Safe to hook up stove pipe to fireplace ash chamber in basement?

[Adam O'Connor]

Hi -

I'd like to install a supplemental wood furnace in my basement - maybe something like a Woodchuck or similar. However, I don't have direct access to the chimney. Instead behind the current furnace is the plug in the wall where my fireplace ashes dump to (via the trapdoor in the bottom of my fireplace.

I am wondering if this would be safe:

1. Clear the chamber of debris
2. Widen the fireplace ash opening if needed
3. Run a straight pipe in the fireplace on top of the ash opening
4. Hook up the wood stove to the whole in the wall (using a couple elbows)

So essentially our fireplace would be sealed off and simply used for the stove's exhaust.

Any help appreciated and thanks ahead of time.

 

[Chitownhillbilly]

Sounds pretty dangerous. Possibly pumping exhaust right into your living area. Maybe if you can run a continuous exhaust all the way up the chimney? But any joints in that Fireplace sounds scary to me.

 

[begreen]

I'm not sure what code is here. If a liner was run from the top of the chimney, down thru the fireplace, down through the ash drop and directly connected to the wood furnace it probably would be safe. But only with a continuous liner from chimney cap to the chimney thimble so that the can be no smoke leakage. The other issue would be the vulnerability of liner in an open fireplace. It could be the source of serious burns and it should be protected from anything being set near it. Bricking up or affixing a semi-permanent cover over the fireplace opening would be safer.

This is just speculating. Don't do it without prior approval of the inspecting authority.

 

[Adam O'Connor]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm thinking I would seal off the fireplace. So in it would be a tube heading straight up through the chimney. Now if the wood furnace is to the right or left of the hole in the basement wall, is it safe to use elbows from the woodstove to get to the opening? I would have one from the stove then one before the hole. We're talking about 6' of length to get to that hole.

I may just have someone come in and do it if I decide to go this route. The other option is to use a fireplace insert, but I'm not sure how effective they are.

 

[begreen]

An insulated, flexible stainless, 6" liner may be the easiest to pull and should do the job. It must be insulated as the ashpit chase is not lined and was not intended for the proposed purpose.. It's just a cement chase. They make proper liner fittings to tee at the thimble for connecting piping to the furnace.

A fireplace insert can be very effective for an area heater. This is certainly a preferred option. It would also provide you with a good fire view. What are the fireplace dimensions front and back and depth? How large an area would be heated?

 

[Adam O'Connor]

Thanks. Here's the specs for my fireplace:

Opening: 30.5" x 30.5"

Depth (it tapers as you go in):

Top depth: 16"
Bottom depth: 19"
Sides taper forming a width of 25" at the back wall.

I would want to heat my downstairs with this. The room with the fireplace is in the center of the house (old house) and is approx 20' x 18'. The living room and kitchen are at opposite ends. I'd hope this would have a blower to help circulate the heat.

 

[begreen]

You probably could heat more than just the downstairs. How open is the 1st floor plan? Are there large openings between rooms or is it closed off by narrow doorways? How close is the staircase and is this open? How many sq ft in the house, excluding the basement?

 

[Adam O'Connor]

The house is approx 1700 sqft. The openings downstairs are large (prob 6' wide). The ceilings are approx 9.5'. The upstairs is pretty isolated w/o openings besides the stair way which is off the kitchen. We use a space heater upstairs to supplement the forced heat.

Maybe if an insert had good blowers then it would heat the downstairs adequately.

 

[begreen]

So far this sounds quite doable. There are many choices so it comes down to style, capacity, and a technology choice (non-catalytic or catalytic) and budget. Would you be burning mostly 24/7 or primarily on nights and weekends? Would you prefer a basic simple budget stove or one with more features and better looks?

 

[Adam O'Connor]

I think this may be a safer route. I would be burning as close to 24/7 as possible. We're selling the house in the Spring so I'd want to go with something economical.

 

[begreen]

Definitely safer. ou'll still want a 6" stainless steel chimney liner. Look at the Englander 13NCI. It's also sold under the Summer's Heat and Timberidge brands at big box stores and online. Y

 

[bholler]

If you are seling the house soon destroying the fireplace is probably not the best idea. I agree with begreen go with an insert and liner that way the fireplace can easily be put back the way it was if the buyer wants that.

 

[Adam O'Connor]

Thanks again for the feedback. As far as the fireplace, it's old and not used. If I put an insert in there I see this as a way of restoring it and making it usable.

 

[bholler]

If I put an insert in there I see this as a way of restoring it and making it usable.

I agree with that but i was referring to you origonal idea about cutting through the bottom when i said destroying the fireplace. An insert is usually a relatively easily reversible modification

 

[mellow]

Heck, I would put a freestanding stove in front of the fireplace with a rear vent option, reason being you can take the stove with you, might need to do some hearth work for this solution.