StealthFarmer said:
Thank you all for your replies. I was away for the day and couldn't respond.
So the consensus is I have a few issues. A dealer who sold me not enough stove for my house. despite coming to look at it, and then compounding the error by selling it and installing it. He told me it would "roast me out of the house, and put my the old one to shame." The old one BTW is a Warnock Hersey but I can't see much more because the label is filthy. About the same size as my super 27 though. Rough shape, firebricks melted away or gone and just looking burnt to a crisp. When I looked at the house in Feb it was running. I moved in to it in may and refused to run it because it looked so bad. Had the dealer come out to inspect it and here I sit.
So my options are to insulate the rest of the basement or get a bigger stove or I might have to do both. I wish I knew which because if I'm spending that kind of money to do both I will buy a wood furnace instead because I KNOW that will work. My neighbour has his in his 3000sq foot ancient farmhouse in a rock unfinished basement and it is tropical in there.
I'm willing to bet my dealer will screw me on a trade in, if he agrees at all. I'm also not inclined to give him any more of my money because clearly he's a moron. He knew the score when he looked at the place and installed it. I would have taken a summit if that was what he said.
Angry I am.
Sorry to hear of all the problems with your new stove and set-up.
I'm also in Canada(near Belleville Ontario) and can attest to some idiot dealers who THINK they know everything about heating with wood stoves and pellet stoves.
I have two guys that are stove dealers near me at two different stores that I can't stand.
In stoves, bigger is always better and the lesson here is never take the word of someone as gospel. (I know he should have known better, but some sellers are just salesmen and only interested in your cash)
Here's what I would do in you situation.
If you're not happy with the stove, get it fixed to the best it can be and put it up for sale the next heating season. OR keep it for an upstairs install.(After all, you may not get what you want for it, even privately sold. And it IS a nice, new stove after all.)
Then go out and get another larger one or like you said, a wood furnace. Home Hardware in Canada sells a HUGE 3600sq ft. model stove by the way. It's called the "Ultimate" and it's the largest EPA certified wood stove sold in North America. It's around $1400 I think. Check it out on their site. I've added the pic of it here.
Also go get some R20 fibreglass batt insulation(6" think x 18" wide stuff) and frame in the exposed basement walls and install the insulation in them.
The reason I say R20 fibreglass batt, is that it is the cheapest stuff for the money.
My basement is like yours in a way and I also heat with a woodstove located in the basement. My stove is a cheap Century 2000sq. ft model, but heats the whole basement and upstairs well as I have all four walls insulated with R20 Fibreglass batt insulation under drywall.
Make sure that you seal the insulation in with a poly vapour barrier too. Use 9Mil thickness for best results and tape ALL the joints sealed. Then add you finished wallboard of your choosing(drywall, beadboard, tongue & groove Pine , etc.).
These are just tips for you to use and I hope all works out well for you and you have good wood heat soon.
~Stan (Madoc, Ontario, Canada)
/Architectural Engineering
/Mechanical Engineering
/Certified Welder