Stove Heating Advice Please

You know the saying, "Location, location, location." It's everything. This topic could be a book in itself, and I'm not gunna try to write it. Just looking for advice/opinions. Here are a couple photos of my living area where my stove is. Keep in mind, there is an upstairs, (3 small bedrooms, and a full bath), and a cold, low ceiling unfinished basement/workshop, underneath.


The stove is located there (next to my girls), due to the easiest available space for it and chimney location. No fireplace in the house either. Total footage roughly 1500, with 3 rooms off the living area. (Kitchen, dining, and back room). Here is my dilemma, and I'm sure many must be in the same boat.
Because of the stoves location, (not in the cellar), the bottom floors are always cold, and will always be, no matter how big the stove. I could put in a coal burner in the basement, to eliminate that, but I already have a furnace, (some kind of slippery black liquid machine), that is ducted nicely through the house. And I must admit, using this machine is definitely "user friendly". Turn a knob, (thermostat), and "puff", instant heat. (When it's working, and has oil in it.) It "used" to be my primary source of heat, but now the stove is trying to take it's place. They both have their merits, and my question is how to more effectively heat the cold areas of the house, without going to the cellar. It was recommended a while back, to turn on my furnace blower and circulate the heated coal air, but because my basement is so cold, it just blew 50* air through the house like it was air conditioned.

If there are proper cold air returns in your house the air circulating thru the duct work should be the same temp as what the floor air is.Using the furnace fan to circulate the warmth from the stove will be more effective if you can slow down the fan to a very slow speed .

It would be hard for me not to use that already in place duct work by putting a coal furnace in the basement. Koker 160 with a direct vent if need be.

windyhill4.2 wrote:If there are proper cold air returns in your house the air circulating thru the duct work should be the same temp as what the floor air is.Using the furnace fan to circulate the warmth from the stove will be more effective if you can slow down the fan to a very slow speed .

That's the problem windy, the forced hot air ducts in the cellar"are" the same temp as the floor. Extremely cold. It's not from moving it too fast, it's from the ducts and bottom air being cold. If I were to put ceiling fans over all the cold air returns, and forced the hot air down to them, then it may work. (Can't do that tho).

Olllotj wrote:It would be hard for me not to use that already in place duct work by putting a coal furnace in the basement. Koker 160 with a direct vent if need be.

I hear what you're saying, and if I lived in the further North, maybe I would consider. The cost of fuel savings over the oil, compared to work needed to keep coal burning, could be out-weighed. My intent with my free standing stove, is to "supplement" my existing system, not replace it. I don't mind putting in the extra effort with coal in the 3 frigid months, (Dec, Jan, Feb), but really can't be bothered with it in the shoulder months.

Put aluminum tape on all the duct seams and insulating the supply and return would go a long ways and make the furnace cheaper to run at the same time. You could wear socks and slippers too. A small fan blowing at the stove at floor level will help move the air around as well.

Joeq I have the same dilemma with ice cold duct. The duct work can be insulated also. I have a box stove hooked up to the return ducts in the basement and it does a fair job when the outside temps are above 25* and sunny. A stoker furnace with a hot water coil and water to air heat exchanger would be the perfect fit for me but the wifey doesn't want to go 3 - 4 thousand in. Her job may take us to the middle or southern part of Maine in a year or so, my radiant heaters will have to do.
I think in your set up a stove close to your stairway to the second floor with returns from the farthest point would be a good spot as well but honestly a stronger stove like a Hitzer 30-95 hopper fed may fill your house well.
...by the way I can see the kids inherited your sense of humor.

I agree that insulating the duct work would help some. And was also thinking about insulating the floors too. The problem in my dank cellar, is the ceilings have so much going on with plumbing, electrical, and tool storage, it makes it almost impossible. but I should re-evaluate, even if it's only partial.
And the socks and slippers are a given for me and the Mrs., but the kids refuse to cover their hooves.
The stove couldn't go near the stairway Mike, due to chimney issues, but the upstairs for the most part, (even where the stove is now), really is almost more comfortable than downstairs, due to the floors being heated. And sorry to hear you may have to move. If you're anything like me, you've acquired a collection not easily transported. And you're very observant to notice the twins being goofy.
P.S. Edit that. I see Allie is actually wearing slippers, for once. And if you look close enuff, you'll see a white fan behind her at floor level.

Definitely a plus that the stove's location now is "sunken" a bit below the other floor.

