Basement installation

[B00mer]

I'm a newbie at this so sorry if I'm posting in the wrong place. I just installed an Englander pellet stove in my basement and I think I may have received bad advice from Home Depot. This is what I have: (on inside) a Tee in the back of the stove, 3 ft vertical pipe, 90 elbow, 1ft horizontal through window that a replaced glass with sheet metal, (outside) another tee with 3 ft vertical and a vertical cap. The guy a Home Depot told me to use a vertical cap so I did not have to add another elbow. But the cap is only like 3 inches from my vinyl siding which I think is too close. If I remove the cap and put another elbow on with a horizontal cap do I have too many albows and will I have to go to 4 inch pipe? Someone told me that the last elbow doesn't count. Is that true. Thanks for the help.

 

[MSmith66]

Home depot should not be telling people how to install.

Your Manual will tell you NOT to install below , or between windows. IT does not matter that you put steel in place of your window. IT should not be place in a window.
You should use a wall thimble into a WALL not a window thimble, ((there is NO such thing))

 

[cncpro]

I would expect that the building inspector would accept the basement window being permanently sealed with sheet metal and the pipe running through it.

The trick with windows is the word "operable"... For example, my building department would have allowed me to screw a window shut and therefore consider it "inoperable"

Now the issue of the termination cap... That sounds like an issue...

 

[bostonbaked]

If all else is up to code you should just increase the lenght of pipe used to go through the wall. If you increase that piece you will be far enough away from the siding. You may have to make up some type of bracket to stabilize it. I think the cap is supposed to be at least 12 inches away from the siding.

 

[B00mer]

Home depot should not be telling people how to install.

Your Manual will tell you NOT to install below , or between windows. IT does not matter that you put steel in place of your window. IT should not be place in a window.
You should use a wall thimble into a WALL not a window thimble, ((there is NO such thing))

Maybe a bad choice of words about receiving bad advice from Home Depot. It was just his opinion and he was up front with me that I need to follow local code. He was actually quite knowledgeable. And it is ultimately the customers responsiblity to make sure to follow code. I appreciated his advice. I respectfully take exception that Home Depot should not be telling people how to install. They are after all a DIY store. That was the whole reason for buying the Englander in the first place. I was short on money and did not want to pay a professional installer. And based on their excellent web site and video, it seems like Englander caters to customer like me. As far as the wall thimble. It's my understanding that the wall thimble is simply to protect the pipe from combustible materials, such as the wall. What if I went through the concrete? Is there a concrete thimble? I may be wrong but since I made the window inoperable and used a non-combustible material, I don't think a thimble is necessary. I'll let all know what the inspector says. Does anyone else have any insight to the window part of the installation? Thanks all for your help.

 

[DiggerJim]

Maybe a bad choice of words about receiving bad advice from Home Depot. It was just his opinion and he was up front with me that I need to follow local code. He was actually quite knowledgeable. And it is ultimately the customers responsiblity to make sure to follow code. I appreciated his advice. I respectfully take exception that Home Depot should not be telling people how to install. They are after all a DIY store. That was the whole reason for buying the Englander in the first place. I was short on money and did not want to pay a professional installer. And based on their excellent web site and video, it seems like Englander caters to customer like me. Correct. The DIYer is their target market. Tech support is only as far as this forum away Mike Holten is a member here and works for them although I can't recall seeing him posting in the past few weeks. As far as the wall thimble. It's my understanding that the wall thimble is simply to protect the pipe from combustible materials, such as the wall. What if I went through the concrete? No thimble necessary. Cut a hole just big enough to slip the pipe thru and silicone around it to seal it. Is there a concrete thimble? Nope. I may be wrong but since I made the window inoperable and used a non-combustible material, I don't think a thimble is necessary. I tend to agree - although you didn't make it insulative - the metal will draw heat from the pipe and may transfer it to anything combustible it is in contact with. Thimbles have an air pocket around them which provides insulation as well as non-combustibility provided by the metal thimble. If it's the typical basement window, it's in a metal frame embedded in concrete which makes this a non-issue for you. I'll let all know what the inspector says. Does anyone else have any insight to the window part of the installation? Thanks all for your help.

 

[B00mer]

Maybe a bad choice of words about receiving bad advice from Home Depot. It was just his opinion and he was up front with me that I need to follow local code. He was actually quite knowledgeable. And it is ultimately the customers responsiblity to make sure to follow code. I appreciated his advice. I respectfully take exception that Home Depot should not be telling people how to install. They are after all a DIY store. That was the whole reason for buying the Englander in the first place. I was short on money and did not want to pay a professional installer. And based on their excellent web site and video, it seems like Englander caters to customer like me. Correct. The DIYer is their target market. Tech support is only as far as this forum away Mike Holten is a member here and works for them although I can't recall seeing him posting in the past few weeks. As far as the wall thimble. It's my understanding that the wall thimble is simply to protect the pipe from combustible materials, such as the wall. What if I went through the concrete? No thimble necessary. Cut a hole just big enough to slip the pipe thru and silicone around it to seal it. Is there a concrete thimble? Nope. I may be wrong but since I made the window inoperable and used a non-combustible material, I don't think a thimble is necessary. I tend to agree - although you didn't make it insulative - the metal will draw heat from the pipe and may transfer it to anything combustible it is in contact with. Thimbles have an air pocket around them which provides insulation as well as non-combustibility provided by the metal thimble. If it's the typical basement window, it's in a metal frame embedded in concrete which makes this a non-issue for you. I'll let all know what the inspector says. Does anyone else have any insight to the window part of the installation? Thanks all for your help.

Thanks for the reply. This site is great, I wish I found it before I did the install. But I feel pretty good about it from your reply. You are correct it is a metal frame embedded in concrete. I suppose in hindsight going through the concrete makes more sense but for someone who is only semi-handi drilling through my foudation seems scary.

 

[bostonbaked]

Boomer, If they fail you for the window set up do what I did. Home depot rents a drill and carbide coring bit for 4 Inch hole for $ 62.00 and change. I drilled a perfect hole through an 11 inch thick foundation wall in about 20 - 25 minutes. Like Digger said no thimble is needed so cost is about the same.