safety check - pic of new install attached

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good to go or need more safety built in


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dentman4411

New Member
Dec 19, 2012
59
Pittsburgh, PA
hey friends.... got my defiant installed and am looking for a courtesy review of my install.

Specs are single wall about 6' to box then triple wall stainless 9' to chimney cap.

Installed rear heat shield, also installed bottom, sides and ash door shield.

corner install, corners are set at 23" from wall which is the non shield minimum spec.
flue is 32" to wall also the non shield minimum spec

stove sits on finished floor, no hearth pad. floor is made of slate tile, then hardibacker, then 5/8" subfloor then 2x10 joist.

I run the stove on the manufacturer rated "medium" output of around 575 degrees. At 600 I choke it back some but the stove is rated to steady 750 degrees.

My only 2 concerns are floor protection; im within spec but worry i need more protection. After 7-8 hours of burn time the floor underneath is warm... no where near clothes fresh out of the dryer. Does the heat radiate down into the subfloor?

Other concern is yellow apparent creosote bits that landed on the snow around my chimney.

ill load 3 pics, one of stove one of chimney and one screen shot of chimney zoomed in to see the creosote stuff around chimeny and on snow, it appears black in the zoom pic but is yellowish

thanks everyone
 

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hey friends.... got my defiant installed and am looking for a courtesy review of my install.

Specs are single wall about 6' to box then triple wall stainless 9' to chimney cap.

Installed rear heat shield, also installed bottom, sides and ash door shield.

corner install, corners are set at 23" from wall which is the non shield minimum spec.
flue is 32" to wall also the non shield minimum spec

stove sits on finished floor, no hearth pad. floor is made of slate tile, then hardibacker, then 5/8" subfloor then 2x10 joist.

I run the stove on the manufacturer rated "medium" output of around 575 degrees. At 600 I choke it back some but the stove is rated to steady 750 degrees.

My only 2 concerns are floor protection; im within spec but worry i need more protection. After 7-8 hours of burn time the floor underneath is warm... no where near clothes fresh out of the dryer. Does the heat radiate down into the subfloor?

Other concern is yellow apparent creosote bits that landed on the snow around my chimney.

ill load 3 pics, one of stove one of chimney and one screen shot of chimney zoomed in to see the creosote stuff around chimeny and on snow, it appears black in the zoom pic but is yellowish

thanks everyone

I'll let others chime in on the flooring, but I'd like to know how close that Class A is to the roof fascia behind it & what the pitch of that roof is. From the photo, you don't appear to be high enough...
 
Hi Bob I just went outside and eyeballed it, the steel chimney is about 12-13" from the gutter, and 16" or so to the soffit/fascia and 28" to the vinyl siding. The roof behind the chimney is 3.5 and 12 pitch. yes 3.5 I designed and ordered the truss package. it matches my main house which was probably 4 n 12 but after 100 years dropped a smidge.
 
here is the street view of the chimney and a better idea on the chimney pipe as it relates to the roof lines
 

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here is the street view of the chimney and a better idea on the chimney pipe as it relates to the roof lines

On a 3.5/12 pitch the chimney should be about 60" (actually 59") out of the roof from the high side. You can probably take a foot off of that due to the distance to the fascia, but I'd say you're a little low.
 
would this explain the creosote particulates also i noticed the stainless steel is a little discolored at the top, both the cap and the wall...
 

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I can't chime in on the pipe as others have far more experience than me. But, if your flooring meets specs, you should be fine. The hearth pad under my Defiant barely gets warm. The stove is currently sitting at 550 and the hearth underneath the stove is at 85 and in front of the stove is 90. Even when the stove top reaches higher temps, the temps of the hearth underneath the stove and in front of the stove do not get much warmer than 85-90 degrees.

I do not have a bottom heat shield, either.
 
On a 3.5/12 pitch the chimney should be about 60" (actually 59") out of the roof from the high side. You can probably take a foot off of that due to the distance to the fascia, but I'd say you're a little low.

Dentman,
DAKSY is correct. The chimney needs to be a minimum of two feet higher than anything within 10 feet. Based on the knowledge of the 3.5/12 pitch roof: 3.5"x10'=35"; 35"+2'=59".

Regarding the creosote, it's really difficult to tell in the pics what it actually is. Soot, fly ash, creosote... who knows? Is your wood properly seasoned? It would be rare to have a creosote accumulation so soon after installing the stove. I can't tell from the pics, does your chimney cap have a bird screen? If not, the black stuff could be soot escaping the chimney, cooling and floating down to the roof below.
 
It's hard to tell from the picture whether that batman wing poking out on the right side is the bottom heat shield. Does it have the #1905 heat shield attached? If so, it should be ok with the current floor, though there's no harm if you want to add a bit more protection.
 
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Dentman,
DAKSY is correct. The chimney needs to be a minimum of two feet higher than anything within 10 feet. Based on the knowledge of the 3.5/12 pitch roof: 3.5"x10'=35"; 35"+2'=59".

Regarding the creosote, it's really difficult to tell in the pics what it actually is. Soot, fly ash, creosote... who knows? Is your wood properly seasoned? It would be rare to have a creosote accumulation so soon after installing the stove. I can't tell from the pics, does your chimney cap have a bird screen? If not, the black stuff could be soot escaping the chimney, cooling and floating down to the roof below.
@ethanhudson im burning 2 flavors, silver maple been split and stacked for 1 1/2 years and walnut split and stacked albeit snow covered for 1 year. wlanut may be a little green.
 
It's hard to tell from the picture whether that batman wing poking out on the right side is the bottom heat shield. Does it have the #1905 heat shield attached? If so, it should be ok with the current floor, though there's no harm if you want to add a bit more protection.
@ begreen yes Sir thats the 1905 kit from Lehmans. has a full bottom pan, side cars and ash pan door cover. the left side fits like a glove and for sure the right side bat wing as you call it is indeed odd looking but its mounted in the best possible configuration if its indeed the correct side car part.
 