Seems that everybody is a doubter when a small few of us members here recommend placing small fans, like used on a desk, on the floor at the far remote (cooler) locations of the home and let them all on low speed and direct the air in the general direction towards the stove. This low tech inexpensive method is a no-brainer for slow and steady heat distribution. For every cubic foot of cool air push away towards the stove...another cubic foot of hot ceiling air rolls towards where that cool air came out from. If this cycle is kept up then eventually all the air on that level is of an equal temp...and guess what? It isn't overly hot nearest to the stove anymore either. This is not an instant gratification thing...so don't give up early and say it doesn't work. Good things in Life are Always worth waiting for.
I read here daily over and over of trials and tribulations of heat distribution through out a home...there is no magic bullet, and reinventing the wheel is not getting it done either...Give it a try...It costs little and no headache thinking up harder things that only partially help.

sorry to get all preachy about this

Yeah, I think in your situation running the furnace blower to circulate air will result in lost heat to the basement. Which would help the floors somewhat, while it cools the house..

Hey Joe...

Got to say I agree with all the comments here.

If you get a bigger stove though, no more beautiful Christmas tree 5 feet away!



One other thing, a baseburner will put a bunch of heat into the floor so that may help.

Oh, and my two girls run around with no socks on too, go figure!

First things first Joeq......
From a parent of a one teenage daughter to the father of TWO!!! -
Good Luck to You My Man!! As Red Green say's...we're all pullin' for ya.

Now regarding your question....
It sounds like the heat distribution is only an issue for the first floor since you mentioned the second floor being comfortable due to warm floors (and I suspect warm air rising up the stairwell and falling down the stairs). If so, and in addition to McG's small fan suggestion, would an air grate in the floor or low in the wall of the farthest first floor room from the stove allow cooler air to fall to the basement pulling warmer air from the stove area? It doesn't solve your cold floors but may even out the temps on the first floor a little.

Other than that, since you are viewing the coal as supplemental heat maybe you'll need to run the dino juice burner a few times a day to even things out until we can convince you to spend some $$ on a bigger stove / stoker / furnace / boiler!! We are good at spending other peoples money!!!

scalabro wrote: If you get a bigger stove though, no more beautiful Christmas tree 5 feet away!

LOL. Guess you're right there Scott. !st time we put the tree there, just to try it out.

titleist1 wrote:
As Red Green say's...we're all pullin' for ya.
Other than that, since you are viewing the coal as supplemental heat maybe you'll need to run the dino juice burner a few times a day to even things out until we can convince you to spend some $$ on a bigger stove / stoker / furnace / boiler!! We are good at spending other peoples money!!!

Ah yes, the Red green show. A classic that I really miss.
The big coal furnace is definitely the cure to all my comfort woes, and one would fit in my cellar so perfectly. But once again, I have to admit I've been spoiled by the electric oil burner. I "fondly" remember seeing people shoveling coal into the behemoth asbestos octopus furnaces of the past, thinking "better them than me". Does anyone remember seeing Darren MrGavin in Christmas story recently, climbing from the basement from activities geared to mending a coal furnace? I know that's the other extreme, but just sayin, I've got so many projects to accomplish B4 I die, I'll be satisfied, (and have accepted the fact), that I'll be satisfied with finishing a small portion of them. And working coal in shoulder months, isn't that appealing to me. then again, the reason I've put together this thread, is to see how many of you, are "convincing" enuff, to sway my thoughts in another direction.
Another reason for not wanting a coal furnace, is I want to have an attractive and functioning stove, to display, in my living area. Don't really think working 2 appliances, (1 upstairs, and 1 down) is very appealing to me. "But", if I ever complete "all" my projects, operating 2 stoves could be fun. (If I have nothing else to do... and that's all I have to say about that. Now, I need to go clean my cellar, after todays activities. )

Would heat tracing wire help you at all in that duct ? It's good to use on all spurts of piping and even in flooring in some applications . Oil is pretty cheap at the moment isn't it ? This might be a wild idea but is there anyways to add in a return into the duct work above where you want to put the new coal stove or a current one , block off the cellar and put some sort of inline fan into the system? Even adding a small stove in the cellar to keep it warm down there would fix your current situation wouldn't it ? Or is that out of the question. I thought I read all the comments but I apologize if I've missed something . Just throwing out ideas

Not sure I know what heat tracing wire is Josh. Do you mean like an electric blanket? And blocking off the return ducting would mean affecting the operation of my oil furnace. (which doesn't come on "much", but in my situation, is needed in extreme cold). Kinda my "back-up" system.
As for installing a second stove in my cellar, don't really want to do it, seeing my furnace already fits there. But we appreciate the thoughts Sir.