New here. Have a flue question...

[-RYknow]

Hey all. I'm new here. I stumbled upon this site while doing some research, and after looking around I thought this was a good place to have my questions answered.

I'm new to the wood stove world. We currently heat our house with an oil burning boiler. After seeing the amount of money we spend on heating fuel, I was hoping this year to have a wood stove to help save some cash. In the spring I purchased a nice little Warner wood stove. It's in excellent shape, and I'm pretty excited to have it. I recently moved the stove into the house, Have seasoned wood stacked and ready to be delivered, and I'm currently putting the finishing touches on a wood shed.

I'll first start off by saying, I'm honestly not 100% sure of the number of flue's my house has. The house is two story... I'm not fond of heights. I made an attempt to get on the roof to look down into my chimney to verify the number of flues, but that was a no go. The pitch is just too steep for me to attempt it.

The house has a fireplace in the living room (1st floor). We tried using it last year but it just didn't seem to do much to heat the house, and with two little girls running around I don't want the risk of them getting burned.

In the basement the chimney has the boiler on one side, and an 8" thimble. There are clean outs on both sides. When I saw the second clean out and thimble, I just automatically assumed the chimney was at least two flues (specially with the fire place upstairs). I just recently removed the thimble and noticed an 8" pipe coming straight across from the boiler side. Looks like the boiler vents to what I thought was a second flue.

I'm sorry if this post is rambling, I'm just trying to give as much detail as I can. If things aren't making sense, I'll be sure to try and clear it up. Basically I have a simple question. The flue the boiler vents to. Can I line it with some stainless to vent the wood stove? Or does the wood stove need it's own flue all together?

Thanks,
-RYknow

EDIT: I meant to say that I live in New Hampshire... should anyone here be more familiar with NH laws on the matter...

 

[DAKSY]

Every appliance must have its own flue.

 

[-RYknow]

hmmm, that's kind of what I was afraid of.

Looking at the chimney on the side I was hoping to put the woodstove, there clearly is another whole that has been patched there. I found an old tag (1970's) for a hot water heater. It looks as though that had been sharing the same flue as the oil boiler...

So at this point what options do I have? I'm not made of money... lol. I was really hoping that providing a separate vent for the woodstove (although housed in the same flue as the boiler) I would be able to get away with it...safely. Apparently that's not the case...?

 

[pen]

One chimney could have 1, 2, 3, heck 4 I suppose flues in it. As Dak said though, each appliance needs it's own dedicated flue.

Does the oil boiler share the same flue with the fireplace?

It sounds like a number of pictures of what you have could be helpful here if you shared.

Also, that chimney needs to be inspected. The chimney sweep doing the job could give you options. If you don't know when the chimney was last cleaned and checked, then it shouldn't see a wood fire.

What are the dimensions of the fireplace? Why not install a wood stove in that?

I'm going to move your thread over to the hearth room where it'll get the best chance at being answered well.

Welcome to the site.

pen

 

[-RYknow]

Does the oil boiler share the same flue with the fireplace?

I just took a look up the chimney from the fireplace. It appears the fireplace has it's own flue. Now that I've just looked up there, I feel confident the chimney is a two flue setup. However that's not going to help my situation.

It sounds like a number of pictures of what you have could be helpful here if you shared.

I'm going to take some pictures now. I'll hopefully be able to size them and post them tomorrow.

Also, that chimney needs to be inspected. The chimney sweep doing the job could give you options. If you don't know when the chimney was last cleaned and checked, then it shouldn't see a wood fire.

I haven't had the chimney cleaned since we've been here. I don't know what the last time it was done. This is our third year (oct will be three years). When the building inspector was here, he said the chimney was in good shape. I understand a building inspector isn't going to be quite as thorough as a "chimney guy". I have a local chimney guy I will be getting in touch with in the coming days to schedule an appointment.

What are the dimensions of the fireplace? Why not install a wood stove in that?

Mostly because of the kids. They are 3 and almost 1. It would be too easy for them to get burned. And because I've already purchased a woodstove...and after what I just went through to get that thing into my basement...it's NOT coming out!!

Thanks,
-RYknow

 

[pen]

Mostly because of the kids. They are 3 and almost 1. It would be too easy for them to get burned. And because I've already purchased a woodstove...and after what I just went through to get that thing into my basement...it's NOT coming out!!

I hear that.

Just to give you a heads up though, a good many people who try and heat a house from the basement are sadly disappointed. If the basement isn't insulated, and there isn't a good natural convection loop that can utilize the stairwell, it generally doesn't work that well. That said, I'm one of the lucky ones, and am successful heating from the basement.

