Fisher stove pipe Adapter help

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familyfarm42

Member
Dec 3, 2016
20
California
I have a Fisher Honey Bear insert... built in 1981. We just set it in fire place last season and did not use because I read up that I need a flu pipe installed. Coaly was a huge help identifying what size of flu pipe I need. However, I cannot find an adapter for rectangle to circle that will work for my unit because of the damper rod that is installed on the top of my unit. My unit has a 10" x 5" rectangle opening on top that is about 1" tall. I want to have a custom adapter made to weld directly onto this lip. My question is what material should I use? Stainless? how thick? Does anyone know of another way to do this so that the rod will still work? I will attach a picture that will make this make more sense.
 

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Well first off don't weld it. Drill and tap holes for bolts. The damper is easy just a couple notches. As far as thickness I would use at least 20 gauge stainless.
 
So you are going to run a stove that has a 5 by 10 outlet on a 6 inch liner????
 
Yes I am. I have found almost everyone with a honey bear insert is using 6” for them. Another member messaged me this info as well that made good sense to me. This is only part of the response and explanation.
 

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Yes I am. I have found almost everyone with a honey bear insert is using 6” for them. Another member messaged me this info as well that made good sense to me. This is only part of the response and explanation.
Ok I hope it works out. I have never worked on a honey bear but I know many here claim you can run all fishers on 6". And I have found that absolutely is not true.
 
Ok I hope it works out. I have never worked on a honey bear but I know many here claim you can run all fishers on 6". And I have found that absolutely is not true.

I hope it works too! This is my first wood burning stove and it’s been really a struggle to get it up and running correctly. If I came across anyone with my stove that said a 6” didn’t work I would be nervous but everyone says it does great. Haha if it doesn’t work, well then I guess I’ll try again.

Did that explanation make sense to you?
 
I hope it works too! This is my first wood burning stove and it’s been really a struggle to get it up and running correctly. If I came across anyone with my stove that said a 6” didn’t work I would be nervous but everyone says it does great. Haha if it doesn’t work, well then I guess I’ll try again.

Did that explanation make sense to you?
Again I have not worked on a honey bear so. I don't know that stove. And the explanation could make sense. But it is way oversimplified and lacks any real figures. I have found that most fishers run best on 7"
 
If you can give me the dimensions of the firebox in inches (height, width, depth) I can give you a good idea of how it will work with 6 inch pipe and chimney to top. (less brick)
 
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If you can give me the dimensions of the firebox in inches (height, width, depth) I can give you a good idea of how it will work with 6 inch pipe and chimney to top. (less brick)

Hey Coaly!!! I was quoting you in my above post. You have my information in a message already. You have been a great help. It’s been about a year but we have parts ordered to get this thing going!! Last season we just ran the propane heater but really want this thing to work now.
 
I only have your outlet dimensions. Measure the inside of firebox from bottom to top, side to side above brick and front to back above brick. (let me know if brick is removed) That will give me cubic inches to compare to the other 6 inch outlet models.
 
I only have your outlet dimensions. Measure the inside of firebox from bottom to top, side to side above brick and front to back above brick. (let me know if brick is removed) That will give me cubic inches to compare to the other 6 inch outlet models.
That really is only part of the equation though. There are many more factors involved than just firebox size.
 
OP, I'm fairly certain that I have a very similar adapter on my Fisher insert as well, only I have an 8" liner in my chimney. I've read that all inserts can take a 6" liner, but I've had zero problems and plenty of great roaring fires with my 8" liner. It pulls really well. Good luck, keep us updated!
 
okay update time. I attached the boot adapter to the top. Had to use an angle grinder to cut out the door of the fireplace damper door. Now heres the part I know a lot of you will get on me about.... we put down single wall Stainless Steel 6" flex. I had to ovalaize almost the entire pipe about 3/4 of an inch and then the bottom 2 or 3 feet I had to ovalaize down to just under 4". Got it down and attached, use the fire seal caulking and was finally able to light the first fire. It works so much better now! It gets up to temperature quickly and is putting out good heat! Heated out house over 77 degrees the other night. It seems with each fire it seems to work better and better. I'm so new to these stoves i'm trying to learn exactly how to use it. My only complaint is when the door closed I can't really close the vent holes and keep the fire going. It seems to need a decent amount of air. I'm looking into the insulation pour, would love some opinions on it. The local fire people said that in our area it really doesn't get cold enough to have to insulate. I ended up using 12' of flex pipe from top of stove through chimney and put the cap. I know that isn't too tall of a chimney. thank you guys for the help. Been a one year project but we love the stove! I'll try to post some pictures soon.
 
I have also been learning how important dry wood is haha I tried some that wasn't aged really well and quickly learned not a good idea
 
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Not sure what you mean by "when the door closed I can't really close the vent holes and keep the fire going." You should be able to kill the fire by closing the intakes fully. If not, the door seal leaks. Need pictures of the Insert since there are a few different intake designs through the years.

Insulate the liner. Not only will it stay cleaner, the hotter flue inside will create more draft which lowers the pressure in the Insert more allowing more air to be pushed into the intakes. Faster velocity over glass is a plus using air wash.

The first fire after sitting over a summer or longer will not seem to get as hot. This is due to the firebrick absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. It takes a while to evaporate and expel the water vapor, so it will feel hotter the next fire.
 
Hey, sorry for the delay! I didn’t see you respond. The stove is working very good now. I did not realize that I had the damper partially closed. Now I have it completely open and the wood burns really good with the doors closed completely. The previous owner of the stove used a rope to seal the doors. I haven’t got it down exactly how much to close the vent holes to make the wood burn slower but we are working on it.

Here’s a picture of the vent holes, it’s a bar on top and bottom of the glass doors.

The second fire was significantly hotter. It’s been hearing my house from 58 all the way up to 76. Then we opened some doors to cool off! Really like it a lot so far.


Not sure what you mean by "when the door closed I can't really close the vent holes and keep the fire going." You should be able to kill the fire by closing the intakes fully. If not, the door seal leaks. Need pictures of the Insert since there are a few different intake designs through the years.

Insulate the liner. Not only will it stay cleaner, the hotter flue inside will create more draft which lowers the pressure in the Insert more allowing more air to be pushed into the intakes. Faster velocity over glass is a plus using air wash.

The first fire after sitting over a summer or longer will not seem to get as hot. This is due to the firebrick absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. It takes a while to evaporate and expel the water vapor, so it will feel hotter the next fire.
 

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You have the final and best air intake system. The first only has slots above the glass with sliders in the doors.
Your door gasket should be the flat type in the channel of the door seal. Glass doors are the only Fisher product that uses gasket material.

The reason you were having problems is closing the damper slows the rising gas velocity. This reduces draft which affects the stove by slowing the intake air. In your case, the faster the velocity entering, the better the air wash. Keep the top and bottom intakes open equal or slightly less on the top. If you open the top intake too far during normal operation a certain amount of indoor air can slip up and over the fire directly into exhaust, cooling the flue. This upper intake helps ignite some smoke particles giving you partial secondary combustion. It doesn't take much air for that, but you will know if you close it too far by accumulation on the glass. Let us know how well the glass stays clean with the reduced flue diameter. I'm betting it will be no worse than a much larger chimney and you're running much more efficient. Do you have some type of blower?