Stove in the fireplace

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LehighGuy

New Member
Nov 15, 2014
13
Bethlehem, PA
I am trying to put a wood stove inside my fireplace. The clearances on all side are ok. The chimney is an interior masonry, 13" by 13", and is approximately 27' long from the fireplace. Do I need to run the 6" stovepipe all the way through the chimney, or can I just bring it in the chimney and let the end loose? I have been burning wood in this and another fireplace in the house with no problems, and the chimney was cleaned recently. Thank you for any advice, I am new to the world of stoves.
 
Yes, you will need a full liner of the dimension required by the stove. A fireplace's requirements are very different from a stove's. I'm not sure what stove will be for but the majority these days have 6" flues with some larger stoves being 8". Both sizes rely on good draft to perform correctly. Spilling a 6" flue into a 13" flue is going take it from ~28 sq in to 169 sq in or a 6X increase! That will totally kill draft. Imaging trying to drink from a 3" straw instead of a 1/4" straw.
 
Thank you begreen for the quick reply. If you can bear with a followup question, at "some" point the pipe goes to open air; if not 2' into the chimney, a few feet higher at the top of the chimney. What is the difference? Just trying to understand the physics of this.
 
You don't run "stovepipe" up the chimney. Stove pipe (also called connector pipe) is only used to get from the stove flue collar to a Class A chimney material. All the way up through the chimney to daylight needs to be a stainless steel chimney liner, topped with a seal and support plate, Class A chimney as required to meet code, and a rain cap. In fact, in your application, if the stove slides in far enough to align (or nearly so) with the chimney flue, you may end up connecting the stainless liner directly to an adapter on the stovetop at the flue collar. Above that, you should install a block-off plate at the top of the fireplace firebox. Rick
 
The physics of it are fluid dynamics. The stove is designed for a six inch chimney of at least 15 feet in height to create the draft to pull air through the stove to burn efficiently. A shorter stack opening into a larger open chimney will have a huge pressure drop at the point of exit into the larger flue and draft will, as they say in science, be crap.
 
By the way, welcome to the forum. And what stove are we talking about here?
 
Thank you guys! So if I drop a liner (say this one http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200485050_200485050) down my chimney and connect it to the stove directly with an adaptor, that would be OK? The differential pressure explanation for the draft makes sense, though the stove's manual says nothing about the 15' length for the pipe, it just has all sort of minimum measurements for the top of chimney being higher than windows, etc.
 
Thank you BrotherBart! It is a Vogelzang, which is light enough for me to move around and store in the basement at the end of the winter or when the wife wants it out of her sight. Everything else was too heavy and realistically wouldn't work for us as it would be a more "permanent" fixture. I was just trying to see if I can get away without stainless steel lining, so we can take the whole thing out easily and burn open fire in the fireplace relatively easily if needed.
 
Which model VG stove?
 
Run it carefully. The air control is coarse and these stoves can runaway and overheat easily. Watch for cracks also.
 
Yeah i cant beleive they still sell those things you couldnt get me to burn one on them in my house for anything
 
Thank you BrotherBart! It is a Vogelzang, which is light enough for me to move around and store in the basement at the end of the winter or when the wife wants it out of her sight. Everything else was too heavy and realistically wouldn't work for us as it would be a more "permanent" fixture. I was just trying to see if I can get away without stainless steel lining, so we can take the whole thing out easily and burn open fire in the fireplace relatively easily if needed.

Once the liner is in there it's pretty much a permanent fixture. You sorta need to make a choice on what you want.
 
Yeah i cant beleive they still sell those things you couldnt get me to burn one on them in my house for anything
I believe the instructions for that stove state its not to be used in homes. Bought one many years ago. Sent it right back after reading the directions. Directions clearly state the stove is for cabins and garages and NOT residential occupied homes. Shipper paid freight both ways.
 
About as safe in your living room as a barrel stove.
 
Once the liner is in there it's pretty much a permanent fixture. You sorta need to make a choice on what you want.

Not at all liners can easily be removed and fireplace brought back usually with out much trouble
 
Not at all liners can easily be removed and fireplace brought back usually with out much trouble

To install a liner correctly it is supposed to be insulated. Who wants to install and remove that ?
 
I know it needs insulated i say that every time any one asks about installing a liner. And every liner we put in is insulated and in a 12x12 fireplace flue it is almost always wrapped which means it is no problem to pull it out i have pulled quite a few really not that big of a deal. And even if the damper frame was notched as long as the installer did it cleanly and left the peices that can be put back as well or just go with a top sealer instead.
 
For a couple hundred you put a chimney top damper on the thing to return it to fireplace use. They are better than the thing that was in it in the first place.

Now if you bust the tiles out of one, as some guy here does a lot >>, the party is over as far as going back to a fireplace if you sell the place.
 
We rarly bust tile out for a 12 by 12 fireplace liner most of the time it is for an 8x8 or 8x12 stove or furnace chimney. There is amost never a reason to break out 12x12 liners unless you are relining them for an open fireplace. I really dont see your aversion to breaking out liners bb in lots of cases it is the right approach but clearly not in this instance
 
Most people might want to sell the house some day.
 
Most people might want to sell the house some day.

Yes and what does that have to do with breaking out an old liner to put in a better one around here that would increase resale value. Every time you say that i tell you thAt we almost never break out liners in a fireplace it generally is not needed that and honestly inserts and stoves in fireplaces are less than 10% of the liners we do in our area it is more common to have a dedicated stove flue
 
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