Last season of burning... thoughts?

ToltingColtAcres · Dec 13, 2018

I currently burn through about 3 cords of wood per season in my house (Jotul F55) through ~20 feet of 6" Class A chimney pipe. Stove vents off top up about 4 feet into a 90 ell, into a wall chase where it goes into a cleanout T and then straight up about 20 feet.

Overall things work okay but I've been constantly fighting smoke in the house whenever I have to reload. Have done the usual things based on feedback in the forum and while it's better, it's still there, have never solved it 100%. There's usually a fine layer of grey dust around the house by the end of burning season.

My wife is pregnant (due in May) and suffice to say she's concerned about burning wood and the possible respiratory effects on our newborn next year. Thus possibly this is my last season of burning.

I was thinking of changing over to a pellet stove, which (may?) solve some of the issues w/ getting smoke in the house, since I'd be loading in a hopper and not opening the firebox to reload.

However, can I vent a pellet stove into my class a chimney, or would I have to replace the chimney? The latter is not really an option, as the chimney runs through the center of the house and is for the most part enclosed in a chase which would require demolition/replacement/reconstruction (not to mention the hole in the roof). Perhaps a SS liner through the Class A? But how would I deal w/ the existing cleanout T and ell? (suppose I could disassemble it, but then I'm not sure what would be holding up what is above it.)

Any thoughts? Thanks

dozerdean · Dec 13, 2018

ToltingColtAcres said:
I currently burn through about 3 cords of wood per season in my house (Jotul F55) through ~20 feet of 6" Class A chimney pipe. Stove vents off top up about 4 feet into a 90 ell, into a wall chase where it goes into a cleanout T and then straight up about 20 feet.

Overall things work okay but I've been constantly fighting smoke in the house whenever I have to reload. Have done the usual things based on feedback in the forum and while it's better, it's still there, have never solved it 100%. There's usually a fine layer of grey dust around the house by the end of burning season.

My wife is pregnant (due in May) and suffice to say she's concerned about burning wood and the possible respiratory effects on our newborn next year. Thus possibly this is my last season of burning.

I was thinking of changing over to a pellet stove, which (may?) solve some of the issues w/ getting smoke in the house, since I'd be loading in a hopper and not opening the firebox to reload.

However, can I vent a pellet stove into my class a chimney, or would I have to replace the chimney? The latter is not really an option, as the chimney runs through the center of the house and is for the most part enclosed in a chase which would require demolition/replacement/reconstruction (not to mention the hole in the roof). Perhaps a SS liner through the Class A? But how would I deal w/ the existing cleanout T and ell? (suppose I could disassemble it, but then I'm not sure what would be holding up what is above it.)

Any thoughts? Thanks

Yes u can. U need a adapter 3 inch to 6 inch.

Bert Dawes · Jan 18, 2019

ToltingColtAcres said:
I currently burn through about 3 cords of wood per season in my house (Jotul F55) through ~20 feet of 6" Class A chimney pipe. Stove vents off top up about 4 feet into a 90 ell, into a wall chase where it goes into a cleanout T and then straight up about 20 feet.

Overall things work okay but I've been constantly fighting smoke in the house whenever I have to reload. Have done the usual things based on feedback in the forum and while it's better, it's still there, have never solved it 100%. There's usually a fine layer of grey dust around the house by the end of burning season.

My wife is pregnant (due in May) and suffice to say she's concerned about burning wood and the possible respiratory effects on our newborn next year. Thus possibly this is my last season of burning.

I was thinking of changing over to a pellet stove, which (may?) solve some of the issues w/ getting smoke in the house, since I'd be loading in a hopper and not opening the firebox to reload.

However, can I vent a pellet stove into my class a chimney, or would I have to replace the chimney? The latter is not really an option, as the chimney runs through the center of the house and is for the most part enclosed in a chase which would require demolition/replacement/reconstruction (not to mention the hole in the roof). Perhaps a SS liner through the Class A? But how would I deal w/ the existing cleanout T and ell? (suppose I could disassemble it, but then I'm not sure what would be holding up what is above it.)

Any thoughts? Thanks

Congrats on the newborn, Pellets Stoves offer a lot but it also comes with a lot of responsibilities, such as cleaning and maintaining it properly to burn efficient. I prefer mine over a wood stove any day. Things to consider is you will still get a small amount of smoke smell when you open the door to scrape the burn pot, or quick clean unless you shut it down completely and let it cool. You have to keep the pellets in a completely dry environment so they dont get moisture in them. They make adapters to plum into existing stove pipes or a sleeve for a chimney. Also price out pellets per ton in your area and check availability. hope it helps

jerrieric · Jan 18, 2019

Bert Dawes said:
Congrats on the newborn, Pellets Stoves offer a lot but it also comes with a lot of responsibilities, such as cleaning and maintaining it properly to burn efficient. I prefer mine over a wood stove any day. Things to consider is you will still get a small amount of smoke smell when you open the door to scrape the burn pot, or quick clean unless you shut it down completely and let it cool. You have to keep the pellets in a completely dry environment so they dont get moisture in them. They make adapters to plum into existing stove pipes or a sleeve for a chimney. Also price out pellets per ton in your area and check availability. hope it helps

Depends on the stove I never have to scrape my burn pot between cleanings and for me that's every 5 days after burning 24/7. And stove Burns efficiently through the whole 5 days no matter what which cheap pellets I put in it.

