A Beginner

[lkptjeff]

I have a 30 year old Vt Castings stove with 8" pipe going into the chimney. The chimney is shot and I want it replaced with stainless steel pipe. I was told that to put up 8" stainless is a bad idea because stoves are no longer made in that size. The stove I have appears in good shape but I don't want to risk buying a new pipe if the stove had to be replaced in a couple years. We moved here a year and a half ago and have not been able to enjoy wood burning yet. I plan to have it done by the middle to end of summer. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeff

 

[berlin]

You should get second opinions on the condition of the chimney to make sure that someone isn't simply trying to sell you a liner as is often the case.

 

[wg_bent]

look at ventingpipe.com...they have 8" pipe.

 

[elkimmeg]

Someone is miss informing you. Vermont castings still sells the Encore and Defiant models, as well as the Large Dutchwest stoves with 8" flue outlets. Code will allow a 6" stove collar to vent into an 8" flue. code also requires the liner to be HT 2100 stainless steel

 

[lkptjeff]

I'm not looking at a new liner. The chimney does have to go and I want Class A Chimney pipe in its place. If I went with the 8" and later went to a 6" stove, would that have a negative effect on the draft?
Thanks again to all.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

Even though a 6inch stove will work on a 8 inch chimney, they can overdraft and be hard to start. 8 inch also costs more then 6 inch. The majority of stoves today have a 6 inch flue collar. In the future, who knows what size will be avalible. The more efficient the stoves get, the smaller the pipe gets as well. I would not spend the extra cash on a 8 inch chinney for a 30 year old stove. I would take the savings from the 6 inch chimney and put it toward a more efficient, less poluting model. My .02

 

[Eric Johnson]

I don't know if 7" pipe is still generally available, but could you split the difference and put in 7" pipe and legally vent either 6- and 8-inch vents into it?

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

you wouldnt want to neck down any stove, but you could vent a 6" stove in 7". Still, that stuff is not very avalible and woulndt make sense to install. It would be cost prohibitive. The stoves listed above by elk are the only few epa stoves that have a 8" flue collar that i know of. You would seriously limit your selection in the future by installing 8 inch pipe. If you do decide on one of those 8 inch stoves, then by all means install 8 inch pipe, im not shure those stoves are worth the extra expense of a 8 inch chimney. If i were on a budget, i would pick a 6 inch stove and a 6 inch flue, the 6 inch flue is most common and the lowest price.

 

[Sandor]

Even though a 6inch stove will work on a 8 inch chimney, they can overdraft and be hard to start. 8 inch also costs more then 6 inch. The majority of stoves today have a 6 inch flue collar. In the future, who knows what size will be avalible. The more efficient the stoves get, the smaller the pipe gets as well. I would not spend the extra cash on a 8 inch chinney for a 30 year old stove. I would take the savings from the 6 inch chimney and put it toward a more efficient, less poluting model. My .02

This is very good advice.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

Amazingly enough, sometimes people come in and want to buy 8 inch pipe and choke when i give them the price. We discount 6 inch pipe 25% when you buy a stove from us. It works out that the savings with the discount will almost pay for a steel stove like a quad. Its amazing how much 8 inch pipe is.

 

[Corie]

I think it's easy for people to think that two inches in diameter means you only add two more inches of steel to the pipe and call it a day. In reality it's a 75% increase in stainless steel in just the internal circumference of the pipe, and a 56% increase in insulated volume between 6 and 8 inch.

 

[fbelec]

I have a 30 year old Vt Castings stove with 8" pipe going into the chimney. The chimney is shot and I want it replaced with stainless steel pipe. I was told that to put up 8" stainless is a bad idea because stoves are no longer made in that size. The stove I have appears in good shape but I don't want to risk buying a new pipe if the stove had to be replaced in a couple years. We moved here a year and a half ago and have not been able to enjoy wood burning yet. I plan to have it done by the middle to end of summer. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeff

what model stove are you running now? how big is the area you are tring to heat? if your going to run the current stove for a while you might as well put in the 8 inch. like elk said you might replace your current vermont castings with a vermont castings and need a 8 inch pipe anyway.
but on the other hand i run a 28 year old defiant and when i moved in here the stove was in stalled like this 8 inch pipe to a reducer then into the chimney and it worked ok you just had to make sure when you opened the door that you did it slow or it smoked a bit. i since opened up the chimney and went 8 inch all the way and no problem now.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

The stove he is running now is a 30 year old VC. Thats the problem, if he wants to upgrade his chimney to stainless class A, why limit yourseft to 3 or 4 models of stoves on the market. 95% of the stoves being produced today use 6". I would not lock myself into a chimney that woulnd not perform well for most stoves on the market, therefore tying me into a brand that might or might not be any good in the future. Also most of the VC stoves that use 8" are catalytic stoves. Your going to pay 30% more for 8" chimney.

 

[fbelec]

sorry for not clarifying. that's why i said on the other hand and gave a for instance. if he is going to run the old stove for one more year before he can afford to buy a new than put in the 6 inch and try the old stove. it will most likely work he'll just have to be careful. i'm not trying to start a argument just trying to give my experience with my stove that might be the same stove. and i'll add that the chimney i have is 8 by 12 and is to short. meaning i don't have alot of draft because of the height. and my point is, is that my stove doesn't need a lot of draft and the six inch would most likely work.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

No argument here, i was just clarifying my point as well. The only problem is, you open yourself up to insurance libility if you neck your 8 inch stove to 6 inch. He realy only has three choices. Install 8" and use his old stove. Install 8" and buy a new VC, Install a 6" and buy any other stove out there, including VC. The problem is, the first choice would be the least amount of upfront cost at the moment, but future stoves wont work to there full potential on them unless he gets another VC. And who knows if VC is going to continue with 8 inch flues in the future, no one else is.

 

[fbelec]

gotcha. i understand.
didn't know the ins regs.

 

[elkimmeg]

Vermont castings makes an oval 8" to round adapter, but also makes 8" oval to 6" round plus optional 6" flue collar .

Your stove can run or be reduced to work in a 6" chimney. Their disclaimer is it can not be used in the open fireplace mode with the spark screen. This is for the defiant and encore models, including the new non cat Encore and defiants.

With this additional info you can use your existing stove with a 6" class A chimney and As MSG said not be limited in the future to 8" products

 

[cbrodsky]

Even though a 6inch stove will work on a 8 inch chimney, they can overdraft and be hard to start. 8 inch also costs more then 6 inch. The majority of stoves today have a 6 inch flue collar. In the future, who knows what size will be avalible. The more efficient the stoves get, the smaller the pipe gets as well. I would not spend the extra cash on a 8 inch chinney for a 30 year old stove. I would take the savings from the 6 inch chimney and put it toward a more efficient, less poluting model. My .02

Ditto what he said!

 

[lkptjeff]

I now know I'm going with a new stove and 6" chimney. Now all I need to do is find the best deal. There are a couple of dealers around and I'll be looking online. I'll be taking wood from my dad's land before the system is even ready.
Thanks again,
Jeff

 

[elkimmeg]

My best advice is find a trustfull local dealer. This on line pricing is useless when a warranty issue arises.
To some who are mechanically inclined and understand what is necessary or capable of making repaires,
on line pricing could work. This holds true for purchases of used stoves as well.