Considering a Hearthstone Heritage for heating a finished basement(Update bought a stove)

[Chargerman]

I have a 2300 sq ft ranch house that I am currently heating with a Country Flame BBF cat insert and this has been working fine for our current living area.

My plans are finishing the basement off in the near future with a family room/rec area, guest bedroom, bathroom, and playroom for my son. I have been considering some type of wood stove for the basement heating only. I currently have an existing 7" inside diameter clay lined interior masonry chimney that is approximatley 20' tall that I plan on using. I picked up some literature and looked at some new Hearthstone stoves last week as well. The Heritage and Equinox were both on the floor and I think the Heritage would be the better of those two. They didn't have anything sized in between those two. I also have a lead on a 2 yr old Heritage but I need to check that out further pricewise because of the tax credits available on new ones.

The basement area will be open concept and the bedroom with be right off the main room where the stove would be. Total area will probably end up being about 2000 sq ft because some will be used for unfinished storage.

My main question is because I don't plan on heating this area 24/7 will the soapstone stove work well. I want to be able to use the stove on weekends and after work and have nice heat until we go to bed. Will the Heritage work in this application or is it more for getting up to temp and keeping it there for longer times? With it being a basement would the Heritage be able to handle 2000 sq ft.?

Thanks

 

[Fsappo]

It would be light for 2K square feet. If it was me, I would go with the Mansfield. Thats the size between the Heritage and the Equinox. Still uses a 6" flue which is good. You'll be able to run the stove on low, get those nice long burn times and it is a great stove to use.

 

[Highbeam]

The heritage is not rated to heat 2000. I think its max is 1900SF of well insulated home. You'll need to go bigger and the mansfield is the right size. The big EQ is nice too, I think it looks much better than the mansfield, but is a lot of stove for that area.

Your more important issue is the style of use. All soapstone stoves are meant to be constant output devices, they are great 24/7 burners. They just aren't ideal at making large amounts of quick heat since they take so long to begin warming the room.

The type of use you describe I would want a big plate steel stove down there. Quick to heat up, can be run very hot for rapid room temp increase, and then large enough for a long burn time when choked down.

 

[Chargerman]

The heritage is not rated to heat 2000. I think its max is 1900SF of well insulated home. You'll need to go bigger and the mansfield is the right size. The big EQ is nice too, I think it looks much better than the mansfield, but is a lot of stove for that area.

Your more important issue is the style of use. All soapstone stoves are meant to be constant output devices, they are great 24/7 burners. They just aren't ideal at making large amounts of quick heat since they take so long to begin warming the room.

The type of use you describe I would want a big plate steel stove down there. Quick to heat up, can be run very hot for rapid room temp increase, and then large enough for a long burn time when choked down.

That was my main concern with the soapstones and was looking for advice. I originally started out looking for another big Cat stove like I have on the upper level. The looks of the soapstone do appeal to me because it will be out in the main living area all the time. I think it is best to keep an eye out for something else. I have a lead on a freestanding Buck 91 but it needs an 8" flue where I have 7", probably would work fine with the extra chimney height but it's not rated for use with anything but 8".

 

[thinkxingu]

Chargerman,
My wife and I only use our stove on weekends/vacations, too, but we love our soapstone. Although the Hearthstone heats up slower than our Englander (steel), it is much more gentle, efficient, and long-lasting--we can put a start-up load and one refill and it will run from 4 PM until the early morning, with enough coals to restart. We have the Homestead, so a bigger stove would be even better.

SO, although I agree it takes a little longer to warm up (50 minutes vs. 20), we like everything else better.

S

 

[Highbeam]

It's not just the stove warming up, you also need to consider that the soapstone can only run up to 500 or 600 where a plate steel stove runs to 800+. The amount of mojo being put off by an 800 degree stove vs. a 500 degree stove is way more than double. It's not a linear relationship, more like an exponential. So since the steel stove can get hot faster AND get hotter makes for a superior flash heater.

In my experience, the first 400 degrees is pretty quick on my stone stove but the next 150 takes a long time. I love it for 24/7 burning as this slowness means I have a buffer and a way more comfortable heating experience.

 

[CTburning]

Blaze King Princess takes a 6" flue and if you like the looks would be a good compromise.

 

[thinkxingu]

Highbeam,
I agree with you, which is why soapstone works better for our application: with a steel stove, there's a blazing hot spot in the middle of a space and, while the main area heats up quicker, it takes much longer (I cannot figure out why) for the rest of the rooms to follow. With my soapstone, all the rooms are closer in temp. For example: where my steel stove is, the main room will be 75 and the other rooms 65 (including the room RIGHT to the side of the stove). Where my soapstone is, the rooms are always within 5 degrees (including the room WAY out back). Although it might take an hour longer for this to happen, it's worth it since I don't get blown out of the main room while having cold back rooms. It's also much, much harder to keep my steel stove even--there are many more 'peaks and valleys.'

I've attached some sweet diagrams.

