Outside elbows?

[Mr. Kelly]

Good Evening, most knowledgeable about wood heat...

I'm hoping that you can offer some opinions regarding an install that I have going tomorrow...

"The man" is coming tomorrow to install our PE Summit stove with a through-the-wall chimney system. If he goes out the wall and straight up, the pipe will run along the far side of the house near the front corner, away from the street. The front of the house faces parallel with the street, if you can visualize. The pipe will require a two-wire tether attached to the roof to keep it stable. Our house is a 250 yr. old farm house, which is somewhat a visual gem from the street. With a 8" pipe going along the far side at the front of the house, this will be an visual distraction; a wart, if you will.

There is an option that I'm hesitant to suggest to the installer, but maybe you can chime in on it? I could run the pipe through the thimble, up a few feet, and then put a short elbow in that will lead the pipe toward the center of the house. Close to the center, i could put another elbow to return the rise to straight up. This would bring the pipe up where the crown of the house is, and would reveal only a couple of feet of pipe from the road, and perhaps no tether would be needed. Visually, this would be much less distracting, as the crown of the house on the far side is not nearly as visible as the front side, which is where the initial install plan would take it.

So, would this setup play havoc with draft? Would I be much better off installing the pipe straight up with no elbows, and forgo the aesthetic part of it?

What do you think???

Hope all is well with everyone.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Can you move the stove to a different part of the house? If you resent the look of the chimney you will quickly start resenting the stove.

Matt

 

[Mr. Kelly]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the thoughts...

This particular spot in the house is the only make-sense spot for the stove, given the layout of the house, the available space, etc.. So, it's this spot or oil. That's my choice!

I wonder if we'll resent the annoyance of the chimney. But, we're thinking it might have to be the trade off. After all, if we cruise down the street, we aren't pointing out the houses that have ugly silver chimneys coming out into plain view. It sort of blends in if you aren't really looking for it. Plus, nowadays, if I see a chimney out the side of a house, it makes me think that someone is very warm inside!

Does anyone have elbows outside and get along just fine??

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I have seen pics of chimneys that jog around the eve of a house, but they were not 90 degree elbows.

Have you considered a pellet stove? Their vent pipes are no where near as visible as a conventional chimney.

Matt

 

[SlyFerret]

I don't believe you can put elbows in Class-A chimney when they are outside of the structure. For instance, you could use a pair of offset elbows inside of a chase or attic, but, once the chimney pipe is outside, it must go vertical.

One of the others who knows more about code can probably either confirm or deny this.

-SF

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Mr Kelly, I do not see how that would be any sort of an eyesore. I've seen many that go up outside the house and they are very close to the main entry of the house so are very visible. In addition to that, our SS chimney also runs up the side of the house but is on the back side so not very visible. It would not bother me if it were visible though.

By putting some elbows in any pipe makes for cleaning a very nasty job. Keep it straight as much as possible. Also, I hope they plan on putting an elbow in so you can clean it from the bottom up which saves a lot of climbing. Also, any horizontal pipe should have a minimum of 1/4" rise per foot of horizontal pipe.

 

[Mr. Kelly]

The installation fellow, who's here right now drilling the 12" hole that is needed for the thimble (I had to leave 'cause I couldn't bear to be around when he broke into the plaster!), said that in MA there can be 30 degree elbows outside, but he said the same thing... and that is that elbows outside make cleaning and maintenance a bear.

I'll live. Houses have all kinds of stuff hanging off of them, and this is just one additional thing. I just have to get over it and be happy with the warm house we'll hopefully soon have!

Thanks everyone for your input!

 

[awoodman]

Always try to keep the pipe as much as possible inside the house, it will draft better than a cold pipe running up the outside of the house.

 

[RIDGERUNNER30]

Hey mr kelly, I had the same problem you are worried about back in the spring, we purchased a wood stove and the only way i could install my chimmey without having to cut threw a second floor,, build a chase around the pipe in the closet on the second floor, was to have a threw the wall kit install along the outside wall of the house, so i decided to go with outside kit and I love mine they don't look bad at all, many people have them and one good thing about them is you have a tee outside with a clean out which makes cleaning the chimmey alot easier don't have climb up on top the house to clean it, look man it don't matter what people think, with your stove this winter you be very warm and toasty while the neigbors are paying big high electric and gas bills, when your install is finished post some pics like to see them .

