Does wood stove venting really have to cost so much?

[ajonate]

I built a cabin a little over a year ago in NE Nevada, and have managed to acquire a free wood heating stove. The concept is great, since I spend a fortune on propane in the winter months. However, I've been learning that the Class A vent pipe can make this a pricey project.

I don't know a lot about the stove since the nomenclature plate has been painted over. If I look at the plate in the right light I can see that it's called a Hexagonal Stove, bit I can't make out a brand or model. Here's what the stove looks like.

In addition to the stove itself, I also got some 8" stove pipe and 8" Class A parts.

If it's going to be a project costing $1500 or more to install proper venting for this thing I'm wondering if it's worth doing.

One suggestion a local hearth store has made is to not use the 8" vent pipe at all and reduce to 6", since my cabin is small and I won't be building very large fires. Reducing to 6" should be sufficiently large to vent smoke and gasses, but keep flue temperatures up to prevent creosote build-up.

Does anyone here have any suggestions on keeping costs down in a wood stove venting project? Is reusing the 8" pipe a good idea?

 

[BJ64]

Greetings and welcome.

I don't like the looks of the 8" pipe but I'm just some Okie bumping the thread. There are people here that know what they are doing that can give you real advice on the pipe.

You may be able to do better than I did but, I was able to put in a 6 inch Supervent brand chimney from Lowes for about $550. That was everything from the stove to the chimney cap and myself doing it.

 

[crazy_dan]

I also used the super vent from Lowe's and it run me about $700 from stove top to chimney cap, but I did use double wall stove pipe inside.
Class A chimney pipe if cared for properly and a good quality pipe is bought it will last you for about ever the super vent is stainless interior and exterior and has a lifetime warranty for as long as it is in the original installation location. so a $6-700 investment is not that bad. If you are able to go with 6" that means if you ever upgrade to a modern EPA certified stove than you will be all set as almost all of the EPA certified stoves I have seen use 6" flues.

 

[ansehnlich1]

Hey I'm just an ole Pennsylvania boy, and one thing I have is honesty. You'd be better off in your cabin to put a nice little EPA rated stove and appropriate chimney. In the long run you'll be 1,000 percent happier.

Take that hex stove to the recycling center, get a couple bucks for it at the scrap yard, or freecycle it to somebody, just my .02 cents worth.

Welcome to the best wood burnin site on the planet!

 

[ajonate]

Hey I'm just an ole Pennsylvania boy, and one thing I have is honesty. You'd be better off in your cabin to put a nice little EPA rated stove and appropriate chimney. In the long run you'll be 1,000 percent happier.

Take that hex stove to the recycling center, get a couple bucks for it at the scrap yard, or freecycle it to somebody, just my .02 cents worth.

Welcome to the best wood burnin site on the planet!

As I said, I don't know a lot about the stove. I don't know what it might or might not be rated for, but it seems like a sophisticated device. I suspect that the rope gasket around the door could stand to be replaced, but that's small potatoes. The stove interior is heavily lined with refractory.

What would I gain by getting another stove? What problems do you anticipate with the one I have?

 

[crazy_dan]

The only problems I see is clearance since you have no book and cannot read the tag you will need 36" to combustibles.
I like the look of the stove and since you are putting it in a cabin that I assume is not going to occupied full time and it will be burned occasionally.
Then I say make sure all the controls work give it a little sanding and a shot high temp paint replace the door gasket and burn it.
If the cabin is going to be occupied full time than a new EPA certified stove would give you more heat per amount of wood, give you longer burn times, reduce some clearances, and have a window for looking at the fire

 

[ajonate]

The only problems I see is clearance since you have no book and cannot read the tag you will need 36" to combustibles.

Actually, there's a metal plate on the back that provides a 2" or so gap. I suspect that's to allow closer placement to the back wall. Here are some images to show you what I mean.

I like the look of the stove and since you are putting it in a cabin that I assume is not going to occupied full time and it will be burned occasionally.

Actually, it's a 2-story cabin that I live in full-time. Maybe the term "cottage" or "small house" would have been more appropriate. I'll have to take a newer image if it for you, but here's what it looked like last fall before I added a 5' extension on to the right side of the house for a bathroom.

Unfortunately, the porch overhang is going to complicate the chimney installation.

 

[begreen]

That looks like an interesting heater and like you say, it may be fairly sophisticated. But it will still need 36" clearances in all directions. Given this is a tiny house, that would be most of the first floor. And anything less than kindling would likely turn the place into a sauna. The stove simply is a very poor fit for the house. You'd be better off selling the stove for whatever you can get and rethinking the heating.

