Installing a pellet stove , venting ? help.

[Mikey pellet guy]

Hello. I am Installing a st croix pellet stove in my basement, and i have a couple venting dilemmas. Okay I am cutting a 5 inch hole in concrete to the exterior , now inside where the pipe will go through i have wood support beams just above my drill spot what kinda of clearance am i gonna need from those beams to the vent pipe which is single 4 inch pipe no double lined. I was thinking if i did need a certian clearance i could easily make a metel heat shield to protect that wood from to much heat. Second question. On the exterior i wanted to put a flash cover over the pipe just for looks purposes but the flashing is 12 half inchs there is no room exterior wall cause i am trying to avoid drilling into the aluminum siding. Any other options for this ? I have included i picture of the two beams and where the pipe will run between them. How close can the stinger be to the ground on the exterior its a brick ground

 

[johneh]

After looking at your picture I have more questions than
answers . Why single walled smoke pipe ?
Is the distance between floor joists 12in. ?
Why is there a cement block in the joist bay ?
Why are the joists set on concrete and not a gasket and base plate ?
Wood rots faster sitting on cement.
Your set up would not pass code here .
Check with your building inspector I do not think he will let
you get away with what you want to do with the pipe you want to use.

 

[tbear853]

For sure .... you don't want the pellet stove upstairs in living quarters I take it. To me, that was the big selling point on a pellet stove when we did ours in 1992. No where near the mess of a wood burner.

I too never seen wooden joists set in concrete. Here, they sit on top of the sill (pressure treated in mine) which sits on a termite shield (which in turn sits on a foam seal in my case) and no flues go through the ribbon.

But past that, pellet vent is double walled and usually insulated here to keep interior temps higher for control of condensation which I recall being told was very corrosive with pellet soot / ash in the mix .... and that inner is stainless steel. Made just like gas stove flue pipe, but with the added insulation and stainless steel instead of aluminum. Outside pipe is same galv steel shell.

I'd make a thimble or find one and run that flue below the joists a couple courses and for sure, use the correct pellet flue pipe .... it also will have lower outside temps than single wall and will out;ast the regular 5 inch stove pipe.

Thimble could be a piece of well casing with two ends welded in place and a 3 or 4 inch hole through center. Mortor seals the thimble. I wouldn't run pellet vent alone through block or concrete. Several options.

 

[Mikey pellet guy]

After looking at your picture I have more questions than
answers . Why single walled smoke pipe ?
Is the distance between floor joists 12in. ?
Why is there a cement block in the joist bay ?
Why are the joists set on concrete and not a gasket and base plate ?
Wood rots faster sitting on cement.
Your set up would not pass code here .
Check with your building inspector I do not think he will let
you get away with what you want to do with the pipe you want to use.

Thanks for the reply. The house was built in 1951 so that might explain why the floor joist is sitting on the concrete. Which i didnt even realize thats a issue good point there. The joist are 15 inchs apart. I was thinking single pipe cause its the concrete i am running the pipe through. Also i have a pellet stove upstairs already

 

[Mikey pellet guy]

For sure .... you don't want the pellet stove upstairs in living quarters I take it. To me, that was the big selling point on a pellet stove when we did ours in 1992. No where near the mess of a wood burner.

I too never seen wooden joists set in concrete. Here, they sit on top of the sill (pressure treated in mine) which sits on a termite shield (which in turn sits on a foam seal in my case) and no flues go through the ribbon.

But past that, pellet vent is double walled and usually insulated here to keep interior temps higher for control of condensation which I recall being told was very corrosive with pellet soot / ash in the mix .... and that inner [I[e is stainless steel. Made just like gas stove flue pipe, but with the added insulation and stainless steel instead of aluminum. Outside pipe is same galv steel shell.

I'd make a thimble or find one and run that flue below the joists a couple courses and for sure, use the correct pellet flue pipe .... it also will have lower outside temps than single wall and will out;ast the regular 5 inch stove pipe.

