A series of questions about heating: wood stoves, pellet, furnace ect? Kansas City?

• Check your local regulations for whether you can install a woodburning stove where you live, and what kind is approved. You will probably need an EPA approved one these days. Don't even think about 'modifying' an old one. They're pretty carefully designed, for the most part, and unless you're an expert you're more likely to ruin a stove than improve it. Catalytic is a system designed to burn some of the stove exhaust again so it emits less stuff. There are other ways of achieving the same end. Your choice which way you want to go. Pellet stoves work very well for some people, but they require electricity to work so are not so good for use when the power goes out. And you can't get pellets for free as you can with wood. If Home Depot runs out of pellets when you need them, you might be SOL for using your stove. Pellet stoves usually have a higher efficiency rating. For chimney requirements, check your local regs, again, but generally your chimney must be away from any part of your house that will obstruct airflow. Two or three feet above the nearest thing within 10 feet is a rough guideline for chimney placement. Masonry stoves and oil stoves are two different things altogether. Some stoves have firebrick, some don't. Usually it's sheet steel stoves that have it. Cast iron has enough mass that firebrick isn't needed. I myself would prefer cast iron, but it is heavy. Woodstoves can be very hot to the touch, usually hottest on the front, top and firebox side if the firebox is on one side. by Karen L