To answer the first question: yes vent pipe is expensive and no I would not install any in this tiny house. What's the first floor sq ftg.? It looks to be about 96 sq ft. Is that close? What are your heating options besides wood? Do you have electric or only propane? That would be my first choice. Most folks report very tiny heating bills with these micro-dwellings. Even a tiny wood stove will take up too much precious space and will need very frequent feedings to a tiny firebox. Not worth it IMHO.

 

[ajonate]

To answer the first question: yes vent pipe is expensive and no I would not install any in this tiny house. What's the first floor sq ftg.? It looks to be about 96 sq ft. Is that close?

Actually, the main floor, as you see the house, is 12x18, or 216 sq.ft. Since that time I've added a 5x12 bathroom, which brings the main floor to 276 sq.ft. The upstairs floor area adds another 270 sq.ft, minus the stairwell.

 

[begreen]

Ah, ok. I was thinking maybe 4' on centers for the posts. Sounds like it's 6'. Still, this house would be best with a very small stove. That big hex tank probably could heat 2-3000 sq ft once it got up to full steam. Cute place BTW.

 

[ajonate]

Ah, ok. I was thinking maybe 4' on centers for the posts. Sounds like it's 6'. Still, this house would be best with a very small stove. That big hex tank probably could heat 2-3000 sq ft once it got up to full steam. Cute place BTW.

Thanks!

Yes, I'm aware that it's a high btu output stove. The obvious tip-off is the 8" vent. That's why I said the flame would be low. I suspect that if I install it that I'll be throttling the flue damper pretty low most of the time.

The point of me building the cabin in the first place was to live rent & mortgage free through the difficult economic times we're facing. I was hoping to add "propane free" to the list with the wood stove.

 

[JustWood]

If it were me on a tight budget I wood give the stove a try with 6" chimney. That sure is a beefy stove. It will prolly last forever. Maybe you could close in the porch with poly carbonate and have a greenhouse for the extra heat. Greenhouse wood make a great heat dump for when that brute of a stove got to screamin' .

 

[begreen]

Throttling down the stove to kindling level is counterproductive. I can appreciate the sentiment, but this stove is too large. Also, it's against code to reduce the flue pipe diameter unless the mfg. specifically sanctions it. It's a case of trying to shove a square peg into a round hole, bad fit.

As you've noticed, the vent pipe will be costly. This is one place you don't want to scrimp. Given the cost, you might find that it will take many years to amortize the expense. I'd go a year on electric or propane and see how your bills are. In the meantime you can have your eye out for a small Morso or Jotul stove. They will work fine with 6" pipe. Regardless the wood is still going to need fuel to cut it down and transport it to your house, so it's not fossil free. Very little is these days.

 

[ajonate]

Regardless the wood is still going to need fuel to cut it down and transport it to your house, so it's not fossil free. Very little is these days.

Actually, wood isn't a problem for me right now. The primary ground cover around here is shoulder-high sage trees. While sage trees are too scraggly for use as any kind of lumber, they do make great firewood. Before I first started working on my cabin I hired a guy to take the sage down with a tractor and a "brusher", which breaks the sage trees into small pieces. Now I have over 2 acres covered in wood pieces that are already about the right size for a wood stove. There's probably 2 years of wood that only needs to be picked-up and put in the stove.

 

[Nic36]

I'm in agreement with the others on not using the stove. I have a small house too. It's about 830 square feet with and open floor plan. I have the smallest of Pacific Energy stoves and even it is almost too much. It was 80 in the main room before I went to bed last night, and I was not even running the stove very hard. I think you'll be heated out of your house if you use that one.

I would look at going with propane or maybe electric. I know you want to be as independent as possible. For what it will cost you to buy new stove chimney, you could probably buy a propane tank and a heater. Propane heating units that mount on the wall are pretty cheap and save a ton of space. They're efficient too.

 

[ajonate]

I would look at going with propane or maybe electric. I know you want to be as independent as possible. For what it will cost you to buy new stove chimney, you could probably buy a propane tank and a heater. Propane heating units that mount on the wall are pretty cheap and save a ton of space. They're efficient too.

That's what I've resigned myself to. I already have a thermostatically controlled propane furnace that I used last winter, and then a kerosene heater for backup. The worst months (December & January) cost $150 to $175 per month for propane. It would take a while to make that up with wood.

I just got off the phone with a friend who knows just about everyone in town. He's going to put the word out on this wood stove to see if someone can use it. It should be good for heating a workshop or barn, if not a larger home.

 

[branchburner]

Maybe you can swap for a smaller stove.