Also, the basement room where my wood stove is, is also the kids play room. My oldest is 5 and the youngest about to turn 3. I put a few portable fireplace screens up around the stove and the kids have clear instructions about what can and cannot happen near that stove. The screens wouldn't stop them from falling into the stove, but would prevent direct contact and give them something to nudge into prior to contacting the stove.

Solid baby gates are often used by folks as well to provide some piece of mind.

Depending on your house setup, a wood stove, or wood stove insert in that fireplace might actually be your cheapest option.

 

[-RYknow]

I hear that.

Just to give you a heads up though, a good many people who try and heat a house from the basement are sadly disappointed. If the basement isn't insulated, and there isn't a good natural convection loop that can utilize the stairwell, it generally doesn't work that well. That said, I'm one of the lucky ones, and am successful heating from the basement.

Yeah. I have marked out where each room will be getting some vents. I'm planning on two vents per room. If needed, I will add fans to draw the warm air up a little better. My goal is to heat the first floor with the wood stove, and the second floor with the boiler.

So here we go with some pics. It's late...and I'm rushing...so please bare with my pics. I can take better ones tomorrow if needed.

Here is the fire place in the living room:
(broken image removed)

Here is a shot looking up the chimney from the fireplace:
(broken image removed)

Here is the boiler (the buderus) going into the chimney:
(broken image removed)

Now this is the backside of the chimney, where I am hoping to install the stove:
(broken image removed)

Now, with the thimble removed, you can see the 8" stove pipe coming from the boiler, into this side of the chimney.
(broken image removed)

And for good measure...this is the stove I bought:
(broken image removed)

If there are more photos that will help you guys figure out my setup/situation, I'll try my best to get them!

Thanks for all the quick replies already!
-RYknow

 

[pen]

Gotta get going for the night, if someone else can't step in now I'm sure the conversation can continue tomorrow.

In the meantime, don't cut any vents yet!

 

[PapaDave]

Welcome to the Hearth.
If you put the stove there, it will be sharing that flue. Against code in some places.

 

[fossil]

You need boots on the ground. Get a certified chimney sweep over there to survey what you've got and give you options on where you can go from here. We (collectively smart as we are) can't do it from our computer monitors. Rick

 

[begreen]

That doesn't look like a thimble it looks like a barometric damper perhaps balancing out the boiler draft. I think you need to slow down and understand what you have before proceeding. The fireplace flue may be independent. It probably is. If so, that would be a better bet. Have it cleaned and inspected.

 

[RightSeatCessna]

Call your fire department or building inspector before you cu registers/vents. You want to make sure of any code your town/city has. Also you may want to contact your insurance agent if you haven't already about installing a wood stove. You may want to look into the benefits of a wood pellet insert stove and utilize the fireplace on the first floor. If you want the heat on the first floor, put the stove on the first floor. Are there any vents/registers already cut in the home?

 

[-RYknow]

Yeah, I'm not planning to cut any vents till I know exactly what I have. And I agree that I need someone to come and see first hand what I have going on.

As far as using the fire place, I'm not really sure about that. We tried using it last winter, and the heat difference was minimal at best. Even in the living room the temp wasn't that much warmer, unless right next tothestove.

-RYknow

 

[begreen]

An insert or a freestanding stove in that fireplace would completely change it's heating ability from a heat loser to a heat winner.

 

[red oak]

Welcome to the forum RYknow!

I agree with others that you should get a pro in there to check out your setup. I also think you'll notice a big difference with an insert vs. a fireplace. Fireplaces are for atmosphere but are really inefficient at heating a house or a floor.

I also would ask where you are getting wood from. Be aware that the vast amount of wood you buy now will not be properly seasoned and will have too much moisture in it to burn efficiently. Burning wood that is not seasoned will result in more creosote (hence more risk of chimney fire) and much less efficiency in heating - in other words it will take more wood to heat your home. You'll also notice it will be hard to get the fire going and keep it going as it may tend to smolder a lot. If you do buy a woodstove or an insert, you may want to buy kiln-dried wood (more expensive), or check any wood with a moisture meter, or ask around and see if anyone has seasoned wood (cut, split, and stacked for at least a year) that you could buy.

You can definitely get by burning unseasoned wood - I did it for years! But if you can get a couple of years ahead and let the wood dry in stacks it will be an unbelievable difference. Good luck and again, welcome!