Out then Up, or Up then out? Direct or Top Vent?

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amikolajczyk

amikolajczyk

Member
Nov 6, 2010
11
Blue Knob, PA
Hi, I'm sorry if this is a re-hash as it seems a common question, but I tried the search and just couldn't put together the right terms to come up with anything to answer my question.

My wife and I are building a home and are pretty well decided on the Harman XXV for our great-room. We went to two different dealers and got different answers on how best to vent it.

One of them insisted that most of their customers just to direct vent, out the back, through the wall. He said if we wanted to turn and come 6 - 9 feet vertically for draft, that would be fine.

The other fellow insisted that the best option was to put the top vent kit on the unit and come up inside the house that same rise, then turn 90 degrees and go through the wall after the rise with a horizontal termination outside.

Asthetically, neither my wife nor I have any preference we could be happy with seeing the pipe or not, doesn't really matter. Just looking for the best performance and utility. I should add the OAK is a must in either case.

Any strong reason to go one way or the other in this case?

Thanks, the reviews and threads in the forum were incredibly valuable in helping us decide which stove to purchase. It came down to the Harman XXV and the Quadrafire Mt Vernon, and I suspect we would have been happy with either, but the Harman dealer was much more friendly and made me feel better about service after the sale and that really sealed the deal.

Thanks in advance!
 
Our stove vents straight out through the wall behind the stove and terminates with no vertical rise. Works just fine.
 
Its generally preferred to have some vertical rise to avoid getting smoke in the house if you lose power. Its better to have the vertical inside rather then outside as the pipe will not be subjected to the cooling environment of outdoors possibly creating more buildup on the pipe. Ours goes out and up 5 ft.

Doesn't really sound like you got different answers. Contractor A told you what they typically did which is fine. Contractor B told you the absolute best way to go ( costs more too ).
 
Agree going up inside the house and then out is the then out gives the best draft and easier to keep clean. The best OAK system is the Sellirk DT that warms the burn air for 10% more efficiency and works extremely well with Harman pellet stoves. I have the Selkirk up and out for the Garage p61a and the Selkirk Masonry conversion for the basement P61a
Luv that stuff especially the vacuum clean out!
 

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If you don't already have the XXV manual, you can download it from Harman's web site. It diagrams a bunch of different exhaust vent configurations and defines the necessary clearances.

amikolajczyk said:
The other fellow insisted that the best option was to put the top vent kit on the unit and come up inside the house that same rise, then turn 90 degrees and go through the wall after the rise with a horizontal termination outside.
Click to expand...
From the manual:
"The top flue adaptor is
not approved for use with pellet vent pipe. It is only
tested for use with chimney connector (6- inch pipe)
into an existing "class A" chimney."
But you can accomplish the same configuration without the top vent adapter by going up and then out with pellet vent pipe.

I agree with Don2222 that you should consider using something like the Selkirk DT that combines the OAK and vent in one pipe.
 
I prefer out then up, that puts the clean out tee outside so I don't have to deal with that mess inside
 
rich2500 said:
I prefer out then up, that puts the clean out tee outside so I don't have to deal with that mess inside
Click to expand...

I like the clean out T inside with the vacuum cleanout. That way I do not have to go out in the cold and with the vacuum clean out there is no mess. :)
 
Thanks everyone, it sounds like the wise thing is to go up first, then out, but it probably doesn't make a huge difference above aesthetics. Good point on the top-vent option, definitely wont be doing that. Looking into the Selkirk, it sounds like a worthwhile add-on. I knew you folks would steer me right. Thank you, all!
-AJM
 
I prefer the cleanout outside...
Not like it's Polar Vortex weather all winter and too cold to clean.
but Inside rise is good also..
 

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I have identical Whitfield stoves, one in the house, with a vertical run straight up through the roof. The other, in the garage, is direct vented. They both heat the same and neither smokes when the power goes out.

Neither stove has an Outside Air Kit.

Dave
 
moey said:
Its generally preferred to have some vertical rise to avoid getting smoke in the house if you lose power. Its better to have the vertical inside rather then outside as the pipe will not be subjected to the cooling environment of outdoors possibly creating more buildup on the pipe. Ours goes out and up 5 ft.

.
Click to expand...

Why would you add an additional 90 degree turn to your exhaust system? Plus, the heat thing does not make sense to me. Maybe with a wood stove, but the exhaust temps of a pellet stove are no where near those of wood.
 
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