Dentman,
DAKSY is correct. The chimney needs to be a minimum of two feet higher than anything within 10 feet. Based on the knowledge of the 3.5/12 pitch roof: 3.5"x10'=35"; 35"+2'=59".

Regarding the creosote, it's really difficult to tell in the pics what it actually is. Soot, fly ash, creosote... who knows? Is your wood properly seasoned? It would be rare to have a creosote accumulation so soon after installing the stove. I can't tell from the pics, does your chimney cap have a bird screen? If not, the black stuff could be soot escaping the chimney, cooling and floating down to the roof below.

I ran wet wood last winter and my chimney accumulated creosote like his (if it is, a close up would help).
 
Is the chimney braced on the soffit, I can't tell from the picture. If you go much higher you will likely need to install a kit to brace the chimney.

Looks pretty nice.
 
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I ran wet wood last winter and my chimney accumulated creosote like his (if it is, a close up would help).


just loaded 2 pics i shot about 10 minutes ago. much better IQ and indeed i think its green wood creosote. will wait to hear confirmation on this. thanks :)
 
Is the chimney braced on the soffit, I can't tell from the picture. If you go much higher you will likely need to install a kit to brace the chimney.

Looks pretty nice.


no bracing but it looks like ill be bracing from under the soffit when i add another 2 feet to the stack. was hoping not to go that high but i think the consensus is in, i need more height.
 
I fired up the stove this afternoon and have fresh samples of the aforementioned yellow bugers on the snow capped roof. pics are too big (dlsr) so i hosted them on my site. heres a link maybe theyll display in the html code...

http://www.thetrilliumproject.com/img/s1/v57/p1364149434-4.jpg

http://www.thetrilliumproject.com/img/s8/v74/p1364149468-4.jpg
What is the temperature you are running on the stove in these pics? The first pic looks like condensation on the pipe.
 
Is the chimney braced on the soffit, I can't tell from the picture. If you go much higher you will likely need to install a kit to brace the chimney.

Looks pretty nice.

Looks like it needs it regardless. It's supposed to be braced at 5ft above the roof penetration.

BTW, for the original question, it looks like you are good on the stove clearances.
 
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@ begreen yes Sir thats the 1905 kit from Lehmans. has a full bottom pan, side cars and ash pan door cover. the left side fits like a glove and for sure the right side bat wing as you call it is indeed odd looking but its mounted in the best possible configuration if its indeed the correct side car part.

Check with Lehman's or VC support. That looks wrong. I'm wondering if it needs to be reversed or if you got two left sides in the kit.
 
What is the temperature you are running on the stove in these pics? The first pic looks like condensation on the pipe.

Browning I have noticed that in the past, sometimes there is wet drops at the base. at the time that pic was taken stove temps were about 300 and single wall pipe 2 1/2' above stove also read 300. single wall gets hot til i calm it down with the damper.

when up and running single wall pipe is 150 and stove 475 or so.
 
Check with Lehman's or VC support. That looks wrong. I'm wondering if it needs to be reversed or if you got two left sides in the kit.
will do. i thought same thing but temps underneath the right side batwing are consistent with the rest of the protected areas around stove. Ill shoot some pics and load em

edit: when i initially installed the right bat wing i tried it both ways, and installed the "other" way the metal ear actually touches the floor so i knew that had to be wrong. the U indents line up to the 1905 spacer pins so i figured it had to be right.
 

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Browning I have noticed that in the past, sometimes there is wet drops at the base. at the time that pic was taken stove temps were about 300 and single wall pipe 2 1/2' above stove also read 300. single wall gets hot til i calm it down with the damper.

when up and running single wall pipe is 150 and stove 475 or so.
With less than perfect wood, you really need to get the temps higher before engaging the cat or you will smoke a lot. Try engaging the cat in the 450-500 degree range. But, when doing this, watch the pipe temps. Sometimes, with a strong draft, your stove top could be low, but you pipe is super hot with the damper open.

Either way, you need to get your temps up to minimize smoke when you have wet wood with the Defiant.
 
With less than perfect wood, you really need to get the temps higher before engaging the cat or you will smoke a lot. Try engaging the cat in the 450-500 degree range. But, when doing this, watch the pipe temps. Sometimes, with a strong draft, your stove top could be low, but you pipe is super hot with the damper open.

Either way, you need to get your temps up to minimize smoke when you have wet wood with the Defiant.
will note that... i usually close the damper around 500 degrees. and it still smokey for a while. beacuse of the lower chimney height should i get it a little hotter? and is there a working pipe temp range... i felt like 300 degrees 2 feet above stove height was pushing it anyway...
 
150 degree flue temp is way low. The smoke will condense at anything lower than 250 and form creosote. FWIW my flue temp (probe thermo.) runs anywhere between 300 (after the majority of off gassing is complete and I'm rocking coals) to 800 (if I am pushing it hard) and that's at 18" above the stove. Those gasses cool as they rise so you must be hotter than 250 degrees where you take your flue temp reading. I normally shoot for 300-400 beofre I close the bypass (I have a secondary burn type stove)

Good luck, and happy burning!
 
Sorry, I was gonna post a link too.

http://www.msue.msu.edu/objects/con...sion_id.499664/workspace_id.-4/01500598.html/

The yellow tarry goopy stuff is most certainly creosote. I'd wager to guess that if you popped the top on that flue and looked inside you would notice the beginnings of a problem.

How long has the stove been operational? How many cord (or fraction therof) have you burned?

Moral of the story, the flue must be hotter than 150 degrees...
 
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