 

[ansehnlich1]

I just got off the phone with a friend who knows just about everyone in town. He's going to put the word out on this wood stove to see if someone can use it. It should be good for heating a workshop or barn, if not a larger home.

Man am I glad to hear you say that! You keep your eye out for a small stove, I don't know what you got out there for big box building supply stores, but here in the east we got Lowe's, Home Depot, Tractor Supply and such. These places have relatively inexpensive woodstoves, I've seen small ones for $699. Now, if you could get one that is to heat, say, a 1000 sq. feet, you'd probably be ok. You'd have to put another 600 or 700 bucks into pipe, and you'd have to build a hearth that meets the stove requirements.

Keep your eye out for small, used, EPA stoves.

 

[bayshorecs]

With that small of a house I would just insulate the heck out of it and light a candle

 

[ajonate]

With that small of a house I would just insulate the heck out of it and light a candle

Admittedly, a $160/month maximum propane bill isn't a lot. About 4 years ago I had a 2-bedroom apartment in this area and had winter natural gas bills of over $200, but heating energy was a lot cheaper back then. My cabin is small and well insulated, so I've got that working for me. But this isn't about saving money as much as it's about security.

I'm setup to heat with either propane or kerosene right now, but it wouldn't take too severe of a disruption in transportation to have a supply problem with both. The necessary elements for surviving a deep depression will be to have food, shelter, and a way to keep warm. I live rent & mortgage free, and I've got a few hundred pounds of dried beans & rice on hand. That's two out of three. A wood stove will give me the third.

 

[Prada]

It's very understandable what your trying to do. I mean being self sufficient is a wonderful feeling. That stove won't work though at all in that amount of square feet. Shame we don't live closer to each other, my hubby would love that big old stove out in his large pull building. It looks tough but the emissions on it would probably keep him from using it just so his conscious would be clear. lol
If you want a 'backup' for hard times.......listen to what BeGreen has told you about finding one of the REALLY SMALL stoves that meet todays emissions standards with 6 inch pipe. I would use a heat shield even on a small one along with double wall 6 inch pipe too. When I say a REALLY SMALL stove, that is exactly what I mean. BeGreen can give you the model numbers on the ones that I'm talking about.

 

[ajonate]

If you want a 'backup' for hard times.......listen to what BeGreen has told you about finding one of the REALLY SMALL stoves that meet todays emissions standards with 6 inch pipe.

Yes, I'm looking at small stoves now. It's too late to do anything abut it this year, but I'll try to work it into the summer improvements next year.

 

[begreen]

If you want a small stove, look at the Morso 1410 or 1440, but if you find a good used Morso 2B, that would work too. For Jotul I'd keep an eye out for a good condition model 602, 602CB or a Nordic F100.

However, and this is getting more into green room territory, but I'm thinking in Nevada, that I would be putting a solar heater on the building. There are two approaches hot air or hot water. The hot air system will work when it's daytime, but a large mass needs to be established to store heat in the daytime and release it at night. But that could be a sunspace that adds comfort, a growing area (to supplement those rice and beans), and some more stretching space. At night insulated blinds or panels could hold in the heat. A hot water solar system has the added benefit of providing domestic hot water plus water is a good storage medium for overnight heat.

 

[bayshorecs]

With that small of a house I would just insulate the heck out of it and light a candle

Admittedly, a $160/month maximum propane bill isn't a lot. About 4 years ago I had a 2-bedroom apartment in this area and had winter natural gas bills of over $200, but heating energy was a lot cheaper back then. My cabin is small and well insulated, so I've got that working for me. But this isn't about saving money as much as it's about security.

I'm setup to heat with either propane or kerosene right now, but it wouldn't take too severe of a disruption in transportation to have a supply problem with both. The necessary elements for surviving a deep depression will be to have food, shelter, and a way to keep warm. I live rent & mortgage free, and I've got a few hundred pounds of dried beans & rice on hand. That's two out of three. A wood stove will give me the third.

For that size of a house, I would say that is VERY high. I have a 2,000 sq ft house running nat gas (prior to the wood stove install) and my gas bill would be $100-$150 during the winter months for running the forced air unit from 1996 and the gas hot water heater. Granted, nat gas is one of the cheaper ways to heat but the furance is not an ultra high efficiency model either. Plus, my wife likes the house hot. 75*+ during the winter min.

I would look for a SMALL stove and/or an oil burner. Make your own biodiesel and burn that in the oil burner when you need heat and the car when weather permits.

 

[LONDONDERRY]

I'd skip the stove and pout some siding on that cabin. Don't forget to add more flashing tape around those windows