We want to put a wood furnace in our basement and use as the main heat and keep the propane furnace as the back up source. I am wondering how far apart the two have to be from each other.

If the wood burner were anywhere else, then I'd just say "be sure that there is 2.5+ feet clearance from your wood burner...

...but since it's in your basement I can't help but ask: How are you going to get the heat from the wood burner in the basement to the rest of your house? Are you going to/planning to "tie into" the existing ducts?

We were planning on tieing into the existing duct work but before we do anything we need to find out what the distance has to be for the two furnaces in the basement. Our only other option is to do an outside burner but with our city ordnance the chimney has to extend higher than the rest of the house. We have a 2 story home and the placement for that pipe would look really odd and it would be costly for the parts.

As for distance from your furnace, 2.5-3' will be good. I think, though, that tying into your existing duct work will be the tougher issue.. . I know: you may already know that :)

Do yourself a favor, though: get a local guy (a reputable one who knows the codes in your area) in there to give you an estimate on the work, and while he is there get his opinion on the placement of the wood burner.

Does your wood burner have its own blower or are you going to use the blower from the furnace?

The wood furnace we were looking at has it's own blower so we would only have to run the pipes to the chimney and the duct work.

What would you suggest as a good wood furnace for heating a 2200 sq. ft. home?

You would want one at least 90,000 btu's

Thank you everyone for your help and advise it has been very helpful.