Q&A Fireplace Insert in Old house, small flue

Question:

Craig, My house is about 100 years old. I have 2 fireplaces, both currently blocked off. I want to install a wood burning insert in one of them as a backup for power failures and to cut down on my gas heat costs. I have had the flue inspected and it is in good shape. The folks that inspected it said that it was too narrow (4-6" as I remember) to put anything except a pellet stove in, and then only if I re-lined it the whole way (it currently has a good masonry liner). Are they correct, or is there a narrow-flue application that I could buy? Gas and pellet stoves are really not an option. I live in Virginia, if that makes a difference for code purposes.



Answer:

They may be right..but then again, there may be a few work-arounds. If the flue is sound and tile lined, even a 4 x 6 flue should accept the small smoke output of a stove like the Jotul 602. Look at http://hearth.com/jotul

This stove has a 6 inch outlets, but earlier (European) versions of the same stove worked well with 5" or smaller outlets.

If the flue is 4 x 6" and unlined, then it must be lined to be safe. You'd need to use a minimum 5" stainless steel liner (you could ovalize it a bit to get it down. Again, this should work fine, especially if the chimney is tall.