Blaze King Install Question- Vertical Pipe Rule

[shoot-straight]

it seems all the BK stoves require 2-3' of vertical pipe directly from the stove before any elbows and such to ensure good flow of gas from the stove at lower flue and burn temps.

how many broke this rule, and what is your setup and have you had any problems?

my avatar shows my current setup. its an oversized fireplace with a 2.5 story masoned chimney lined with ss. my house is pretty drafty. i have crazy draft, thats whay i want a BK, because its system will help to control excess draft without me babysitting it. i want an ashford, but i will have to do a 45 one way to 45 another to get the pipes aligned and would have minimal space to do so. the other problem is that the heat control knob is all the way in the back.

i am really not ready to give up on this yet. i really like that stove!

 

[Highbeam]

If the restriction caused by the bends can be overcome by a long enough chimney then I would say it is a reasonable install. Give BK a call, surely their princess insert is expected to be installed with a bend near the collar.

 

[altmartion]

the 2 45's should help reduce draft. sometimes more than others. is the draft high all the time?

 

[shoot-straight]

If the restriction caused by the bends can be overcome by a long enough chimney then I would say it is a reasonable install. Give BK a call, surely their princess insert is expected to be installed with a bend near the collar.

i spoke with BK, they stand by their 2-3' requirement. i would expect them to. they dont want someone buying a 2900$ stove and it not operating properly. and im sure in most cases it wont work. BUT- im sure there are execptions, and people who have done it anyway and had success (or failure). those are the stories i want to hear.

a princess insert would be ideal for me- the knob is in the front and its designed to sit in a fireplace. however my opening is 43" h x 40" w and is not a raised hearth. an insert would like crap i think, even if i got a larger custom metal shield made up.

 

[shoot-straight]

the 2 45's should help reduce draft. sometimes more than others. is the draft high all the time?

pretty much. when the cold/wind combo kicks in, its really strong. even on a fairly still, damp but just cool day, i have never had a draft issue.

and yes, the 45's would reduce draft, thats why they want the straight pipe.

 

[Rickb]

I have 2 45's directly above my stove that connects to 6' of dbl wall stove pipe that connects to 20' of class A. With a cold stove I have to leave the door ajar for 5 minutes or so to get the draft going good but after that no problems.

With the stove warm its open it up, rake coals, fill with wood, close door, wait 5 minutes, close bypass, wait 2-5 minutes, turn air to low. I don't even bother doing it in increments.

 

[altmartion]

can you buy baffles for this stove?

 

[shoot-straight]

I have 2 45's directly above my stove that connects to 6' of dbl wall stove pipe that connects to 20' of class A. With a cold stove I have to leave the door ajar for 5 minutes or so to get the draft going good but after that no problems.

With the stove warm its open it up, rake coals, fill with wood, close door, wait 5 minutes, close bypass, wait 2-5 minutes, turn air to low. I don't even bother doing it in increments.

thats exactly what i was looking to hear! thanks!

 

[weatherguy]

With that big a fireplace opening you can't get it to line straight up? You always have the choice of some good rear vent stoves, like a PH.

 

[shoot-straight]

With that big a fireplace opening you can't get it to line straight up? You always have the choice of some good rear vent stoves, like a PH.

i want to keep as much of it out of the fireplace as i can for many reasons but because the control knob it all the way in the back is #1. center part of my pipe is 8" from my back wall. its over 10" to the center of the ashford pipe.

PH? do you mean Pacific Energy? all the ones i see are top vent?

 

[NVHunter]

When you are saying 2-3' your referring to 2' minimum, 3' recommend correct before any elbows correct?

 

[shoot-straight]

When you are saying 2-3' your referring to 2' minimum, 3' recommend correct before any elbows correct?

yes, thats whats in their install/owners manual.

 

[Todd]

I think their rule is for the minimum height chimney of 14-15', so the taller the chimney the less vertical pipe you could get away with. I had about 18" vertical, 2 45 elbows, 2' horizontal then 18' straight up for my Princess and it worked fine.

