90* Single Wall stovepipe elbow - female on both ends?

[mineitnow]

Hello, finally got my Hurricane stove installed and we're very happy with it! Holds a fire well and is easy to control the temps/fire. We're still learning, but by next winter we'll have all of the nuances figured out...

Anyway, the stove is rear exhaust. It has about a 12" opening (a flange welded to stove which is round) - there is an adapter that goes from 12" to 8" stovepipe, which I assume came with the stove. Anyway, that means a 90* elbow is required, from that adapter, in order to go vertical. My problem is the adapter (12" to 8") that came with the stove has crimped (male) 8". I installed my stovepipe "male down" (crimp down) from the triple to single adapter below the ceiling box, which allows the creosote to run down inside the pipe. However, due to the orientation of the adapter on the back of the stove, I had to install the 90* elbow the opposite direction, and use a female-female cut section of stovepipe to couple the elbow to the vertical stovepipe. This is allowing the creosote to run out of the "coupler" piece of stovepipe, and down the outside of the elbow. I need a 90* single wall elbow that is female on both ends. I've looked around some but cannot find one. Can anyone point me to a link, store, chain, etc, where you know they carry them.

Thanks in advance, and thanks for the great research resource - it helped much with installing my hearth and stove!

 

[begreen]

A female to female elbow is just going to move the leak further downstream to where it joins the stove adapter, or if an adjustable elbow, to the seams. I would try to either flatten out the crimping on the stove adapter or if there is enough meat there, trim off the crimp? If that is possible, I would then use a seamless elbow.

Are you burning nice dry wll-seasoned wood? How much smoke is coming out of the flue when you are running this stove?

 

[mineitnow]

Yes, dry seasoned softwood, but I am running the stove at lower temps than ideal for non-creosote formation. I don't seem to be getting any excessive smoke out of the flu, but I am "choking" the fire quite frequently, so I do have a little extra...

I'm not sure if there is enough room on the stove adapter to trim off the crimp. I don't know about trying to flatten the crimp, either - seems like that might end up in a mess, although I suppose if a guy was careful he could hammer them out carefully. Never done it before, so I don't know...

I suppose it might run out of the bottom of the elbow, if I had a female-female -- however, I think that would be a little better than the setup I have right now.

I haven't looked, but another option might be to trim the crimp off of the elbow itself...

I'm looking for all suggestions - feel free to give your opinions. I'm just a little unsure why they designed the adapter that way?

Do they make a female-female?

 

[Dune]

Mine came backwards too. I made the female x female elbow by pounding out the crimps. I happed to have an anvil set up so it was an easy job on the horn, but it could be done with other means such as a chunk of solid round bar or a 3 or 4 inch water pipe or a sledge hammer head held in a vise.. I think I also had to recrimp the male on the stove pipe too. I made a crimping tool by welding 3 pieces of 1/4" round bar on the jaws of an old worn out set of tongs, paralel to the handles, and each other, two on one jaw and one on the other.

 

[begreen]

To hammer out a crimp takes a little patience, but it can be done. You need to have an anvil held against the inside of the crimp as you hammer on the other side. The butt end of a wedge or maul might work. HeatFab's elbow has a pretty light crimp that 'might' work: http://www.efireplacestore.com/cpf-21353.html

But it's better to burn shorter, hotter fires to keep the creosote at bay.

 

[mineitnow]

Thanks guys - yeah, I think I'll hammer them out on like a 6" piece of pipe or something - I'll have to experiment a little. I have a metalworking shop so I have most things available...

I think part of my problem is that I grew up using wood in the midwest, nearly 30 years ago, and we burned nearly all hardwood. Creosote was a problem, granted, but never seemed that big of an issue. Now I'm burning softwood - pine, poplar, what they call "elm" out here, etc. Seems like it makes a lot of creosote, even if it's dry. Plus, I have to admit, I think my wife had it fired really low for a couple of days, which might have contributed some also. Anyway, learning to go from hardwood to softwood isn't that big a deal, but they show different characteristics. And learning a new stove at the same time...well, let's just say I'm learning as I go...