Thimble could be a piece of well casing with two ends welded in place and a 3 or 4 inch hole through center. Mortor seals the thimble. I wouldn't run pellet vent alone through block or concrete. Several options.

Okay thank you for the reply. I am glad i wrote this blog it definitly gives me some things to think about. So what your saying is the condesation created by the pipe could cause weakness in the concrete? No aluminum would be used here its steel pipe for pellet stoves 4 inch 570 degree rating.

 

[tbear853]

Wouldn't worry about the concrete, it's the steel unlined stove pipe that will rot. Pellet vent has a SS liner, it's gonna last.

 

[Mikey pellet guy]

Wouldn't worry about the concrete, it's the steel unlined stove pipe that will rot. Pellet vent has a SS liner, it's gonna last.

I dont know how everybody got the idea I was using improper pipe , guess i wasn't clear on my post sorry people. Anyways thanks for the reply. I went to the building inspector & pulled a permit , which i wasn't happy with the fee but after talking to him and receiving some tips i actually didnt mind the permit fee it seem worth it cause know i am more confident in what i am doing. Its very simple actually , the pipe iam using is double lined steel with a clean out at the bottom, i will be drilling a 5 inch hole to run the pipe then re mortor the pipe in smooth to the concrete slap a exterior face plate done thats it. The joist are not a issue as long as there is 1 inch clearance also i asked him about the joist sitting on the concrete , he said nothing new with that construction back then & that the wood will never rot cause of the type of wood he said is better qaulity than todays joist matrial. I looked very close at all my joist supports & they look like the day they were installed in 1951 from what I can tell they look good if they haven't rotted since 51 there not gonna.I just re read my original post & i did say single lined pipe but i meant no exterior air venting which i considered double lined. Guess i learned some stuff today. My bad.

 

[FirepotPete]

I dont know how everybody got the idea I was using improper pipe , guess i wasn't clear on my post sorry people. Anyways thanks for the reply. I went to the building inspector & pulled a permit , which i wasn't happy with the fee but after talking to him and receiving some tips i actually didnt mind the permit fee it seem worth it cause know i am more confident in what i am doing. Its very simple actually , the pipe iam using is double lined steel with a clean out at the bottom, i will be drilling a 5 inch hole to run the pipe then re mortor the pipe in smooth to the concrete slap a exterior face plate done thats it. The joist are not a issue as long as there is 1 inch clearance also i asked him about the joist sitting on the concrete , he said nothing new with that construction back then & that the wood will never rot cause of the type of wood he said is better qaulity than todays joist matrial. I looked very close at all my joist supports & they look like the day they were installed in 1951 from what I can tell they look good if they haven't rotted since 51 there not gonna.I just re read my original post & i did say single lined pipe but i meant no exterior air venting which i considered double lined. Guess i learned some stuff today. My bad.

You may want to consider using a thimble in that 5" hole for the pellet pipe to go through. If you are going to use mortar it's the same as concrete and can eat up some types of metal. I know they make different coating for metallic conduit that is going to be covered with concrete but that stuff isn't rated for any high temps that I know of.

At least with a thimble if it rots you will still have the pellet pipe and just replace the thimble. Just a thought. Good luck.

 

[Mikey pellet guy]

You may want to consider using a thimble in that 5" hole for the pellet pipe to go through. If you are going to use mortar it's the same as concrete and can eat up some types of metal. I know they make different coating for metallic conduit that is going to be covered with concrete but that stuff isn't rated for any high temps that I know of.

At least with a thimble if it rots you will still have the pellet pipe and just replace the thimble. Just a thought. Good luck.

Ahh thanks I have it going know with steel double wall pipe i will watch for condensation. Inspector said it should be okay with the mortor patch. Its code according to him.

 

[tbear853]

Yeah, I got to thinking about the 1951 date afterwards .... maybe they did treat the wood or dip the ends? Probably real 2" or even 2-1/4" thick too.