Bert Dawes · Jan 18, 2019

jerrieric said:
Depends on the stove I never have to scrape my burn pot between cleanings and for me that's every 5 days after burning 24/7. And stove Burns efficiently through the whole 5 days no matter what which cheap pellets I put in it.

I give a quick scrape of the burn pot everyday, this way the stove goes a month or 2 with out cleaning it, much easier than shutting it down every week for a cleaning, mine burns 24/7.

Darkwing · Jan 18, 2019

I would go with pellets again as well...
Wood is easier, cheaper and quieter as my US Stove now, but the physical strain and space needed for wood hauling, stacking and burning is a factor we love to be gone...
Now its a few times a month vacuuming, and i can run the stove 24/7 which was impossible with wood, if it did not set alarm clock...
My hopper easily fits enough to run the stove 48 hours straight...
Only real concern is the fan...these babies rely on a constant going fan...and if you have it in your living room where you also listen to music/tv, it can get to a point where you turn it off to enjoy the movie...hahaha
But that is probably more a low budget stove issue and not when you pay decent money for it (mine was a black Friday special for 850 new at tractor surprise)

jerrieric · Jan 18, 2019

Bert Dawes said:
I give a quick scrape of the burn pot everyday, this way the stove goes a month or 2 with out cleaning it, much easier than shutting it down every week for a cleaning, mine burns 24/7.

You must have a big ash bin

Bert Dawes · Jan 18, 2019

jerrieric said:
You must have a big ash bin

Harman P68 My normal pellets put off very little ash, these mess of pellets i had to buy last week because they were out of my normal will prob. have the pan full in a month

Connecticut Yankee · Jan 18, 2019

Check out the different brands and models available in your area, to make sure you get something that will meet your needs. In contrast to what others have posted, my stove needs to be shut down and cleaned every third day or so, and the pellet hopper only holds one 40-lb. bag and a bit. I use a little more than a bag a day, so either I have to get up in the middle of the night to refill the hopper, or try not to spill pellets everywhere putting in half a bag.

That said, although I'd prefer to have a bigger hopper and let the stove go longer between cleanings, I like this stove a whole lot, and its limitations are not actually all that burdensome. I also suspect there are probably better ways to manage things, but I am new to stoves and am enjoying figuring it all out.

Although I would enjoy burning actual wood, my physical limitations mean that a pellet stove is the way to go, for our household. To me, it's kind of like the difference between a car with standard transmission and no power steering or power brakes, versus a Cadillac with everything. They both have their charms, but you go with what works best in your own situation.

batchman · Jan 19, 2019

I replaced a (finished) basement wood stove that wouldn't draft (unless I opened a door or window) with a pellet stove because the draft is forced.

Your wood stove has a much larger flue than most pellet stoves will recommend. The standard fix is to line the vent, which was going to be prohibitive in my case (36' masonry chimney). My solution was to buy a big stove (so the 7' square flue was less waaaay beyond spec) and run it non-stop. I was able to pass my 4" pellet stove vent through the 6" pipe into the chimney to a flex-pipe pointed "up" and call it a day. A few professional chimney cleanings showed no issues, it's good to go without that now.

The stores I worked with all said I was going to die without the $1500 liner. Well, of course, but not from this... Physics wasn't my strong class but I can see how it works

.

With my large stove I run low-ash pellets, roughly 2 bags per day, this lets me dump the ash bin every ton or so and clean every year or so. I did do a "build thread" (that sorely needs updating) and I've posted on the vent topic a number of times. Research is an important step.

I still burn cordwood in my living room insert, the fan noise is a bit much, but the sound system copes

.

Congrats on the family expansion, it's a wonderful thing (but time goes even quicker than people warned me!). Pellets will definitely clear up the smoke smell but you should keep a CO detector - actually should have that anyway...

Good luck,
- Jeff

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Last season of burning... thoughts?

ToltingColtAcres

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dozerdean

Burning Hunk

Bert Dawes

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jerrieric

Feeling the Heat

Bert Dawes

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Darkwing

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jerrieric

Feeling the Heat

Bert Dawes

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Connecticut Yankee

Burning Hunk

batchman

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