New stove installation..makes existing ceiling fan too close to stove pipe

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JPapiPE

JPapiPE

New Member
Jun 10, 2008
408
South-West hills of Maine, Red Neck Country
I used to have a vermont castings propane gas stove. The former owners put a ceiling fan in close proximity above that gas burner, but I sold that stove to buy my Englander 13NCH. It seems now that the extreme ends of the blades will not have the 18' clearage from the wood stovepipe(24ga). They will and they won't. Let me explain... If I turn off the fan and one of the blades comes to a stop in the wrong place it will only be 9-10" away from the stove pipe. I realize that a ceiling fan is probably better than a stove mounted fan, so I considered moving it, but after looking at the electricals in the ceiling that the former owner did...it was pretty scary. Plus my attic is only a low pitched trussed roof with only crawlable space overhead. Also there is no floor in the attic only trusses and 3/4" strapping in the area I would have to work. I see this fan placement as an unsafe condition. I might prevent this problem using double wall interior pipe from the stove to the HT double wall chimney insulated stuff. Do i have to bite the bullet and do some electrical work which would probably take a whole day. Or buy the englander stove fan or is there any other way to leave the fan where it is and be safe. I guess i dont know the cost of double interior pipe...I'd need maybe 5 feet to the chimney pipe. Should i use the double and save myself the aggravation of moving some hackers electrical job? I' sure if anything kills me in this mobile it will be the wiring before the stove. Sorry about so long a post.

PS his method of having 20 amp circuits was to place 20 amp circuit breakers in the breaker box when he had only 14-2 wiring. To tell you the truth i spent all my buttons on the stove system setup and the wood and i have contacted a professional insulation co to blow 34R insulation into my 1100 square foot home, which has none, for $1000
Thank all members of this forum who have steered me in the right direction.
 
if anything kills me in this mobile it will be the wiring before the stove.
Click to expand...

If you have a mobile home, code requires double-wall connector from the stove to the chimney support box at the ceiling. If you swap out your single-wall connector pipe for double-wall, you'll eliminate that code violation as well as the clearance violation to your ceiling fan blades (double-wall connector pipe only requires 6" clearance to combustibles).

The HUD listing requires that you use the same brand of venting from the stove to the cap, so determine what brand of chimney you have and buy that company's connector pipe. The basic piece you need is what we call the Trombone: this piece is in two sections that slide together to create an adjustable length, usually 40" to 65" or 68", which should get you from your flue collar to your support box. Depending upon the thickness of metal used to make your flue collar, you might also need a flue collar adapter.

Even if you need the adapter, the whole shebang will run you less than $200.00, and will offer these advantages over your current setup:

It will eliminate your 'single-wall pipe in manufactured housing' code violation
It will eliminate your 'ceiling fan clearance' code violation
It will keep your flue gases warmer, improving updraft and reducing creosote formation
It will save you the hassle of periodic stovepipe replacement (the inner wall of double-wall connector is stainless steel)
It will look better (only one pipe joint between the stove and the ceiling)
It will save you the all-day hassle of moving and rewiring your ceiling fan
 
something that is movable and can come inside of the clearance limitations can pose a hazard. These are more often doors/cabinets etc. Double wall pipe is an option, most has a 6'' clearance to combustibles instead of the standard 18". NFPA-211 does outline some pipe shielding arrangements.I have overlaid a larger pipe section on a smaller one (with non-combustible spacers and screws, and met clearance requirements that way. If your neat about your work it looks as good as double wall. Your area may follow different guidelines, but I have found few if any conflicting with NFPA-211 on clearances etc.That is a less expensive option, and one that needn't be installed except to address the problem area....not necessarily the whole pipe run.

