Flue Liner 6" vs 5"

[Upin Smoke]

I have an old heatalator type prefab fireplace (house is 30 yrs old) with blowers on either side of the firebox and want to put a wood stove in the existing firebox as much as possible.
I am wanting to buy a Jotul F100 Nordic that will fit most of the way inside the existing firebox.
The dealer wants to give me a deal on an existing 5" liner kit that was special ordered for someone however I don't know if this is a good idea since the Jotul is made for a 6" flue.
My current chimney is the standard 8" triple wall and is 17' high.
I don't know yet if the liner will line up so I can vent from the top or will have to use the rear option.
If I have to use the rear vent option, there would be almost no horizonal run before I would use a 90 degree elbow to connect to the liner .

Is their any problem or difference in using a 5" liner vs a 6" liner in this instance?

 

[webbie]

Yes, you should use the same size as the outlet of the stove - only exception might be when it does not fit into the existing chimney - and with certain stoves - but that stove has a fairly large door opening and would probably smoke out the door with 5".

But you may have a bigger problem - this stove may not be approved to be put into this fireplace AT ALL. Do you have an owners manual for the unit and does that mention (and show how) to install it into a prefab? Most stoves are not allowed to be installed into these.

 

[jtp10181]

I have yet to see a stove that is allowed to be vented through a prefab ZC box / chimney. You should be looking at inserts.

 

[webbie]

jt, the HearthStone hearth stove is listed for this application - but I think it is an exception.......

 

[zzr7ky]

Hi

I also have an old heatalator type fireplace (house is 27 yrs old) with blowers on either side of the firebox and put a wood stove in the existing firebox as much as possible!

The Heatalator is not a ZC and the code was not an issue.

I installed a VC Resolute Acclaim on the hearth, extender the flue out the back 16" to a Tee and then straight up though the sloped portion of the firebox. I just bolted the damper closed after cleaning an laying a bead of silicone to seal it. I cut the steel with a cut off wheel and a Sawz-all. There was a bit of block above the sloped area that I rented an electric hammer drill to clear.

This allowed me to use a rigid 6" liner all the way up. I insulated it and it cleans very easily and drafts very well.

ATB,
Mike P

 

[webbie]

ZZ, the healilator mentioned by the posted most likely is a ZC, because only those use triple wall round chimney.

From the post "My current chimney is the standard 8” triple wall "

The difference is that yours is a "heat form" and his is a "prefab"

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Heatform/
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Heatilator/

ah, so much information, so little time...
:coolgrin:

 

[zzr7ky]

Craig -

Thanks for catching my mistake! I see a lot of those heavy old Heatalator fireboxes with blowers under standard masonry chimneys here. Perhaps less caffene and more detailed reading are in order!

ATB,
Mike P

 

[Upin Smoke]

First of all, thanks to everyone for all the good info. This forum has a lot of great input from very knowledgable people..... almost to the point of making me want to move from the south back to upstate NY so I can heat with wood year round (almost) but ....nah, on 2nd thought my wife have had more than our fair share of experiencing CNY winters!

I don't know if my fireplace is an actual heatalator per se as the information on the steel tags has long ago rubbed off. It does have an adjustable air intake for outside air, has a double steel wall firebox, a cement floor firebox, and definately does have 3x wall 8"stovepipe.

I didn't see where the Jotul manual says it is approved for fireplace inserts so does this mean I have two options left vs using the existing fireplace ?

1) Get a fireplace insert that's approved to fit inside zc fireplaces with 3x wall pipe
2) Set a stove on the hearth, vent it out the rear approx 14" then up the existing chimney using a liner

My hearth as well as the entire wall the fireplace is on is brick if that is a factor.

If either of these are viable options, what other factors should I consider before purchasing?

While I don't need a wood heat source down here to actually heat with (and the fireplace installed in the houses down here were definately not meant for that purpose) I would like to burn wood in something a little more efficient than I have now, especially in cases of power outages, etc.