Incinerator/wood burner question.....?

Question

In my basement where the chimney stack starts/on one side is my furnace. It has a patched up round hole where i assume used to be an incinerator hookup. How hard/costly would it be to have a woodburner put in my basement? im thinkin that i can just buy one and pipe thru that old hole in my chimney. I assume of course i would need a chimney inspection, but that would proably be about it right? Thanks!

Answer 1

Usually, you need a dedicated chimney for each fuel...in other words, mixing your furnace flue with a wood stove flue isn't acceptable most places.
Then, a masonry chimney, unless it's tile or metal lined, is also not usually acceptable.
When I say "acceptable", that is acceptable to whatever local zoning authority you have, plus your insurance company.

A good woodstove will burn quite clean, and you will have minimal build-up, but this is more a function of the temperature of the smoke as it leaves the chimney. If the temp is below 212F, the moisture can condense out, leaving a creosote deposit on the chimney walls. When/if this catches fire...it's a dramatic event if it happens with an open damper...the fire can get so hot that molten mortar will fly out of the chimney and land on the roof, which can really mess up your Sunday.

There are many ways to bring an unlined masonry chimney up to code, including methods to tile-line it from above, with a device that holds and lowers the pre-buttered sections, to a seamless custom made stainless steel liner.

Of course, if you are out in the sticks, and nobody is going to notice...

Answer 2

Where I come from, Northern Minnesota, many people up there have every type of wood burner you can think of this way, I don't personally approve of the so called "barrel stove" because of the flex ability of the thing burning itself out through the bottom all the time and starting a fire. Some ingenious people thought of putting sand in the bottom of the barrels and, that lasted longer but really? I'd prefer to see a real safety tested wood stove for the purpose.
You have to remember to have you chimney cleaned once, even twice a year and make sure there are no cracks in the liner. If everything checks out, go for it.

Answer 3

Have it inspected and they should be able to make recommendations on what you will need to get the stove installed. When you choose a stove to put in look around at what is out there. Stay away from the ones that you can see through to the fire chamber they are usually more for looks than for heat. Of all I have dealt with the uglier the more heat they put into the house.

Answer 4

as long as your pipe fits that old hole go for it. the inspection is less than $100 money well spent.