In ,
zxcvbob typed:
I have a woodburning stove in my basement, and I'm getting tired of
dealing with the smoke and mess every time I try to light the thing
and it has a strong back draft (chimney is installed correctly, the
problem is because the stove is in the basement) I smoked up the whole
house
and nearly set myself on fire today trying to get the thing lit. I

That's not a problem with the stove and won't be overcome by anything that
needs a chimney. The basic problem is that you have a negative relative air
pressure in the basement, which pulls air IN through any opening that
exists.
Occupied quarters require a positive air pressure difference in order to
push gases out, not pull them in.
The solution could be as simple as giving that fireplace an opening to
get outside air or as complex as a redesign of the whole house's venting
system overall, or anything in between like a mislocation of the chimney w/r
to prevailing winds and air deflection from the roof.
With the info given and my small experience I couldn't hazard a guess, but
I'll guess some here can. Or did? I'm not about to sort thru all those "me
too" posts to seeg.
At any rate, without a positive air differential, no chimney is going
tooperate properly and another source wouldn't be the answer, depending on
how stiff the backdraft is.

I'd be looking into the pressure differentials, especially if that negative
is typical throughout the house, which is likely. Cooking smells must linger
forever.

Twayne

don't have enough wood to keep it going all the time, and wife
wouldn't keep it fed while I'm at work anyway.

Right; and a smoldering fire could kill everyone silently.


I'm thinking of taking out the stove and capping the stove pipe, and
putting in a portable kerosene heater. About 10600 BTU's, mostly just
to help take the chill off the basement. (Hopefully it won't be so
chilly when I get rid of that drafty flue.)

Perhaps, but every nook and cranny of the basement that passes any outside
air at all will still be pulling in, and heating, cold air for no good
reason.


Anybody have one of these? How often do you have to clean the wick?

Wick? I'd advise against that for anything you want to run for long periods
of time. Lots of gases collection.

How often do you have to replace the wick? Do they stink much? (I
can open a can of turpentine in the house and Wife can smell it
instantly upstairs and on the opposite end of the house.) If I get a
23000 BTU unit, can they be adjusted down or do you really have to run
them
full tilt?

Propane or NG much better unless I misunderstand what you mean.


After today's little adventure, I think I'm going to try it and see.
Even if it's a mistake, the heaters are not much over $100...

But ... what's to remove the combustion gases from the house? With negative
pressure, nothing.

IMO anyway,

Twayne


Bob

--
Often you'll find excellent advice on a newsgroup.
Before you use that advice though, consider the
ramifications of it being wrong or even dangerous;
how important IS that to you?
ALWAYS verify and confirm ANY advice from a
newsgroup!