Your posts led me to think you were using single wall regular flue pipe. Latest clears it all. I might still would use a piece of schedule 40 well pipe through the concrete and motor that in place and that way my flue pipe would be easy to replace .... but that's "just me".

Sounds like you have it figured out .... folks like pics.

 

[Mikey pellet guy]

Yeah, I got to thinking about the 1951 date afterwards .... maybe they did treat the wood or dip the ends? Probably real 2" or even 2-1/4" thick too.

Your posts led me to think you were using single wall regular flue pipe. Latest clears it all. I might still would use a piece of schedule 40 well pipe through the concrete and motor that in place and that way my flue pipe would be easy to replace .... but that's "just me".

Sounds like you have it figured out .... folks like pics.

My bad on the pipe info. I have never installed a pellet stove before so my terminology is off , but i have gained knowledge now and will be more comfortable next time. I appreciate all the response cause i do value your opinion's even if i dont always take the advice. A wall thimble would have been the better option , budget was a a factor as long as it is code i am happy. All pipe joints are held with two screws per joint & high heat silicone per seam no leaks , seems to be venting very well. Dont worry about the outlet issue that is my next upgrade.

 

[johneh]

That looks like it will work OK
I don't see a surge protector on it Very Important

 

[Mikey pellet guy]

That looks like it will work OK
I don't see a surge protector on it Very Important

I knew that was gonna be said lol that is part of the ugrade beside the outlet , surge protector was suppose to be included with the stove , i will pick one up at work tomorrow.

 

[Mikey pellet guy]

Its amazing by just installing my stove in the basement & running on low heat has kept my upstairs floors warm enough that my upstairs stove is only working half as hard as it used to. So when i purchased the second stove i thought well i am gonna burn more pellets makes sense right? I have my upstairs stove turned way down burning very little pellets. No more feet draft.

 

[Mikey pellet guy]

I worked on my st croix till one in the morning last night. My heat distribution fan was making a funny sound & not much output , so i tore into that removed the fan housing attempted to remove the cage blades , but broke my hex its pretty tight in there. Instead i just took my air compressor blew out anything in there clearing some ash , The fan & housing looked pretty new. Being that i bought this stove refurb from a distributor supposedly it had been gone through , i didn't believe it after the way that fan was sounding. After all that i lubricating the motor was important to me. I re installed the fan which is very easy in & out then preceded to tear into the exhaust distribution, well not such a easy task at about the last 11 32 nut no room! I did get it removed & a little different story with this dirty motor & housing this had not been touched , the housing was caked with carbon ash , so with the handy dandy screw driver i scraped it clean & sucked it out cleaned up the motor. Lubed it re sealed it with high heat silicon, by the way whats with the cotton gaskets just junk ! Ya i know a little more work to get the fan out next time but i didnt glob it in there a thin layer is all i needed. The stove works like new and quite better air flow to boot i am a happy camper & know whats under the hood.

 

[MtDew]

That's a fiberglass gasket. You will have a heck of a time the next time you need to remove that fan assembly! Also adding sealant to every pipe joint sound good until you need to take them apart for cleaning. A lot of people have been using the self sealing silicone tapes, allows removal and reuse.

 

[Mikey pellet guy]

That's a fiberglass gasket. You will have a heck of a time the next time you need to remove that fan assembly! Also adding sealant to every pipe joint sound good until you need to take them apart for cleaning. A lot of people have been using the self sealing silicone tapes, allows removal and reuse.

Self sealing tape okay i will keep that in mind. I dont plan on removing any piping any time soon I never take piping apart to clean i run a brush & use a leaf blower suction once every 7 days so i never let it get that much build up The exgaust fan shouldnt be to bad . iam gonna have to find a different gasket cause i dont want to replace the fiberglass every time i clean that fan which is quite often for me i am anal about my stove being clean. Hey I want to thank everybody who weigh in on this post i appreciate the feed back , your all bunch of good people