Clean out T inside, is it smart?

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MrJitters

Member
Jun 10, 2008
106
Vermont
I'll ask this now that I've installed one inside. :) It was the cause of my getting miniscule, but noticable amounts of smoke inside. ICC Excell 4". The gasket looked great and appeared to seal well, but obviously not. I had to seal the cap with silicon. What do you guys think?
 
If I could have put the cleanout T outside I would have.
It was not possible with the way my stove is installed.

Imo it would better to clean it outside than inside the home.
 
zeta said:
If I could have put the cleanout T outside I would have.
It was not possible with the way my stove is installed.

Imo it would better to clean it outside than inside the home.

Yup, I agree. I know little of this so I guess my question is, are the cleanout T's made for inside use?
 
According to the illustrations in the installation
manual that came with my stove, the cleanout T
is fine for an inside or outside install.
No worries there.
 
zeta said:
According to the illustrations in the installation
manual that came with my stove, the cleanout T
is fine for an inside or outside install.
No worries there.

Phew, that's good news. Thanx!!! Appreciate the help. :)
 
I love having mine inside. I think it's easier. I just cleaned mine and had maybe a half a teaspoon full of ash. Here is a pic of what it looks like. FYI-This pic is decieving, pipe is 5 inches from the wall.
 

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sydney1963 said:
I love having mine inside. I think it's easier. I just cleaned mine and had maybe a half a teaspoon full of ash. Here is a pic of what it looks like.

Nice looking install!! Congrats. :)
 
I think it's just a matter of what's the more logical place to put it. I agree that having it outdoors is cleaner, but an indoor cleanout is more convenient, especially in the winter.

here's my install...I had no choice on the T location:
 

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Pretty setup macman.
 
MrJitters,

Do you have pics of your set up. Would like to see them.
 
macman said:
I think it's just a matter of what's the more logical place to put it. I agree that having it outdoors is cleaner, but an indoor cleanout is more convenient, especially in the winter.

here's my install...I had no choice on the T location:

I did have a choice of inside install vs. outside and decided on inside as a warm inside pipe draws smoke up and out easier than a cold one. In case of power outages. Right?
 
sydney1963 said:
I did have a choice of inside install vs. outside and decided on inside as a warm inside pipe draws smoke up and out easier than a cold one. In case of power outages. Right?

Yes, I tend to agree with that statement. Especially since these pellet stove flues don't get anywhere near as hot as a wood stove like I used to have.
 
I put my T on the outside but I'm curious....how do you brush yours out without getting soot all over the house? I didn't want a pile of soot on the ground so I tried holding a vac hose at the bottom of the pipe while I'm brushing. That catches some of the fall out but not all. Is there some trick to doing this neatly that I've missed?
 
pegdot said:
I put my T on the outside but I'm curious....how do you brush yours out without getting soot all over the house? I didn't want a pile of soot on the ground so I tried holding a vac hose at the bottom of the pipe while I'm brushing. That catches some of the fall out but not all. Is there some trick to doing this neatly that I've missed?

Pegdot, that is exactly what I plan on doing when I finally have to clean it out...hold the shop vac nozzle right next to the cap while I remove it, and then duct tape it so it stays just inside the open end while I brush the rest of the pipe...or at least that's what I'm going to do in theory.
 
pegdot said:
I put my T on the outside but I'm curious....how do you brush yours out without getting soot all over the house? I didn't want a pile of soot on the ground so I tried holding a vac hose at the bottom of the pipe while I'm brushing. That catches some of the fall out but not all. Is there some trick to doing this neatly that I've missed?

My T is in the house becuz I have a basement install.
Brushing out the vent inside is not a big deal as I usually put a plastic bag under the open T to catch
any loose ash that falls out while brushing. I hold a vac hose at the bottom of the pipe while brushing too.

Works very well IF you remember not to let the vac hose get tooo close to the bag or
the vac will suck in the bag too and blow the loose ashes all over the place.
What a mess.

Don't ask me how I know this... :red:
 
macman said:
I think it's just a matter of what's the more logical place to put it. I agree that having it outdoors is cleaner, but an indoor cleanout is more convenient, especially in the winter.

here's my install...I had no choice on the T location:

OK I have to ask, is that tin holding your pellets next to the stove?? ANd where did you get that, Im looking to find SOMETHING to hold our pellets in, and just cant find anything...
 
pkryan said:
OK I have to ask, is that tin holding your pellets next to the stove?? ANd where did you get that, Im looking to find SOMETHING to hold our pellets in, and just cant find anything...

It's a old copper boiler that bought off ebay. They show up there a lot (search for "copper boiler"), although they get pretty expensive for the ones that are in good shape w/ lids, and even more for the ones that people have polished.

I bought this one 'cause it was cheaper (I think I paid around $55), was in good shape (no holes or big dents), and it was painted already. I'm eventually going to have an artist friend of mine re-paint it with a outside view of my log home w/ a thin whisp of smoke coming from the stove flue.

As for capacity, it will hold just about 1 bag of pellets. I also bought a plastic feed scoop to get the pellets out. It works for me.....
 
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