Q&A Venting a Pellet Stove

Question:

We purchased a home with a cold basement. There is a hole in the chimney wall where a wood stove once stood, but has since been removed. I would like to install a pellet stove to warm the basement, but the exhaust pipe for our oil heating system is located perhaps one foot below the hole for the wood stove exhaust pipe. The exhaust pipe for the furnace is located on a different side of the chimney but it is still below the wood stove exhaust. I have heard that this arrangement is a fire hazard. What are your thoughts?



Answer:

A Pellet stove does not need to be vented into a chimney. The vent for most pellet stoves simply goes through the wall to the outside of the home. This way you avoid the other chimney altogether.