Pellet stove insert w/ liner drilled outside of chimney

So basically I am looking to have a pellet stove insert installed and was curious if anyone did not go all the way up the chimney but instead drill out a hole on the side. I have a open broke fireplace that is unusable which is why the insert seemed like a great idea but after reading a lot of posts on here it looks like every 2 tons or so the pellet liner needs to be swept. This annual cost to have done professional (not fond of getting on roof) , cost of pellets, and installation cost over lifetime of the pellet stove (say life expectancy of 15 years as guestimate) really hampers the true energy savings. So I was hoping to treat this insert like the stand alone units that people seem to vent out of the side of their house and sweep themselves with relative ease since its lower to the ground rather than paying someone!!

Thanks for any input!

Ranger72 said:

My liner is two years old and has yet to require a sweeping. I check it with a flashlight after every time I leaf vac it and you can still see the stainless steel.

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Do you leaf vac it from the roof? That is basically what I am trying to avoid haha. Just hate going up there. I caulked up some cracks on the chimney crown and I was terrified.

doghouse said:

Don't forget the OAK.

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That is the air pipe right?

kappel15 said:

Yes, you can drill and go straight out the back. Just make sure to plug old chimney, so there is no draw of house air. kap

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So basically there will be a 90 degree kink since it will go up to ground level then 90 degrees to go outside of chimney hole. How would I sweep this 90 degree kink if I ever have to do a full cleaning?

If you cant tell I just want to make sure I am able to do this full cleaning myself and no heights required haha. The pellet stove will be installed on bottom level of a split foyer (below ground level) so I am hoping to have the install basically go straight out the side of the chimney a few feet above ground. Cosmetically do you think that will look stupid?

fmsm said:

Buy a Harman, pull the insert out to clean, and run a brush up the pipe. No need to go on the roof!

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You do this from the inside? How do you contain the mess? Are you doing this for a chimney insert with the liner going all the way up the chimney and if so do you have a 20ft brush lol? If this can all be done from inside that that is awesome..

How do you do the leaf vac if you are not going on the roof?

Do only harmans pull out? One dealer around me has harman but their quite expensive and the other dealer around me has the Regency GC160 and GFI55 which seem cheaper. Guess they do not have the rails like the harman?

Dr.Faustus said:

I have a neighbor that did this when she got tired of the fireplace (which did nothing to heat the house. It looks alright to me. She did cap the chimney. well, she went out and got some caulk and a patio paver and caulked it to the top of the chimney. that kinda looks stupid to me but probably because i know its a patio paver. Anyway she sold the house a few years ago and the new people bought it like that and it still runs fine. paver is still caulked up there.

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You should snap a pick if you get a chance. I cant find any online. I have seen various venting solutions for free standing pellet stoves such as a pure sideways vent which does not go up. I think that might look okay.

kappel15 said:

Instead of a 90 at the bottom, use a clean out T. With a removable cap at the end of the exhaust outside, you can brush down to the T as the fiberglass rods are flexible enough to go down the top 90. And yes, The oak is a fresh air supply. kap

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If using a clean out T , how far do you need to go up parallet with the house once your outside? I have a split foyer with the chimney on the side.

Thanks for all the help by the way!

kappel15 said:

You need to be a minimum of 12" above grade, and 24" away from any combustibles, and 12" from wall of home. kap

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So do pellet stove inserts typically have an oak or is that usually for freestanding units?

So if you guys had an insert would you do this method or just run the steel liner all the way up the chimney .Just trying to find the best solution I guess if thats not to subjective.


Thanks

scotthershall said:

I sorta did what you want to do. It work just out great. I probably saved $1500 over installing a insulated liner, and I can clean it from the ground with a standard SootEater kit (which will get around a 90 elbow just fine). I'm not crazy about heights as it is but I'd be even less crazy about them if there's snow on the roof. It passed inspection no problem, but they didn't really look at the venting (I think the inspector assumed it was a liner and kept my mouth shut otherwise). My thread: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/venting-questions.141991/

Some pictures might be helpful. You just want to be sure you can clean the vent pipe easily on whatever basis is appropriate. Many here recommend cleaning after every ton. With your plan this will be easy to achieve, so long as you can access the back of your insert to get to the vent pipe.

Like other poster's mentioned, just make sure you have the proper clearances outside... don't want to set anything on fire.

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Thanks for the info. The dealer is a local company and seemed to be great people. I spoke with the owners son about it and he stated that its definately doable like you say but for him to install it he would have to drill through my steal firebox which would increase installation cost by about alot since its really thick and would take a lot longer. So I am wondering if thats even worth it as I still want to get a pellet stove for the upstairs! Decisions decisions.

The thing is the previous owners did not take care of the fireplace and did not have a chimney cap so rain water made its way in and destroyed the inside pretty bad with moisture so now I am wondering if that should be fixed too before installing the pellet stove. Also, I went to see the insert in person today and I did not realize that the insert doesnt stop the draft completely as the backplate is really just cosmetic and not airtight. So that makes me wonder does is the draft contained within the pellet stove housing itself?

Dr.Faustus said:

I kinda feel funny about snapping a pic of the neighbors house and posting it online. Dont want to creep them out. maybe if i knew them better... Knew the old owners really well. Basically the freestanding stove sits in front of the old fireplace. pellet vent goes up a few feet, then goes into the brick, through the chimney and out the back. goes straight out and has a vent cap. This works ok in their house but it wouldnt in mine because i have my TV mounted above the mantel. It ruined their spot to put a tv, or hang a cool painting etc. The outside looks fine except for the paver.

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Imagine if they came on this forum and saw their house on there haha! Well I think I am going to just go up the chimney liner and be done with it. I like the fact I can still have an OAK.

Do you guys have an opinions on the GFI55 which I think is also consider the Meridian on enviro. The dealer only sells regency products. I like harman but it would run me an extra 2 grand with install so was not sure if that was worth the price difference.