Is This Possible?

Hellow fellow coal burners. I am new to this site, but not new to burning wood or coal. Here in Wisconsin we do have cold winters and mild times too. We live in an old brick home built 1885. Thru the years I got the house well insulated and new windows. One can say very tight. Located halfway down a sandstone bluff. Smoke goes straight up about 50 feet before the wind takes over. I have a Vermount Castings Resulute 1985 year wood burner. Very good draft. I had to install a manual 6inch damper to regulate the draft better. I use this stove when temps are 35 to 55 degrees. This stove does not put out enough heat to be comfortable. Last week I found a Harman I. Built 2005 still new in a fireplace store. They wanted to get rid of this stove. I want to tie this coal stove's stove pipe with the wood burner using a 6 inch T. The horizontal pipe slopes upward at 25 degrees. Length of coal stove pipe 5.5 feet to a vertical insulated chimney. Also I will install a barametric damper on the coal stove's vertical pipe. Only used one stove at a time. The coal stove is for the really cold days 20below zero to 30 degrees above zero. Do you think I would experience other problems? Thanx George

It generally is not legal to have two devices sharing one chimney. That may be an issue. And it will be far more dangerous if you are going to have a barometric damper on the coal stove. If the wood stove causes a creosote fire, the coal stoves baro-damper will open and send a rush of air (oxygen) to the creosote fire just when you will need the opposite thing to be happening.

agree with isayre regarding the shared chimney and baro issue. the mark I can also burn wood, or you can throttle back the spinner knob on the ash door to burn coal very slowly on the 35 - 55 days.

i had a mark III in the basement for years that I would burn wood in during early fall and late spring. or on warmer winter days just have the spinner knob open about a 1/2 turn simmering the coal fire.

Thanx titieist and lsayre. I think I will disconnect the Resolute stove pipe and run the Harman straight thru to the insulated chimney. Have it in a way that one stove at a time be connected. Also, you are right if I got a chimney fire, the barametric damper would just feed the fire with a lot of oxygen.

Storm wrote:Thanx titieist and lsayre. I think I will disconnect the Resolute stove pipe and run the Harman straight thru to the insulated chimney. Have it in a way that one stove at a time be connected. Also, you are right if I got a chimney fire, the barametric damper would just feed the fire with a lot of oxygen.

now ur thinking good move...i think u will find that u have the coal stove hooked up most of the time...good luck..

lsayre wrote:... it will be far more dangerous if you are going to have a barometric damper on the coal stove. If the wood stove causes a creosote fire, the coal stoves baro-damper will open and send a rush of air (oxygen) to the creosote fire just when you will need the opposite thing to be happening.

You could cap the baro, say with heavy aluminum foil, when using the wood stove. Still might not be legal, but if you are conscientious about doing it, that avoids the creosote fire problem.

Oops! I take it all back. A creosote fire could conceivably happen while you are burning just coal, with the baro unsealed. And that could happen even with a separate connection of the coal stove's pipe to the chimney, unless you clean the chimney after burning wood and before switching to coal.

One other point -- I don't want to rain on your parade -- you want to use the Mark I for colder days, but its realistic sustainable heat output is no higher than your Resolute, probably less, in spite of its slightly higher manufacturer's rating.

Get rid of the wood burner and replace with coal stove that will heat your home. It's illegal in most states to have more then one heat source using a chimney. If you do decide to do it and the unthinkable happens, be ready to loose it all once insurance company gets notified.

NFPA codes say in some cases two or more heating devices CAN share a flue. But it has to be done "by the book" as they say.

http://inspectapedia.com/chimneys/Shared_Chimney_ ... ues_OK.htm

Storm here, when using the Resolute for a month with oak wood, I cleaned the chimney with a poly brush and get just over 1pint of creosote flakes. I run the Resolute at 450 to 500 degrees griddle temps. Chimney temps 285degrees. Also on very cold days, this little stove burn times are 3 to 5 hours with 1/4 of fire box capacity. I hate to wake up to a cold house in the morning. The Harman Mark 1 coal would extend the burn time at a constant temp. Before I start using the coal stove, I will clean the chimney. As with an earlier post, I will disconnect the wood stove.

You probably will find that the 'dry' heat from the coal fire will cause a lot of creosote to fall off the inside of your chimney, so after a few weeks, check your cleenout for an accumulation of creosote flakes.

I think you will find that you really like the coal stove.

Greg L

Thanx Greg, when I get the coal stove hooked up an try the first burn for a free days, I will check the chimney for creosote. George