A Wood Stove Needs a Separate Chimney Flue

Learn why a fireplace or wood stove cannot be put on the same chimney flue as other heating appliances. Find tips for exterior venting of smoke and exhust from your wood burning stove or fireplace.

LESLIE: We’ve got Luke in Maine who’s got a question about installing a wood stove. What can we do for you, Luke?

LUKE: I only have one chimney in my house and I’d like to add a wood stove to the same flue that my furnace is on. How safe would that be?

TOM: Very not safe. (laughing)

LESLIE: Ooh, because they both operate on different chimney systems.

TOM: Yeah. If this chimney has one flue, as opposed to a chimney that has two flues, you could have one chimney with the wood stove on one side and, I presume, gas or oil on the other. But you cannot mix the combustion. So you can’t have a fireplace or a wood stove using the same flue as your gas-fired, oil-fired or propane-fired furnace. That would be very dangerous.

So the other thing to think about is whether or not you might want to put in, say, a direct vent fireplace; one that is zero clearance; one that can go against a combustible wall or surface and vent right to the outside. Or you can run the vent pipe up the exterior of your house. Or you could always build a new chimney but, of course, that’s the most expensive way. But no, you cannot share the same flue with both gas combustion and wood combustion at the same time.

LUKE: Now … okay. So I can have my hot water tank with the same …

TOM: Yes, because that’s the same fuel. Yes.

LUKE: Okay.

TOM: You just can’t have a wood stove.

LUKE: Okay, great.

TOM: Luke, thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT. 888-666-3974.