Hiram Maxim said:
I remember it being discussed here and per a discussion with Renovation George, cannot find the post anywhere.
Remember it not being advisable but would like some input from you guys!
My buddy currently has a 6" chimney and wondered what would be the pro's or cons to hooking it up to a 6" chimney???
His 6" chimney is on an outside wall and about 20 feet tall. He will only be heating around 800 sq ft. so it would be running low n slow.
Thank you, Hiram
Hi Hiram,
Good to hear (see) from you. I guess you've just been happily burning away with your King, nothing to say.
Yeah, I've researched and discussed this to death--maybe you couldn't find the threads because I'm (Curious) George now.
The upshot, both from theory and from folks who've tried it, is the drawback is smoke spillage on reload.
From experience, one guy is burning a King on a marginal 6" setup--14' total height, two 90 degree bends--and it works great except for spillage on reloads. Another guy reports a similar experience, but I don't know the details of his chimney. I'd love to get a report from someone who's burning one on a straight, 24' 6" pipe, since that's what I have on hand, but no joy.
Theory predicts that too, with a 6" pipe having half the flow volume of an otherwise identical 8" pipe with the door open. Also, BK specifies 6" for the Princess and 8" for the King, with the two having near identical maximum burn rates, but the King has the bigger firebox to generate smoke, and the bigger door to leak it. I asked BK to clarify, but got no response.
So the tradeoff with a 6" pipe is smaller firebox with Princess, versus danger of spillage on reload with the King, which personally I would find a PITA.
I hope this helps. Thanks for all the friendly help and advice you've given me!
BrotherBart said:
The usual thing the inspector asks is for you to hand him a copy of the manual. Which will state that the pipe has to be no smaller than the flue collar.
Actually, that's not correct.
The manual says:
"NEVER USE A CHIMNEY CONNECTOR OR CHIMNEY FLUE SMALLER THAN THE STOVE EXHAUST, UNLESS APPROVED BY YOUR LOCAL INSPECTOR". (caps theirs)
In other words, it's up to your inspector--Blaze King doesn't say no to a smaller flue, but takes no responsibility.