Horizontal Install and Selkirk Direct-Temp - Soot issues on outside wall?

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Sir_Lancelot

Member
Oct 21, 2010
22
SW Ontario
I'm looking at switching to Selkirk Direct-Temp whenever the need to replace my Bixby Maxfire (3" inner pipe; 5" outer pipe) arises. Currently, I have a basement install with a 9' vertical rise and a 2 foot horizontal termination. In order to prevent soot-buildup on my outside brick, I had to extend the 3" center exhaust pipe a few feet. Does anyone have a horizontal termination using Direct-Temp and if so, do you have any issues with soot buildup on your outside wall? If not, how far away from your wall is the termination? If so, what have you done to prevent the buildup? Thank you?
 
Soot is a byproduct of poor combustion and a dirty stove more than actual placement of the pipe. If you're getting your house all charred up from 2 feet out, you have issues beyond the pipe.
 
I have almost the identical vent installation as you. My termination cap is about 16" from the siding and no issues with soot. I do have the cone-shaped "jet cap" on the end - not sure if that makes a quantum difference or not.
 
I have an up and out vent setup with Selkirk direct temp with the nozzle type termination. I think they call it the decorative cone. And mine is pointing to the prevailing wind (north wall). The nozzle works well by entraining air and shooting it out away from the house. Works similar to lab exhaust terminations.
 
Thanks for the responses. The Selkirk termination seems like a better design than the latest Bixby one. Although the first generation Bixby cap that I had wasn't perfect in keeping the exhaust gases away from the air intake and the wall, it was much, much better than the third generation cap that I had to switch to after the first one rotted away from burning corn the first few years that I owned the stove. With the third generation cap, I had nothing but burn problems because the air intake was continually pulling in the exhaust gases that weren't being driven out far enough from the termination.

As for the soot buildup, although the cap is only out from the wall by about 12 inches, I didn't have the problem with the first generation cap. However, with the new cap, by the end of the burn season the wall has a bit of soot buildup that needs to be scrubbed off. I originally thought about extending the Bixby pipe out a foot more, but decided not to as it wouldn't solve the problem with the exhaust being sucked back into the air intake. So, I simply removed the outer part of the termination cap and extended the inner 3" pipe out and put a 45* on the end of it...soot and burn problems solved. Of course, I kept the original termination cap so that I can put it back on for my yearly insurance company visit in May!

The fact that the Bixby stove was only certified to use "Bixby" piping and highlights this fact extensively in the owner's manual, makes changing it out for something else pretty difficult when your insurance company is diligent in doing inspections regularly.
 
I have almost the identical vent installation as you. My termination cap is about 16" from the siding and no issues with soot. I do have the cone-shaped "jet cap" on the end - not sure if that makes a quantum difference or not.

+1 and I exit under a deck, no issues and I can see no discoloration of any kind.
 
yup, working good here too. white vinyl siding too.
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