S

 

[kniffin50]

I have a Homestead in my finished basement. I was going to go with the Heritage, I'm glad I didn't. The Homestead heats everything, keeps it underwear warm.Last year when I installed it my basement wasn't finished off. The concrete walls really sucked up a lot of the haet.But now that it's finished off the Homestead does a very good job.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Rusty

 

[Wet1]

I completely agree with everything Highbeam said. I don't think a stone stove would be your best choice. CTburning's recommendation would make a lot of sense for that area. The BKP would heat up quickly, and being a cat with a thermostat, it will still do long and consistent burns for sustained heating needs.

The 91 would be a lot of stove for that area, but it might be an excellent choice simply because it will have the HP required to get the area up to temp fairly quickly, and that's a big plus with an area that size that's only used occasionally. Also, your 7x7 clay liner basically has the equivalent cross sectional area of a 8" round pipe, so it would be a good fit.

 

[edthedawg]

+2

HB has you covered. if planning to heat a large basement intermittently, you probably won't be too thrilled with the Heritage.

 

[Highbeam]

Highbeam,
I agree with you, which is why soapstone works better for our application: with a steel stove, there's a blazing hot spot in the middle of a space and, while the main area heats up quicker, it takes much longer (I cannot figure out why) for the rest of the rooms to follow. With my soapstone, all the rooms are closer in temp. For example: where my steel stove is, the main room will be 75 and the other rooms 65 (including the room RIGHT to the side of the stove). Where my soapstone is, the rooms are always within 5 degrees (including the room WAY out back). Although it might take an hour longer for this to happen, it's worth it since I don't get blown out of the main room while having cold back rooms. It's also much, much harder to keep my steel stove even--there are many more 'peaks and valleys.'

I've attached some sweet diagrams.

S

I checked out those sweet diagrams and I think your biggest issue keeping that steel basement stove from heating the adjacent rooms is the open staircase and the whole heat rises thing. There's just a path of less resistance for the heat to scramble upstairs and for the cold to stay in those rooms. I look at this situation by imagining the basement being full of water and the stove of your bubbling out air. Those air bubbles will rise to the ceiling and fill the ceiling until they escape up the staircase. No bubbles will make it into adjacent rooms with that big hole in thte ceiling. The upstairs stove has a much easier time distributing the heat sideways since the hot air has no escape route.

 

[Chargerman]

The 91 would be a lot of stove for that area, but it might be an excellent choice simply because it will have the HP required to get the area up to temp fairly quickly, and that's a big plus with an area that size that's only used occasionally. Also, your 7x7 clay liner basically has the equivalent cross sectional area of a 8" round pipe, so it would be a good fit.

My clay flue liner is actually a 7" round. I did a little more measuring last night and the finished area will end up being around 1750sqft after taking out the mechanical area and storage.

 

[Wet1]

You'd still be fine with a 7" round flue. That 91 is a big heater for 1750 sq ft, but being a cat you'll probably be able to burn it low enough to keep form overheating the basement. If not, you can always vent some of the heat upstairs...

 

[Chargerman]

You'd still be fine with a 7" round flue. That 91 is a big heater for 1750 sq ft, but being a cat you'll probably be able to burn it low enough to keep form overheating the basement. If not, you can always vent some of the heat upstairs...

Providing extra heat for the upstairs when needed would help out too. I "think" the BBF upstairs will handle the cold winters here but I just don't know yet as this is the first year of burning with it. Truthfully, another Cat stove probably is best so my wife only has one type of stove to learn to operate.

If a Buck 91 or another BBF would work on the 7" Flue I would go that route. I think that I could idle either of these down and not cook us out down there and get a long burn time. The area is a lot more open than the upstairs so heat distribution won't be a problem either.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Wet1]

Yep, I'd go with the 91 then. They've been around for a long time and I see some excellent deals on them pop up on CL from time to time. It's a big stove, and a cat at that, so most people tend to shy away from them.

Best of luck!

 

[Chargerman]

Well, the Buck 91 got sold but due to a lucky Craigslist find last week I picked up the exact stove I was looking for to heat my basement. It is a Country Flame BBF freestanding unit that is only 3 years old. Used on and off for three years and then the guy moved to a new house where it wouldn't work. The stove is in real nice shape and the combustor is good.

Best price locally from a dealer was $3500 and the best price direct from a wholesaler online was $2500 without any options. I got this one for $600 with the gold trim package and legs which adds several hundred to a new one. I called the same day it was posted and bought it. When I went to pick it up the guy said he was pulling the add right away because people were calling constantly. One guy even called 3 times to come see it even though he knew it was already sold.

So now I will have a BBF upstairs and downstairs. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[begreen]

Nice score. It sounds like you are all set for winter now.

 

[Wet1]

Great catch!

 

[Chargerman]

Thanks guys.

It was a little bit of an adventure going to get the stove but the $$ savings made it well worth the trouble. Being able to have both stoves handle the same size logs should be nice. I cut with guys that burn in regular furnaces so some of the wood can get pretty big. The 29" long log capacity takes care of most everything I end up with.