Can an old fuel oil chimney be used for a wood buring fireplace?

[xzchaos]

hello, I recently bought a house that used to have a fuel oil for
heating. The fuel oil system has been removed. i would like to use the
old fuel oil chimney for a wood burning stove for heating in the
winter. I read about fire balls coming from your chimney if you decide
to do this. Is there a way to properly clean the fuel oil residue to
ensure safety for a wood burning appliance? Thanks!

 

[cmonSTART]

The chimney should be cleaned and inspected first, but you can do it.

 

[pen]

Yep, so long as there isn't a competing appliance hooked to this chimney you can do it. I'd suggest a SS liner that is insulated or else pour perlite / vermiculite around a non-insulated one for extra protection.

I'm about to ditch my oil furnace and trust me, I'm considering my options.

pen

 

[hemlock]

hello, I recently bought a house that used to have a fuel oil for
heating. The fuel oil system has been removed. i would like to use the
old fuel oil chimney for a wood burning stove for heating in the
winter. I read about fire balls coming from your chimney if you decide
to do this. Is there a way to properly clean the fuel oil residue to
ensure safety for a wood burning appliance? Thanks!

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the flue had to be UL listed for wood, or something to that effect.

 

[Fsappo]

The same rules apply for oil, coal and wood chimneys for the most part. So if it was masonry chimney, it should be fine for wood after a careful inspection. If ya got cracked tiles or just want to increase performance/improve safety, toss a 6" liner down it.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

My neighbor bought a house that had the wood furnace hooked up to an old metal oil chimney, they had someone come to sweep the chimney who noticed the problem. He informed them that it was not up to wood burning code, and (somehow?) the insurance company found out about it and told them that they would no longer provide house insurance for them until they either upgraded the chimney, or removed the wood furnace.
They ended up upgrading the chimney for a cost of about $3,500.