Weird 90s house layout - what stove specs should I be looking for?

[DEADGLORY]

Hey all. I posted this on Reddit and got a couple replies but I was hoping to tap in to the biggest resource going. I also posted here a while back regarding moving the heat around, but now I need help on what specifically to get.

Above is a general concept of my 1990s side split house, quad levels with 500 sq ft each, for a total of 2000 sq ft. I'm on the Atlantic coast of Canada, very long and stormy/windy winters with lots of snow but not particularly cold, we don't often see below -20C. My house has average insulation for where I live, but my windows are old and a bit leaky and the argon has escaped (will be fixed in the next couple years).

The red box marks where the wood stove will be going in my unfinished basement, that has concrete floors but insulated walls and ceilings (and a low ceiling in general). There is already an exterior metal chimney installed there.

What I'm looking for:

• something for occasional/emergency use (I work 4 days on, 4 days off and will burn as much as I can on my days off)
• The ability to cook on the top during power outages which are half frequent
• Something that can get heat to as much of my house as possible from the basement (there are no vents, ducts, or furnaces - and the lower most staircases have door thresholds at the top of them - stairwells are enclosed and not open on the sides)
• Around $2000 CAD but hopefully as cheap as possible, and preferably non-cat
• Doesn't have to look overly nice - it's a basement after all
• For what it's worth, I'm in zone 6. Milder winters but severe storms and a long cold season (single digits and often snow into May and June)

What I'd like to know:

• What specs should I be aiming for here? In terms of firebox, BTUs, etc.
• Should I be undersizing and just trying to heat my basement and rec room level? Or sizing for the whole 2000sq ft and trying to heat as much as I can?
• Do I need a stove that has the top air exchanger function or whatever it's called, like in the Drolet Escape range?
• Any other pertinent info you can share that will help me make up my mind

I'm willing to explore punching holes in the floor down the road to try to get that heat up to the main level,.

I was looking at the Drolet 1800, and the Century FW2800 or 2900. A couple other Drolets caught my eye as well but I truly don't know what I direction I should be going in here. I live on an island too so we don't have much to pick from locally and shipping here for a stove is insane. Additionally, I'm assuming a blower will be mandatory for me here?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[bigealta]

Hmm guessing Nova Scotia, i worked on a movie Dolores Claiborne up there in the 1990's. Mostly around Halifax and Lunenburg. I was the location guy so got to see most of Nova Scotia while finding the shooting locations.

A couple pics of the lower 2 rooms including the stairways might help.

 

[DEADGLORY]

Hmm guessing Nova Scotia, i worked on a movie Dolores Claiborne up there in the 1990's. Mostly around Halifax and Lunenburg. I was the location guy so got to see most of Nova Scotia while finding the shooting locations.

A couple pics of the lower 2 rooms including the stairways might help.

I'm a little further north, the island of Newfoundland! Snow storms are like hurricanes here lol.

That's a really good idea. Let me show you.

These photos show the staircase down into the basement where the stove will be, and the opposite view looking up. Then a shot of the 2nd lower level, the rec room. And the staircase going up into the main level.

 

[bigealta]

Hmm feels pretty tight and like the airflow thru the basement up to the other levels will be fairly restrictive?
Where is the existing chimney?

 

[DEADGLORY]

Hmm feels pretty tight and like the airflow thru the basement up to the other levels will be fairly restrictive?
Where is the existing chimney?

Out through the foundation on the far right side of the house.

It's a little tight here yeah, not much wasted space

 

[Gearhead660]

With that size house, would be looking at 3 cuft or bigger size stoves. SBI has a handful or stoves in that size, with good quality and in your price range.
I know the chimney is already in the basement, but thoughts of putting in rec room? Has the existing chimney been inspected to be certain its in good shape?

 

[ManitobaSky]

What about the FW3200 or AUSTRAL III? Nice sized firebox N/S loading and you have the option of adding the heatflow and blower to move the heat around if needed.
Check out MFP I think they ship for free.

 

[DEADGLORY]

What about the FW3200 or AUSTRAL III? Nice sized firebox N/S loading and you have the option of adding the heatflow and blower to move the heat around if needed.
Check out MFP I think they ship for free.

I have looked at those, especially the heat flow system of the Austral, which I think is overkill right now but could be something id be interested in down the road.

I was worried stoves of that calibre would be too much for the space, in the event that I can't get the heat up more than the two lower most 500 sq. Ft levels. Do you think that would be fine though?

 

[DEADGLORY]

With that size house, would be looking at 3 cuft or bigger size stoves. SBI has a handful or stoves in that size, with good quality and in your price range.
I know the chimney is already in the basement, but thoughts of putting in rec room? Has the existing chimney been inspected to be certain its in good shape?

Not yet, but it will be inspected soon, before we buy the stove.

Id love to move the chimney but I don't think it's an expense/job that we can take on anytime soon unfortunately. Plus it's drilled through the foundation and I'd have to get all that patched up.

I'm not opposed to eventually getting a smaller stove placed in the living room on the main level that would help heat that floor and the bedroom level someday.

 

[ManitobaSky]

The rated low burn for the 3200 and Austral is only 1600 btu higher than the 2900 and Escape 1800. The 2800 is significantly lower but you will be feeding multiple times a day even on its lowest burn.

Definitely get the chimney inspected before purchasing a stove, it would suck finding out the chimney is no good after you have spent money.

I forgot you wanted to cook on it so that kills the heatflow idea anyway.

 

[DEADGLORY]

The rated low burn for the 3200 and Austral is only 1600 btu higher than the 2900 and Escape 1800. The 2800 is significantly lower but you will be feeding multiple times a day even on its lowest burn.

Definitely get the chimney inspected before purchasing a stove, it would suck finding out the chimney is no good after you have spent money.

I forgot you wanted to cook on it so that kills the heatflow idea anyway.

I'm actually kind of into the heat flow s5 idea to be honest. I realized you could get that on the cheaper Century FW3200

That might end up being the answer to heating as much of the house as possible from down there in the basement. I would lose the cooking capability but that's just for emergencies anyways

 

[bigealta]

So is that the chimney straight across from the stairs?
About 4-5 ft up the wall between the studs with some yellow insulation stuffed in it?

 

[DEADGLORY]

So is that the chimney straight across from the stairs?
About 4-5 ft up the wall between the studs with some yellow insulation stuffed in it?

Yeah that's it.

I suspect the previous owners had left that section of wall uninsulated when they had their own stove there (there was an 80s or 90s Chaleur stove down there disconnected when we bought the house). Then it was framed up and insulated.

The chimney on the outside looks brand new, I'm hoping it held up ok.

 

[bigealta]

Do you still have that stove? If so why not hook it back up. That would give you a great idea on how the heat would move around the house and what size stove would be a good fit.

 

[DEADGLORY]

Do you still have that stove? If so why not hook it back up. That would give you a great idea on how the heat would move around the house and what size stove would be a good fit.

We sold it pretty early on. I wasn't the wood stoving type 5 years ago, and now here I am trying to get it all back up and running lol

 

[bigealta]

Bummer, would be good if you found a used stove for cheap just to test it out. That layout seems hard to estimate how the heat will flow and the overheating potential of the basement room.