Gas stove in basement venting options?

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zuren

New Member
Jan 9, 2015
1
MI
My first post and hope to learn a lot from this forum!

My wife and I (with our 5 month old son) just bought a home (5 acres, 50% wooded, in Michigan) and I'm beginning my research into supplemental and emergency heating/cooking. Despite having wood on the property and my love of wood heat, I'm leaning toward a gas stove of some type (like a Jotul GF400/500 - http://jotul.com/us/products/stoves). It would get used more, poses fewer installation challenges, would be cleaner and would satisfy my need to heat the house and be able to heat a can of soup or cook some pancakes in a pinch.

I wanted to learn more about how one would vent one of these in a basement. Would I have to dig a well on the exterior of the house, knock a hole in the cinder block foundation and install something like a snorkel termination cap for the easiest and most attractive install? I know local codes could apply to height above the grade but just want to get a general idea of what I should have in mind. I have included some details about the house below and would appreciate any advise. If I have left out any details, please let me know what you need.

Thanks!


- Ranch with a low sloped roof
- One existing chimney in the house that I believe was for an oil furnace (located in the wrong place for my use; may be repurposed when I convert the hot water to gas)
- Pressed paper siding (that will be replaced sooner than later)
- Full, partially finished basement; concrete floor
- Cinder block foundation
- Stove to be installed in basement (no convenient location on 1st floor, heat in the basement would keep the entire house tolerable during an outage
 
The EASIEST way to vent this would be through the box joist, but that can be restricted if your house has smaller than a 2x10 joist system. You need 3" of clearance to combustibles ABOVE the horizontal run. If you don't have that clearance, sometimes removal of the sill plate may give you the extra room. A heat shield above the horizontal pipe can also be used if needed...Yes, you will probably need a window well & a snorkel cap if the install is on the snowy side of the house. Cutting though the foundation can be a major workout, so I'd consider that as a last option...
 
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