Baby Bear Collar

[admiralk]

My Efel has seen its last days and I am in the process of replacing it with a Baby Bear. After fighting the elbow for quite some time, I thought to turn it around and the female (uncrimped) end slid right on. I am wondering if that is normal? I need another piece of pipe to move it farther from the wall anyway, so would like to make only one more trip.

TIA, Kirk

 

[coaly]

All older stoves had thin wall pipe that measured 6 inches outside. Later, pipe was made for the stove industry with 6 inch inside to fit stove pipe. To make stove pipe fit inside, you need to use hand crimpers and go around it a few times crimping it down smaller until it fits inside. As you do this, bending it outward prevents the pipe from getting funnel shaped too much. Facing all joints male end down allows any condensate to drip back into stove being consumed instead of leaking out at joints.

Another way if the pipe is on the side or back, is sliding the side of a Tee over the outlet pipe. This allows condensate to drip down into the capped off end instead of leaking out where it will run down the inside of an elbow.

 

[coaly]

There are also stove adapters made for fitting into the smaller collar. They are best used on top vent stoves where there is room for a straight adapter coming off the stove. Make sure your single wall pipe has 18 inches to any combustible or use close clearance double wall pipe which is good down to 6 inches clearance.

 

[admiralk]

Hi coaly,

I am going from 8" to 6" so if anything I will be further away from the wall with the pipe than before. I also used a tee which, I think, is why this stove seems closer to the wall. It sounds like a tee and a short piece of pipe would do the trick. It just seemed strange that the collar was backwards.

I am going to have to keep an eye on the chimney at first, but have never had to clean it in 20+ years. Not that crud did not pile up in the tee. I always ran the Efel wide open, but plan to be a bit more moderate with this stove.

I definitely want to add a baffle. The one in the Efel was in bad shape when I got it (but hey, what do you want for $10) and as it deteriorated it was clear what good it (used to) did.

I appreciate your input.

Kirk

 

[admiralk]

Hey coaly, thanks for the tip on crimping the pipe. I did have a funnel shape at first, and while it got the pipe started, it was not very secure. I would have thought bending out would make it bigger, but it is good and tight now with about an inch of pipe inside the collar. I am not sure how that will change once it heats up, but it as good or better than I had with the Elel.

Without any holes in the collar, is there a good way to secure the pipe to the stove?

 

[coaly]

Drill at least one hole for a sheet metal screw. 3 are required at each pipe joint. Most older stoves I’ve had only had one (or none) in the collar, but 3 is best. Heating it up shouldn’t change the fit at all. If there are any gaps, 3 screws through the collar tends to pull the pipe out to the collar to make a good fit. A leak at the collar allows air to leak in and the oxygen at the hot collar can ignite smoke in the pipe. A secondary burn right there makes the pipe glow above the leak.

 

[admiralk]

OK, I will try to get a hole drilled tomorrow. I did not have the pipe screwed on my Efel, but did knock it off one time. That was not a pleasant experience.

I fired it up tonight to burn off paint and all before it gets cold Sunday. Instead of bringing in armloads of wood, I am having to find the smaller splits to keep it going. The pipe is relatively cool. I think the paint on the stove is still sticky, but too hot to touch long enough on top. Good thing I am comfortable in high temperatures.

I just had another thought, How long is it supposed to take to build up the inch ash bed this is supposed to have? I changed the damper from wide open to ~3 turns from closed with my 4th piece of wood and I am still on the bricks, mostly.

 

[coaly]

A couple days of burning. If you keep it going, remove the ash that burns down very fine at the front each morning. Then rake a little ash with any coals and charcoal from the rear ahead. Build your new fire on the coals. This prevents the need for allowing it to go out to remove ash.

 

[admiralk]

Sounds good. Tomorrow night it starts dropping down bellow what I call comfortable, so will be doing more than a test burn.

I have to thank you for the upload of Bob's book. I have only gotten through chapter 3, but wonder how he and thoreau would have gotten along. Probably not well, but they seemed to have a similar mind set.