Two Woodstoves on One Flue... Can We Remove One and Put in Electric or Gas Insert?

[MountainGal326]

I just bought a home with two woodstoves, which I thought was wonderful!... Until the inspector pointed out that one of the stoves would need to be removed, since they're both on the same flue.



I also had a chimney sweeper / woodstove servicer come out, and he said that the appliances were fine, as long as they're not run at the same time (past owners used them regularly as well). But would it technically be against code?



Here's my dilemma:



1) Which woodstove would make more sense to leave in place? One is in the finished basement (smaller appliance - we have our laundry room, water heater, and spare bathroom in the basement, so there are pipes down there, so we're thinking an extra heat source for if the powered goes out).



Or would it make more sense to keep the one in our living room to heat our main living space better? It's a larger woodstove, with a blower installed.



2) I like the aesthetic of having two stoves, so would it be possible to convert whichever we disconnect to electric, propane, pellet, etc? Has anyone done this and have any insight as to which would be more heat and cost-effective?



Thank you!

 

[begreen]

It makes the most sense to put the heat where you will use and enjoy it the most. The bottom one in this case would need to be sealed off, air-tight, so that it does not dilute the draft for the main floor stove.

 

[Nevins MHP]

I'd want to know how large the flue is if the previous owner could use both simultaneously. It wouldn't meet the code, but installing two stainless steel liners in the same chimney may be possible. I would never suggest a chimney be built that way, but it could be a workaround. Check with the local building inspector to see if he'll agree to it.
If you can't keep both stoves in the chimney, I'd install a liner for the lower stove and a metal chimney for the upper stove. It may be more practical to do it the other way, but a chimney liner is cheaper than a chimney pipe, so that is my first recommendation.