decision made on stove, more questions.

[Dave P]

After much thought and a great deal of help from this site,I decided to go with the Scan Anderson stove. My next big conundrum has to do with the best option for hook up. I have a ZC fireplace and would like to have your input on which way to go. One, is to tear out fireplace and cut access from back of chase to hook up new connection. Or, leave fireplace in and line existing flue for hook up to back of stove. I know if I leave fireplace in place I will have to keep the circulating vents open to keep fire box sake.
The dealer tells me my class A flue must be lined. I'm not sure I understand why but maybe you folks could explain.
Thanks for all the help,
Dave

 

[Gooserider]

If it's an insert, unless rated otherwise it MUST be put into a firebox in order to be safe. If the firebox is a ZC unit the insert MUST be rated as OK to be put into it. Your class A flue might need to be lined in order to meet cross sectional area requirements - current rules say no more than 2x the stove outlet on exterior chimneys and 3x on interior - and it is better if you are the same. It may also have to do with the nature of the pipe coming out of your ZC firebox - many ZC chimneys are specific to the firebox they were put in with, and must be lined w/ an insulated liner to be safe.

Gooserider

 

[jtp10181]

If you truly have an existing ZC unit and you bought a stove... You may be in for a surprise. Very few stoves are approved to be vented through a ZC firebox / chimney. I am not familiar with that stove so I don't know if it is or not. You may end up having to tear out the old fireplace and run a totally new venting system. If you are lucky and the old ZC unit is hooked to class A you might be able to adapt your new stove to it. You will probably have to tear out the ZC box to make it legit though.

 

[begreen]

The Scan Anderson is a freestanding stove. Very sleek, clean lines. Your dealer is correct. If you do a search on zero-clearance stoves, you'll find a lot of info recently discussing this type of installation.

My bigger concern with the Scan Anderson is that this is a tall stove. Are you certain it will clear at the top with room to connect the flue?

 

[jtp10181]

BeGreen, is that stove approved to be installed through a ZC firebox? I could not find anything about it in the install manual.

(broken link removed)

 

[begreen]

Yes, they seem to have avoided the entire issue of installing in an existing fireplace, ZC or masonry. I was assuming the installation is ok as long as all code issues with clearances and a continuous liner are met. But I'm sure Elk will chime in soon if I'm wrong.

 

[jtp10181]

Unless specifically approved, from what I understand, no stove can be installed through a ZC firebox. We ran into trouble with this recently and I did a lot of research on it. In the end we are tearing the stove out and replacing it with an insert (one approved for ZC installation).

 

[Dave P]

I have plenty of room as my fireplace is now 18'" off the floor so in fact I plan on mounting the Scan on a raised hearth. The class A fits directly to the top of the ZC now, so I was hoping to be able to tie into the Class A at that point. But, I'm not going to take any chances so I guess I'll pull out the FP.
If I tie the stove pipe into the proper tee ( after ZC is gone) will I still have to line this class A double wall pipe? The dealer says yes but what has changed to make this pipe unsafe?
It would be great to hear from anyone who has gone this route. One question would be how you supported the long run of class A while pulling the fireplace out? I guess I'll have to frame a wall in fireplace opening and mount a tee behind this wall to support chimney pipe.

I appreciate the help.

Dave

 

[jtp10181]

What kind of class A is it? What size? What brand of ZC unit is it? Most used thier own air cooled chimney systems. A few used Class A, so its possible thats what you have.

To support it while removing the unit you might need to get above it somehow and install some roof support brackets, which can really be mounted anywhere. If you see a set in a catalog you will understand what I mean.

I don't have enough information to say if the dealer is correct in stating you must re-line it. My guess is that the existing class A is 8" and the stove is 6". It may work fine in the 8" and the dealer is just playing it safe.

 

[Dave P]

Thanks jtp,
It's a KIT(sold under the Security name) zc fireplace and I used Security 8" chimney system.
Dave

 

[jtp10181]

So technically you could probably adapt the 6" up to 8". The dealer might be playing it safe and wanting to do the re-line to make sure your stove draws properly.