Wood stove in split level

[mnoyes]

I live in southern NH and am looking for a wood stove for my split level home. Temps here can get pretty cold, it was about 9 degrees last night which is typical this time of year. We have electric baseboard heat which is a killer. In the basement which is semi-finished (no ceiling/insulation between the lower and upper level) is a large hearth set up to run a wood stove. Looking to see if anyone has had experience in putting a wood stove in the basement and having that help heat the upper level of their split level house. There is a large ceiling fan in the entry way of the home, so I am thinking that would help draw some air upstairs but im not sure. We went out looking today and we are are willing to spend the money to get an appropriate size stove if this is a reasonable option. All feedback is appreciated.

 

[remkel]

I do not have a split level, but rather a two floor colonial with a full basement.

My stove is located in the basement and I leave the basement door open- provides heat for most of the house. A lot of times it helps to know square footage of the house, insulation etc to give a better opinion about how well a stove will help, but in my case (new and well insulated home) I find that I can shut off two zones of heat for the winter- huge savings!

On it's merits, I do not see why it would not work. Perhaps with some more details people here could give you a more definite opinion.

 

[Dexter]

'Should work great for you, especially if you have open walls or stairway between levels. We heat 3 levels with one stove. It's on the bottom level, and there is very open walls between that level and the next one up. Top floor has closed bedrooms at the top of the stairwell, and stays cooler, even with the doors left ajar. But, overall, it works great.

We are pretty well insulated, though.

Regards...

 

[soupy1957]

<Will always (it figures, right?) recommend the Avalon line of stoves from Travis Industries. My "split level" does fine, with it.

-Soupy1957

 

[begreen]

There's a good chance it will work well if there is a wide open path for the heat to convect to the upper level. If you can post a sketch of the upper/lower level floorplans we should be able to predict that better. What stoves did you look at today?

 

[mnoyes]

Thanks for all of the helpful information everyone , I greatly appreciate it. We are looking at the Defiant by Vermont Castings rated to heat up to 2400 square feet. I will try and get some kind of floor plan posted when I can find a scanner. However at the store they recommended placing the stove where you want the heat rather than trying to cycle it around the house.
I was also looking at some inserts which is an option that I hadn't really considered because that would require a lining which adds to the cost.

 

[remkel]

My parents run an old Defiant (1978) in their ranch- it is located in the basement an heat convection is not a problem. The room it is in used to be the family room and all I can say is if you want high 70's to 80's in a particular room, then place it there. All things considered, I would probably look at placing it on a lower level IMHO.

 

[Loco Gringo]

Ours is in the den/basement too. We just leave the door open and let the heat rise into the 3 BR we live in upstairs. No problem. And it gets darn cold in these mountains btw.

 

[krex1010]

Thanks for all of the helpful information everyone , I greatly appreciate it. We are looking at the Defiant by Vermont Castings rated to heat up to 2400 square feet. I will try and get some kind of floor plan posted when I can find a scanner. However at the store they recommended placing the stove where you want the heat rather than trying to cycle it around the house.
I was also looking at some inserts which is an option that I hadn't really considered because that would require a lining which adds to the cost.

Split levels generally work pretty well with basement installs because generally they have large openings between levels. If possible I would get a freestanding stove as opposed to the insert just because I think that the larger exposed surfaces on a freestanding will give you more radiant heat, and with a basement install you'll want all the heat you can get. And just so you know, inserts are not the only kind of stoves that should have a fully lined chimney. Any newer stove that you buy , insert or freestanding, should be installed with a fully lined chimney and depending on the chimney you likely may want to insulate that liner as well.