Looking to update/upgrade

My summit goes into a 18 ft inside chimney with a 7 1/4 round clay liner and so far it has worked well.

Hey Kooter, welcome aboard!

Most manufacturers will recommend you connect your flue to the same size chimney. With your set up venting directly in your clay liner may work but do you want to take a chance? A flex liner is not all that expensive and you guarantee a good installation.

The reason you need to mate your high efficiency stove to a 6" chimney is actually because it is 'highly efficient'! Think of it this way... on the coldest day of the year when your stove is cold and the house is warm, where do you think the 'heavier' cold air is trying to get in? Down the chimney! With the ole' Franklin this wasnt much of a problem, you just lit up some newpaper in the flue to get some warmth & draft going and that was it. Because the old stove sent most of the heat up the chimney anyway you were guaranteed a good draft.

Now you're getting a new high efficiency (say about 80%) stove where the temp will not go much higher than 300f 18" above the stove. It's trying to keep most of the heat inside your house and only 20% up the flue. That's not much heat to warm up a 8" clay liner. On startup you may experience smoke spillage & may have issues getting a good draft. Far easier to warm up 6" liner.

I'm an Osburn guy so if you have any questions on our products ask away!

There is a formula for what size flue you can use, I believe it is 25% variance of the pipe coming out of the stove, no need to fix something that is not broke, I get no smoke in the house what so ever even in the warmer whether when others complain of poor draft.

Oldspark has a good point, it 'may' work but then again it 'may' not. Here's a direct quote from the PE Summit installation manual which is pretty much what every manufacturer will recommend.

Connect to a listed chimney or a chimney suitable for use with
solid fuel that is lined and in good condition and meets local
building codes. The chimney flue size should be the same as the
stove outlet for optimal performance. Reducing or increasing
the flue size may adversely affect stove performance.

If you have an 8 inch square liner it might not work as well as my round one, dealing with a stove that does not work in the winter may be a hassle, FyreBug might have the best advice as the liners are not that expensive and you KNOW it will work then.

with 90% of the chimney inside the house you wont have any problems, just make sure the outlet is at least 3 feet above the peak of the roof

kooter said:

High All......

Also, how necessary/helpful is the outside air adapter? I know it depends on how well my house is sealed up, but is it a necessity or nice to have option

Lastly, when manufacturers state the optimal efficiency%, is that with or without an optional blower kit?

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Efficiency and BTU output into the home are two different measurements. But, from what I think you are asking regarding "optimal efficiency%", IMHO, to get the max heat off the stove and into the room, some sort of blower or fan is required.

I would as agree with above, wait on the outside air kit. And depending on the model of stove that you purchase, research and physically inspect how that OAK actually connects to the stove? Read other users experiences with an OAK and specific model that you purchase prior to punching a hole in your house.

chipsoflyin said:

with 90% of the chimney inside the house you wont have any problems, just make sure the outlet is at least 3 feet above the peak of the roof

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With this I'd have to agree. Is it an 8" inside diameter or the 6.5" of a typical 8" clay liner? Why not try it for a year and check it out? If it works to your satisfaction then you're good to go. Good news is you shouldn't have to insulate in either case.

The most trusted online seller is probably Woodstock. They will even give you a guarantee that will blow your mind.

Woodstock Stoves

Backwoods Savage said:

The most trusted online seller is probably Woodstock. They will even give you a guarantee that will blow your mind.

Woodstock Stoves

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I agree, I have a summit and I like it a lot so far but being able to try the stove out and send it back after 6 months is worth considering.

Hi Chris, if you're looking at the Osburn 2400 here are some of the things you will enjoy.

It's the largest Osburn unit with 3.2 Cu Ft chamber and you can use logs up to 21 inches in there. It comes standard completely lined with refractory bricks (heavy duty), C Cast baffle, Limited Lifetime warranty, Heavy 5/16" plate steel, Pedestal & Ash Pan standard. Some of these are features you may find on higher priced stove but Osburn typically retails below many 'well recognized' brands.

If you're looking for an Internet re-seller I can suggest www.dynamitebuys.com or http://www.woodlanddirect.com/

there's a fair amount of Osburn Dealers in your area so you may want to try to find one close to you by typing in your zip code on the Osburn Web site at http://www.osburn-mfg.com/find-dealer.aspx?Country=us

Hope this helps!

Chris,

Welcome to the forums!

From the litterature that I have read, it seems as though OAKs are very much over rated. Some testing has shown it doesn't make much of a difference in most houses (especially when you're trying to pull -20 cold air into the combustion chamber from outside).

My understanding is that an OAK should be used in a very tight house. I can assure you that my house is very air tight. My stove is located in the basement. My basement is insulated with spray foam (directly on the concrete, including around the rim joists), which is VERY tight. My chimney goes through the concrete wall and along the outside of my home (I hadn't found this site yet and now realize what I should have done..) I do not have an OAK and my stove works quite well. My draft is pretty decent.

Obviously everything situation / setup is a case by case basis and there are SEVERAL factors that must be taken into consideration.

I have an Osburn 2300, which is slightly smaller than the 2400. I found the 2400 too big of a stove, it's massive! You won't be dissapointed if you buy one. It throws the heat. Aas does the PE SUmmit! Both are great machines.

Andrew

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

kooter said:

Just an update.......

After several weeks of looking at various stoves and reading thru the forum, I have decided to go with the Osburn 2400. The price from dynamitebuys.com was too good to pass up and the size of the 2400 will be plenty for the house.

Thanks to everyone for their inputs.

Hopefully it will arrive in one piece next week and Ill hook it up.

Im sure I have more questions once I start firing it up.................

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How much?