Have you used two stoves on one flue? How?

[RS191]

We bought a cabin in upstate NY (near Plattsburgh) that has one small woodstove in the basement and a large one on the first floor. It's chalet-style, so the Dutchwest Extra Large on the first floor heats the open area and the loft. Problem is - they're both into one flue.
The house is about 13 years old, and both stoves have been used. The chimney sweep took a lot of creosote out of the chimney (25 pounds), so the prior owners used poor wood, throttled the big stove back, never installed a chimney cap, have an uninsulated cinder block chimney, etc.
The Dutchwest fired up VERY well. I ordered a new combuster/catalyst, since the stove shut down when I closed the damper to use the catalyst flow.
The Vermont Castings could not be fired up the one time I've tried it. I did not have the upstairs stove going at the time. Should I get a fire going in the Dutchwest, for an updraft, before I try to light the small VC in the basement.
We have a carbon monoxide detector and will be fixing ($$$) the one flue situation this summer. For now, I hope for feedback on how to temporarily use the existing poor setup. The basement is on the same oil HWBB heating zone as the first floor. If I light the big stove, I MUST have the small stove going or it'll be too cold in the basement. And it drops fast when it's below zero outside.
Any ideas? Any experience with similar silly setups? We will be retiring into this place, which is at 1000' altitude in the Adirondacks, so we have to get the heating and fuel use under control for future years.
We've had a Jotul Oslo 500 in our house in the northern NY suburbs. Great stove, no issues with this. Just saying we have about seven years of heavy woodstove use, so we're not brand new to this. Learned a lot from this forum over the years, but just joined to ask this question.

Thanks, Rich

 

[jqgs214]

Would not, should not, put 2 wood burning appliances on one flue!

 

[Jags]

Won't pass any inspection and I think you will find that virtually every burning appliance will specifically state in the manual not to do this.

 

[webbie]

As has been discussed before, the rules concerning multiple stoves into on flue have changed over the years....and, with certain appliances (gas, for instance, and perhaps also oil), it is totally OK to put two units into one flue! For about 20 years here in Ma. it was also OK to put oil and wood into the same flue, the state code even addressed how to do it!

Current NFPA code (well, almost current, 2003) says:
9.8.2 Unless listed for such connection, solid fuel burning appliances shall not be connected to a chimney flue serving another appliance.

There are other areas of the code concerning this, but that one is probably the most common.

For obvious reasons, it's tough for folks here, especially "pros" to give advice from afar that is contrary to code. But a short discussion of why these codes exist is probably in order. As many have seen, it was common practice in the "old days" to install multiple stoves in one flue, both wood and coal (those were the fuels used long ago!). Given the proper setup, this (IHMO) is/was not as dangerous as oil/wood (which, again, WAS approved in Ma. in the 1970,s and 80's), because wood stoves are "natural draft" and therefore usually react to a bad chimney by not working properly (smoking, etc.).

But in terms of code, the authorities have to address what is likely to happen if something "off label" is allowed. Although some folk might do it right (chimney size, height, capacity, etc.), MANY others are likely to just run around stuffing stoves into which ever chimney they have. Thus, it becomes much safer and easier to say "don't do it", or "don't do it unless the maker and lab says it is ok (this case)", than to have the code address all the possible nuances.

I understand your situation, but the best order of business might be to get that big thing moved downstairs and close off the top flue - or to find some other way to keep the basement at a min. temp - a small LP space heater...or even pellet/corn stove will do the job and can be vented easier.