 

[RIDGERUNNER30]

mr kelly one more thing people say that a cold pipe has a hard time drafting , I have been burning all fall and winter and have not had no draft issues, with these metal insulated pipes they are going to retain enough heat to make a good draft, I burn top down fires which get the flue pipe up tp temp fast and i have great results, hope evertthing goes good and have very merry christmas.

 

[PJF1313]

Mr. Kelly,

Give it the winter season. If you and/or your SO still don't like the look of the s.steel, in the spring/summer,
you could have enclosed with a chase and try to have the chase match your siding.

Have a Merry Christmas and a safe and healthy holiday season.

 

[begreen]

Where was the original chimney in the old house? Hard to believe there wasn't a central fireplace in that age of a home.

 

[Mr. Kelly]

Where was the original chimney in the old house? Hard to believe there wasn't a central fireplace in that age of a home.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts...

The original chimney has evidence of a stove, as there is a cap on a pipe that bulges under the horse-hair plaster. However, that site is in a part of the house that is not well traveled. It may have once been a "parlor" room, or even part of a kitchen, if it once held a stove. Undoubtedly, the house has been reconfigured somewhat over the years. No evidence of a fireplace. You're right, you'd think there'd be one!

The chimney is occupied by the oil burner in the basement, which heats our hot water, and will kick in to heat parts of the house that I suspect the PE Summit won't get around to, unless I'm fortunate to have the "breeze" flow in just the right directions!

Cross your fingers!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Mr. Kelly, don't forget that you do not try to move the heat by blowing it towards the cool part of the house. Do the opposite and blow the cooler air toward the stove. We set a small fan on the floor in the hallway and leave it set on low and it really warms the rear of the house whereas it used to be a lot cooler back there. Yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Good luck.

 

[firefighterjake]

Ah Mr. Kelly . . . what a long road we have traveled together in our pursuit for safe and warm heating (hopefully your blushing bride isn't too nervous still) . . . I remember well when you first came here and sought advice and it sounds as if very soon you will have concluded the first part of this journey and are about to take off on your second (and more rewarding and warmer) second part.

A few things . . . I was right where you were . . . I don't live in a jem of a house, but going with a chimney straight up or using an existing chimney was not an option for me either. 1) Due to the construction techniques there was just way too much stuff in the ceiling above (i.e. plumbing, wiring and more importantly stringers going the "wrong" way -- it's a long story involving folks that built my house with little building construction knowledge and 2) The house never had a proper chimney.

And so I went with the outside Class A chimney . . . even after realizing that establishing a draft could be an issue, I would lose some heat to the outside and there was the potential for more creosote build up . . . not to mention the look of a tall silver chimney going up the side of my house.

After a year plus of burning I am happy to report that many of the potential problems never materialized. Draft is rarely, if ever, an issue . . . the Oslo keeps the house toasty warm and burning the stove at proper temps with good, well-seasoned wood equals a happy chimney.

Now as for the look .. . originally I figured I would muscle through the first year and then build a nice chase around the chimney to prettify it . . . and then I realized something after a month or so . . . I realized that the only person who had a good view of the chimney was my next door neighbor -- the way this stove is situated you can barely see the top of the chimney from the road or driveway. I lucked out. However, even more importantly, I grew accustomed to the chimney . . . I suppose I could still enclose the chimney some day . . . but honestly, for me it isn't worth doing this just to make it look pretty. However, in your case, if you find this is an eye sore, building a nice chase and siding it to match your house may help blend the chimney in with the rest of the house so it doesn't stick out like an eye sore.

Incidentally, as RR mentioned . . . there is one very nice benefit to an outside chimney. If you have a T installed instead of an elbow cleaning your chimney is a wicked easy task. I mean I can take out three screws, pop the end cap and run my chimney brush up to the top and be done with cleaning my chimney in 10-15 minutes. When a task is this easy you are much more inclined to do it more frequently . . . no ladders, no balacing precariously on the steep, ice and snow-covered roof . . . it really is a nice benefit.

 

[cycloxer]

. . there is one very nice benefit to an outside chimney. If you have a T installed instead of an elbow cleaning your chimney is a wicked easy task.

Minuteman III installs have their benefits