Wood stove & oil stove on same chimney?

[Sooz]

We're looking at buying a small cabin that comes with a very attractive drip-type oil stove - but this small stove takes at least four hours to warm this cold climate cabin. I wood like to add a small wood stove so that we could warm the place faster, but also keep the oil stove for keeping the place warm over time. We live in the treeless tundra of coastal NW Alaska where the only wood is driftwood and wooden shipping pallets (which we burn in our beloved Alderlea T-5 at home) but we don't want to make the effort to haul enough wood to heat exclusively with wood to this remote cabin. And so my question is...can we tie a wood stove and a drip oil stove into the same chimney? If so, should we give the wood stove the straight run of pipe and bring the oil stove in at a 90 angle, or the other way around? Seems like I rented a place rigged like this years ago and it worked okay, but I sure appreciate others' ideas and experiences. Thanks!

(And please understand, we already know about both the environmental risks, and the risks to the stove, with burning driftwood, but oil is $6/gallon and winters are 7 months long. It's why we went with the PE Alderlea, and we reduce, reuse and recycle as much as we can in other areas of our life. Thanks all!)

 

[begreen]

Hi Sue, welcome back. How has the T5 been doing?

A wood stove always should have it's own flue. It really is best to put the oil stove on it's own pipe. With both on one pipe, the pipe draft is always sucking air (weakening draft) from the other appliance. That can cause backdrafting which is not good, particularly in a small space and potentially hazardous.

 

[94ranger55]

i dont know a 100% ...but I believe the state of main did or still does allow this practice

 

[94ranger55]

*maine*

 

[nate379]

On a regular brick and liner chimney you can, don't know about metal one though.

 

[98dingo]

I know its not the same setup as discussed but hybrid furnaces like the Napoleon hybrid 150 are wood and oil and steel chiumney is acceptable as well as SS liner.

 

[NH_Wood]

My Dad has been venting his oil furnace and wood furnace into the same flue for over 40 years - never a problem. BUT - I think it is against code in most areas, and I might worry about insurance issues if you did have a fire, etc. Cheers!

 

[ecocavalier02]

I don't think it's a good idea. Mixing gases is never good just in case I wouldn't do it also just for draft reasons.

 

[firefighterjake]

*maine*

Maine does . . . for better or for worse . . . I'm still unsure if this was a good or bad idea . . . I guess time will tell.

 

[Sooz]

I just love this forum! Thanks, Craig, for helping me finally get my question posted. And thanks all for your responses. I think we may give the two stoves on one chimney a try seeing as how we won't be at the cabin all that much, and only burning wood for the first part. But we'll be on the lookout for problems and will change our approach if there's any sign of trouble.

And Be Green - we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our Alderlea T-5! AND the service we get from Tom the Chimney Sweep. Even my cheapskate husband thinks it's the best money we've spent - for both aesthetics and function! As we had to put it in a somewhat restricted location we love that it throws its heat forward, and not off to the sides or back. This is only our second full season of burning a mix of driftwood and pallet wood, but no signs of trouble. And for those who question burning driftwood, we're quite choosy. Our driftwood gets washed by plenty of rain in the summer, and we're careful to avoid water-logged or rotten wood. Most of what washes ashore is spruce and cottonwood, and we select for spruce. And it's only fair to state that we supplement with two Monitor oil stoves as our house is very oddly configured. But hey - what should we looking for to alert us that corrosion is a problem?

Thanks again! Quyanna!

 

[begreen]

And Be Green - we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our Alderlea T-5! AND the service we get from Tom the Chimney Sweep. Even my cheapskate husband thinks it's the best money we've spent - for both aesthetics and function!...
But hey - what should we looking for to alert us that corrosion is a problem?

Thanks again! Quyanna!

If the firebox drops out of the bottom, I'd take that as a sign

Hard to actually say, this would be a better question for Tom. He's seen a few of these stove that have burnt driftwood for many years. I would expect to see issues with the firebrick rails or thinner metal areas first. A leaky baffle would definitely be a sign.