blackgooseJT
 
I don't abide by rules mostly, but I am all in favor of safety. My house structure is only half trailer and 60% stick built additions. 2 sections of trailer wall have been cut away to provide for the additions. One complete side wall and the gable wall of the trailer has been cut away to make room for the additions ...So I'm not strickly a trailer, but a hybrid monstosity
 
interesting. My understanding is that if the structure is attached to the mobile, it is considered part of the mobile(at least here in Virginia) I say this because if I install a stove into a mobile home here(or a structure attached to a mobile) it must be mobile home approved, and installed accordingly.Always err to the side of caution.

blackgooseJT
 
Yeah It's just my luck to have to live up to a trailer's requirements...So i guess I'll just double thick stove pipe and build my hearth to specs. Also vent stove to outside air. The englander is trailer approved and has a 3" outlet at the bottom of the stove to hook into outside air.
 
Sounds good. Many stoves are not mobile home approved, you are one step ahead. Thechimneyman mentioned a pipe section called a "trombone". I've called it a telescope,but it is the same pipe. It is an engineered component and is listed as such. If I were installing this for you I would have on hand the manufacturers instructions for the stove, chimney, and HUD guidelines.I could not mix-and-match brands of parts or systems . I would bolt the stove to the floor and ground it to the trailer frame using approved methods. If your stove has a pedestal base you may be able to bring in make-up air thru the base of that(some mfr.s). Your installation manual will spell it out. If in doubt do not hesitate to contact a manufacturer for clarity.

This sounds like alot to do. Consider my neighbor who cannot quite bring himself to follow these steps. After asking for guidance, he instead bought the wrong stove, wrong chimney, and installed it incorrectly. He has since replaced that original stove with two more bad choices. None of them have worked . It has been aggravating and expensive for him. Now it's going to be cold as well.

Follow the rules and you'll be fine. There are a couple of Englander guys on this forum from right up the road, and I'm sure they'll chime in if you need help on the stove guidelines.
Good luck on your project.

blackgooseJT
 
You can buy shorter blades for the ceiling fan if you decide to not do the double-wall Tom is suggesting.
 
I used a double wall trombone in my installation. It was slick as heck to attach the stove to the ceiling. Looks good and allows easy disassembly if you ever need to. I also moved a ceiling fan away from my stove by about 4 feet. It involved a days labor but I used superior methods to install the fan unlike the previous homeowner who hacked the electrical and hacked the fan support structure. The new fan is now centered in the room, centered to the stove, etc. Just like it should be and the wire is not laying across the attic with two wire nuts in the insulation (who needs a ground?).
 

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PS his method of having 20 amp circuits was to place 20 amp circuit breakers in the breaker box when he had only 14-2 wiring.
Click to expand...

Very dangerous! Those 20 amp breakers need to be replaced with 15's. You could have an overload which could cause wire deterioration and a fire before the breakers trip.

Ken
 
One of my neighbors has a 1/2 mobile home / 1/2 addition and mobile home rules applied to both halves.

He only burns a bit less than a cord during a "cold" Winter. Short little fires.
 
About the half trailer and half house remark...What is his approximate square ft area. Also, he must have that place pretty well insulated. My place is about 1100 square Ft and I burned 750 gallons of K-1 last season. I do plan to have the attic insulated with some blown in R34 insulation before the cold comes. Oh and to the other poster that spoke about the danger of the 20amp breakers with 14-2 wiring...I know it's a hazzard. I have only lived in this place for 10 months but the former owner did all the work himself...It's pretty scary, but I'm stuck here. My house is in the Maine country and everyone here is a "Shade Tree Carpenter" and do it yourselfer. I have good smoke and Carcon Monoxide alarms and an exit door in my bedroom.
 
JPapiPE said:
Yeah It's just my luck to have to live up to a trailer's requirements...So i guess I'll just double thick stove pipe and build my hearth to specs. Also vent stove to outside air. The englander is trailer approved and has a 3" outlet at the bottom of the stove to hook into outside air.
Click to expand...

Now your talking. The fan is no longer an issue and you get the benefit of all the things Tom listed above.
 
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