Used wood stoves, "secured" warmth that is just a few "legal" steps away...

Woodstove, like fireplace, is just another product for home, to keep us warm and cozy. However, while buying or selling wood stoves, particularly used wood stoves, there are certain rules and regulations. These regulations are, however for the safety of the users as well as for keeping the environment, pollution free.

Procedures to install the wood stove
While buying or selling a wooden stove, one has to ensure that it is "certified". The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality or U.S. Environmental protection agency issues a certification label, which indicates that the stove must meet all the state air pollution requirements. Oregon building codes require a permit for the installation of the stove. If a wood stove is carrying only a common safety label and not Oregon certification, then it is totally an illegal affair to advertise, sell or install such a wood stove. The local city or county building departments can often provide the necessary details regarding this installation.

Try Ebay for good deals:

Some legal issues, better know, than suffer
There are often certain confusions relating to what the used wood stoves law abides and what is not. For those who already have a non-certified wood stove, do not require any permit to burn the stove as the DEQ/EPA (these labels show tested smoke emissions and heating efficiency performance. The DEQ labels were issued from 1985 to 1989, when they were replaced by the EPA labels) and the building code agency rules do not prohibit the use of non-certified stoves, provided it complies with all the local wood burning restrictions.

If you want to sell a house, which contains a used, non-certified wood stove there is no legal prohibition. However, you cannot remove a non-certified from the home and sale or re-install it somewhere else.

Though not compulsory, while selling home, some people may who are not having a building permit for the existing non-certified stove installation, may require some documents to prove that the installation meets code requirements. Lenders or title companies may want to verify these. For the purpose of fire insurance also, the insurance companies often ask for these documents. In such cases, the state and local building department cannot be of much help, as they cannot issue a permit that can meet the DEQ/EPA certification standards. They can at best provide a copy from their old records, if only they had previously issued a permit. However, the insurance companies and lending institutions may have their own criteria for stove inspection and they may accept an alternative inspection certificate from the fire department or from an independent home inspector.

Exception to the used wood stoves law
Antique wood stoves (built before 1940 and having a high resale value), cook stoves that are primarily designed for indoor cooking and wood furnaces, which are part of a ducted central heating system, are exempt from law.

Some more precautions
It is necessary to check that the smoke detectors in all the levels of the home are working. It is also better to keep children away from the stove and to develop and practice an escape plan from all rooms.

So with all these handy knowledge, go ahead and install the used wood stove to keep your home warm.