Positive flue connection

[killerdyller]

Hey fellers,
I have decided to go with a drolet 1400i insert for my masonry fireplace. I know everyone will say that I need to run the full stainless chimney liner, but money just won't allow it now. For this year I plan on doing the minimum flue connection. My question is, what type of pipe would I run from the stove up through my blockoff plate? Every install I find on here is for the full stainless liner. The type of install I'm referring to is a sheet metal block off plate with some type of stove pipe ran a foot or so above the block off plate.
Thanks for the replys!

 

[rdust]

For a slammer install(obviously none of us will support this option) I would think a standard stove pipe would work? Liners are cheap if you can do the install yourself I wouldn't think of burning a modern insert without a full liner due to performance.

 

[fossil]

Has the masonry chimney been inspected by a professional? Is it tile-lined, intact, and safe? What are the dimensions of the flue? (If its cross-sectional area is greater than about 84 in², it's way too big). These are not superficial "give-the-guy-a-hard-time" questions. They're important. Say you go ahead and put it in...if the thing seems to work OK having been installed in this way-less-than-optimal fashion, what makes you think you're ever going to come back and do it the way it should have been done in the first place? Maybe wait on the whole project until you're ready in all respects to do it the way it oughta be done...? Rick

 

[mellow]

You would need an appliance connecter and about 6ft of 6" flex liner. You would need to make a block off plate which if you search on here you can find well written write ups on that. You might have to do some searching to find a piece of flex pipe that short, most start at 15ft long, maybe call around and see if a stove shop has some extra flex liner that is rated for wood stoves sitting around from previous installs.

The problem with a to the first tile connection is your draft will suffer, will it work, maybe, the other issue is cleaning the chimney, with this type of install the liner has to be removed every time you sweep the chimney.

We all understand that money is tight these days, we have also seen people that have tried this and have to scrap it and install a full liner due to insufficient draft.

 

[fossil]

Yup...cleaning the flue I forgot to mention...easy peasy with a full liner, notso with a direct connect. Big difference.

 

[ridemgis]

A friend of mine recently yanked out an old Jotul 602 that had been installed this way. The creosote build up in the lower section of the chimney (smoke shelf?) was at least an inch of hard shiny stuff that had to be smashed out before he could install a proper liner for a new F100. Having seen that mess, I'm a believer of all those here who recommend against your plan.

 

[Ashful]

We all understand that money is tight these days, we have also seen people that have tried this and have to scrap it and install a full liner due to insufficient draft.

I'm one of those. My old Jotul 12 is installed with a 6" connector feeding an 8" round clay tile flue. It's actually within the limits listed in the manual, and works well enough in cold weather, but the draft is insufficient to burn slow and low without backpuffing in the shoulder seasons (when you really want to do that). I have a guy coming tomorrow to quote me on installing a 6" insulated liner in that 8" flue.