 

[aansorge]

i want to keep as much of it out of the fireplace as i can for many reasons but because the control knob it all the way in the back is #1. center part of my pipe is 8" from my back wall. its over 10" to the center of the ashford pipe.

PH? do you mean Pacific Energy? all the ones i see are top vent?

By PH he means this...http://www.woodstove.com/progress-hybrid

 

[shoot-straight]

By PH he means this...http://www.woodstove.com/progress-hybrid

Ah. Yeah, I really like the auto damper/thermostat feature of the bk. I have a soapstone stove now. They have good and bad points. Thanks for the link.

 

[bsruther]

I was just wondering about this same issue today. I made my fireplace opening big enough that I could fit pretty much any free standing stove in it. Got to looking at the BKs and found out about the no bends within 3 ft thing. My clay flue is flush with the back wall of the opening and I'd have to have the liner offset about 6 inches, right above the stove.

Guess I'll have to settle for one of those short burn stoves.

 

[Rickb]

I was just wondering about this same issue today. I made my fireplace opening big enough that I could fit pretty much any free standing stove in it. Got to looking at the BKs and found out about the no bends within 3 ft thing. My clay flue is flush with the back wall of the opening and I'd have to have the liner offset about 6 inches, right above the stove.

Guess I'll have to settle for one of those short burn stoves.

That what mine was. Once I went to install the stove it was about 6 inches off from the pipe. If I pushed it any further back I would not be able to use the bypass and the thermostat would be a pain to reach. 2 45's offset me the perfect amount and I have seen no issues so far.

 

[NVHunter]

I'm going to have to use 2 45s also in my install. Their going to start 30" above the stove. Will this be an issue? 6" shouldn't cause that much of an issue right?

I know the Lopi cape cod has even more strict restrictions when you can use elbows or bends.

 

[bsruther]

That what mine was. Once I went to install the stove it was about 6 inches off from the pipe. If I pushed it any further back I would not be able to use the bypass and the thermostat would be a pain to reach. 2 45's offset me the perfect amount and I have seen no issues so far.

How tall is your chimney?

 

[NVHunter]

When you use 2, 45 degree elbows can you put an adjustable length pipe piece between them?

I've looked into Duravent's DVL stove pipe line and see that you can put 2 45's together or put a 6" pipe length between them and such. Can you put one of their adjustable pipe pieces between them to make a different offset and rise other than what's stated in their catalog?

 

[Rickb]

How tall is your chimney?

Tall.... 20" Class A plus 5' or so stove pipe.

 

[shoot-straight]

I'm going to have to use 2 45s also in my install. Their going to start 30" above the stove. Will this be an issue? 6" shouldn't cause that much of an issue right?

I know the Lopi cape cod has even more strict restrictions when you can use elbows or bends.

well considering a cape was my follow up choice for a non-cat stove... its just makes the ashford a logical choice. im glad to hear the success stories.

 

[NVHunter]

well considering a cape was my follow up choice for a non-cat stove... its just makes the ashford a logical choice. im glad to hear the success stories.

Shoot straight, I think I was wrong when I spoke earlier, the lopi requires 84" from the hearth before it can have a 90 for a wall exit.

Not sure what, if any restrictions there are for just installing a set of 45s above the stove. Sorry for the mix up

 

[oconnor]

General rule of thumb if I recall correctly is that you lose 5 feet of effective chimney height for each 90 degree bend in the flue. With a tall flue (30feet) you will be better off than using two 45s on a 20 footer. Other factors like flue location (inside or outside the envelope of the house), lined, insulated, basement install, leaky home, etc will add or subtract from there.

 

[Calentarse]

I have a 13' chimney; it's 5' of single wall with 2 45s in the house then 4' double wall in the attic and 4' double wall out the top of my house. I have a 70s rancher so it's inside the tallest part of my house and supplied with plenty of air (leaky house). Does anyone feel that I'll be able to make this work? Yes, I know that full double wall is BKs recommendation...

BTW I've ordered BK Ashford 30 expected delivery within the next few weeks.