at once to get the gas to spill into the room or chimney and I had a standing pilot hot water heater setting there so kaboom anyways. Not suggesting you try it, just saying it is done.

Kevin

I thought about just shutting the oil furnace down completely and use the chimney for a stove or boiler then once I had enough money to get the furnace hooked back up.

SMITTY · By: **SMITTY** On: Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:32 pm

I've been running both the coal stove and the oil boiler in a single, unlined flue for 8 seasons now. Haven't had an issue yet. Cleaned it for the first time in 10 years this spring too. :lol:

She's a beaut!

xandrew245x · By: **xandrew245x** On: Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:35 pm

Well, I know if I buy a boiler and have them install it, they are not going to allow that. I wouldn't feel comfortable installing it all myself.

KLook · By: **KLook** On: Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:43 pm

Just have them install the boiler as far as piping and wiring. you can handle the flue like nothing.

Kevin

KLook · By: **KLook** On: Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:45 pm

Wow Smitty!!! I have seen a bunch of those old crooked chimneys in my day. Just amazing the house survived the wood burning days. I have seen wooden beams running straight thru a chimney and they just let it burn off!!! :shock:

No *censored* either, 2 different times.

Kevin

xandrew245x · By: **xandrew245x** On: Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:51 pm

I appreciate te input, I really wish I could afford a boiler this year. I am going to get an estimate for the stove still, I guess I could install it in my basement and do what you said, but I'm pretty sure it would be very very hot in the basement then. If I located the stove there It would be located directly below the upstairs living room and bedroom.

KLook · By: **KLook** On: Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:59 pm

I ran a wood stove in the basement for years. I kept it there for emergencies such as the Ice Storm of 98 and a couple other events after going to a boiler and building on an addition with a dedicated boiler/mechanical rm. It is not ideal unless air movement is controlled either by fans or good use of registers. I had a large cast iron register directly over my stove and it was a decorative item in the living rm. The air just ran back down the stairs as I had no door on it. With a few well placed register, using common sense, ask questions here, and post a schematic of your home, you can make it work with the stove.

Kevin

xandrew245x · By: **xandrew245x** On: Wed Nov 28, 2012 6:02 pm

Okay, give me a few minutes and i'll draw a layout of my house. I like the idea of it being in the basement but I don't think I could stand it being any more than 80 degrees down there. The master bedroom is down there, it would be the room right beside the stove, and me and my wife both can't stand it being too hot when were trying to sleep.

xandrew245x · By: **xandrew245x** On: Wed Nov 28, 2012 6:16 pm

These drawings are very very bad, but you get the idea, it was the only thing I had to draw a layout quick.

The basement Bl is the boiler room and the other two rooms are bedroom and living room, the left side is unfinished, the stairs come down between the living room and unfinished area.

Upstairs, there is the kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom and the two bedrooms, pretty self explanatory, the stove would be under the living room and on the same side of the house as the bedroom and bathroom.

Between the boiler room and bedroom downstairs is an insulated wall and a door, between the living room and boiler room it is not insulated. The door to the basement is always left open. Let me know what you guys think.

Rick 386 · By: **Rick 386** On: Wed Nov 28, 2012 7:39 pm

xandrew245x wrote:................................... The master bedroom is down there, it would be the room right beside the stove, and me and my wife both can't stand it being too hot when were trying to sleep.

If you both take your clothes off it won't be that hot......... then again it may get hotter !!!!!! :inlove:

You can always try to put a fan down there to get the heat moving upstairs. Or a cold air return with fan to push the cold air into the basement to get reheated.

ETA: As far as the 2 flues into 1 chimney, we had a "y" installed right before the thimble. We cap off the unused appliance. To switch from 1 to the other doesn't take much time at all. Of course we haven't switched back to oil in several years now. Been running the boiler right through the summer for DHW.

Rick

xandrew245x · By: **xandrew245x** On: Wed Nov 28, 2012 7:49 pm

Rick 386 wrote:
xandrew245x wrote:................................... The master bedroom is down there, it would be the room right beside the stove, and me and my wife both can't stand it being too hot when were trying to sleep.

If you both take your clothes off it won't be that hot......... then again it may get hotter !!!!!!

You can always try to put a fan down there to get the heat moving upstairs. Or a cold air return with fan to push the cold air into the basement to get reheated.

ETA: As far as the 2 flues into 1 chimney, we had a "y" installed right before the thimble. We cap off the unused appliance. To switch from 1 to the other doesn't take much time at all. Of course we haven't switched back to oil in several years now. Been running the boiler right through the summer for DHW.

That made me chuckle. So what kind of temperature would I be looking at in the basement and what range would it be upstairs.
Rick

Rick 386 · By: **Rick 386** On: Wed Nov 28, 2012 8:07 pm

Depends on how well you can move that air around the house.

A well balance air movement would probably on;ly show a few degrees warmer in the room with the stove.

Rick

xandrew245x · By: **xandrew245x** On: Wed Nov 28, 2012 8:17 pm

Okay, well I think with some work I could get the air moving well enough, the stove would be located on the other side of the house from where the stair case is, if I put some floor vents in and maybe a fan in a few of them I may be able to get enough air flow.

Now the better question is, is the harmon mark 2 still big enough? Thats the stove they reccomended for upstairs, the downstairs would add about 1000 more sq ft, if I am correct the mark 3 is rated for up to 3500 sq ft.

KLook · By: **KLook** On: Wed Nov 28, 2012 8:39 pm

I cant speak to the size of the stove, but someone will comment on that.
I would not worry about to much heat in the downstairs bedroom, even uninsulated walls block a tremendous amount of heat. I think a vent above the Boiler rm. and one in each of the upstairs bedrooms will suffice, maybe one in the upstairs bath to prevent it from being to cold. Having said that, my original house just had the one large vent and nothing in the kitchen or bathroom. And they were on the northern cold windy side. Plus mine was a cape style with 2 bedrooms upstairs. The heat should naturally rise up and flow down the hall to the stairs and back down. Small fans move a tremendous amount of heat. Small being 6 or 8 inch ones.
I don't see the need to disconnect the other boiler, use it as a backup. However, that is a personal decision and many in here do it. I have seen it to many times to count. Check with your insurance co. or maybe one of the licensed guys in here will weigh in with the whole story and why you shouldn't. Just because people do it doesn't make it legal.

Kevin

xandrew245x · By: **xandrew245x** On: Wed Nov 28, 2012 9:47 pm

I think what I am going to do for now since I am new to coal burning, I am going to just have the stove installed upstairs like I planned. I will use that to heat the main level, and I will use my boiler to heat my basement. I already have a full tank of oil, and I can't sell it back to them, so I am kinda stuck with it.

Once I have a season of coal burning under my belt, I think in the spring I will move the stove to the basement and maybe I will have the money to powervent the oil furnace and then use the chimney for the stove, that way its done completely right.

Coal stove in basement

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Re: Coal stove in basement