Starting woodstove.... (Home Depot, new construction, landlord) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

tapestry · 10-07-2008, 09:08 AM

Can you use the same chimney for your wood stove as you can for your furnace?

I remember hearing somewhere that the home owner's insurance people frown on that...why? Is it a fire hazard?

I'm new to all this stuff, too, but will hafta learn when we get to Maine!

cdodge04 · 10-07-2008, 10:38 AM

Your not suppose to use a single flue chimney for 2 heating soures. That being said, a furnance in the basement and a woodstove on the first floor would not. If you have a double flue chimney then you would be all set.

Thanks for the info guys!

-Chad

Submariner · 10-07-2008, 10:55 AM

I had to run down to Connecticut this past week to change a few things in our building. The city inspectors had a fit seeing the furnaces and water heaters all going into the same exhaust pipe. Among other things, we had to separate them. It is now the code, though it was not in 1991 when those furnaces were installed and inspected.

Here in Maine we use both a propane water heater which feeds our domestic water and our radiant floor loop; and we use a wood stove which also heats the water. They each have their own separate exhaust pipes.

We burn wood [both green and seasoned], cardboard, paper logs, peat moss, and occasionally coal. We have been known to burn wood pellets that had soaked in WVO, as well as wood chips.

We save up all of our waste cardboard and paper through-out the year, for use as fuel in the winter.

We have a dozen steel drums filled with woodchips, a few cords of wood, and other things saved up for this winter.

The only thing that we purchase as fuel in our stove would be the coal.

We get the wood pellets for free when they have sat in the rain behind the hardware store and have been 'ruined' for retail use.

Good luck

tapestry · 10-07-2008, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdodge04

Your not suppose to use a single flue chimney for 2 heating soures. That being said, a furnance in the basement and a woodstove on the first floor would not. If you have a double flue chimney then you would be all set.

Thanks for the info guys!

-Chad

I'm not positive, but I think it's only a single flue chimney, however, the furnace is in the basement and the wood stove would be on the first floor, so that would be okay then, I guess, however, please correct me if I'm wrong so I don't burn the house down!

Thank you for the info!

cdodge04 · 10-07-2008, 11:35 AM

Sorry Tap,
Meant to say that the furnace in basement and the wood stove on second floor WOULD NOT work. Your insurance company won't (at least to my knowledge) insure a set up like that and if an inspector saw the set up they would not allow it either...as Forest just found out :-).

-Chad

Submariner · 10-07-2008, 01:42 PM

Our Connecticut property has a brick chimney, it starts in the basement and it has openings on the first floor, the second floor and the third floor.

In the 1800s it had a woodstove going into that chimney in the basement, and a stove going in to it on the first floor, and on the second floor, and on the third floor. All floors' had devices feeding into the single chimney.

Later an oil-fired steam-radiator furnace system was installed in the basement which fed into the chimney. So that each floor no longer needed to have it's own exhaust. Only the oil furnace went into the chimney.

Later with indoor plumbing, water heaters were added which also exhausted into the chimney.

In the 1990s we replaced the oil-fired furnace with 3 separate NG furnaces, their exhaust all shared a single electric-powered vent exhaust pipe. And the water heaters were allowed to exhaust into either the old brick chimney, or into the electric powered exhaust.

Today the NG furnaces are still allowed to share the electric powered exhaust, but the water heaters can no longer share the same exhaust. And nothing can vent into the brick chimney.

So long as the exhaust system drafts, and is capable of sucking all fumes outside; then it works.

However recent changes to code, will require that each device have it's own exhaust method. Or an electric-powered exhaust system rated to exhaust 200% of all the devices output fumes.

Nor'Eastah · 10-07-2008, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zymer

I had a long, detailed reply typed out but lost my connection while I was writing it. When I hit "submit" it went into a black hole. Sorry, I can't do it again right now.

ROTFLMAO!!!

If I had a nickel for every time that has happened to me...wait...is the computer still on?...OK, I'd be a gazillionaire by now!

Maybe it's time I got a new computer, ya think?

scentifolia · 10-07-2008, 05:09 PM

It looks like the same kind of stove I have. Got it at EBS, made in the USA by England Stove. Anyway, it is a good stove, though I can't load it as much as I might want without stuff falling out the front. I let it go out at night and clean the ash every morning anyway.

It may sound obvious, but dry dry dry tinder, kindling and wood are essential. I put some twigs on a page of newspaper and wrap them up, use a few of those to light it.

I also wonder if I would get a better draft putting a bend in my stovepipe. That would make it light faster and burn better. It would take up more room too though. My stovepipe just goes straight up, chimney too. I get a backdraft when I light it sometimes. That door is so big it lets lots of smoke out if there is not enough draft. It seems to help to crack a window, counterintuitive though that sounds.

Good luck, it's great to have a wood stove!

I love seeing the fire though that glass door. It burns well, you can watch the gases burn. And it was very reasonable-$450 2 years ago.

Zymer · 10-07-2008, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdodge04

Sorry Tap,
Meant to say that the furnace in basement and the wood stove on second floor WOULD NOT work. Your insurance company won't (at least to my knowledge) insure a set up like that and if an inspector saw the set up they would not allow it either...as Forest just found out :-).

-Chad

I have this exact setup- oil furnace under, woodstove above. Oil-fired water heater also vents in same flue. Code was changed recently, this is not allowable in new construction.

Insurance was no problem, they don't even come look.

What *WAS* a problem though, was this past winter when the temperature dropped to -15 a bunch of the buildup in the chimney broke loose and fell down, which clogged the entry of the furnace pipe. When the furnace kicked on it couldn't get enough draft for a good burn. Eventually (after everything in the house had a nice layer of black soot) the furnace shut down and tripped out the relay. Cost $165 for a service call at 6AM on a Sunday.

Also note, if the furnace or water heater kicks on, the draft in the flue is increased and if the woodstove is burning, it will be affected by the increased draft.

RANGER.101ST · 10-07-2008, 05:38 PM

i have one at camp that looks just like it.mine is a haughs mod # s171E.but im looking at yours and it has a damper?? did it come with it or did you put the damper in.get a thermostat that is magnettic at your local stove shop and put it on the stove pipe.that will tell you how hot your pipe is im pritty sure your book says to keep the pipes heat at 250 or so.