IMPORTANT NOTICE: for new stove do it yourselfers

[JPapiPE]

I am also new and a do it yourselfer. I did spend some 100 hours researching all aspects of my new stove, pipe and chimney connections, safe hearth construction, buying firewood, etc. First and foremost there are maybe 3 or 4 major wood, coal, corn and pellet chimney manufactureres on the net and also some availble at your local TSC or woodstove store. As a newcomer i would recommend you chose from 2 dealers. Selkirk and Duravent. The reason being that hardy any mixed brand products will be a smooth match for your chimney...Further all, there are 2 types of Selkirk pipe and chimney and 2 types of Duravent pipe and chimney. And these pipes are not interchangable , evem within the same brand.

In other words...if you decide to buy Simpson Duravent Companie's Dura/tech line you have to stick with each and every part of your chimney being a dura/tech part...Do you get it yet? Duravents dura/plus will not be interchangeable with Simpsons Dura/Plus componets. Same thing with Selkirk (Metalbestos). They produce 2 lines of pipe under the Selkirk name : Supervent and SuperPro...Again these parts are not interchangeable or able to join other Selkirk parts that are not specifically Supervent or SuperPro.

I did make the mistake of trying to shop for the lowest price on this and that and guess what....The parts don't fit....EVEN UNDER THE SAME MANUFATURERS NAME. Once you learn this lesson you are 2/3 of the way there.

No one spelled it out to me in these terms. They said never mix parts and I thought they meant never mix Selkirk with Dura -Vent parts... How would one know that they meant never mix Selkirk Supervent and superpro Parts or conversely don't mix Dura-vent Dura/pro with Dura-tech parts. They will not fit.

So stop your bargain hunting and find a Simpson dealer that stocks a complete line of Dura-tech Parts or Dura/pro parts or with Selkirk brand find a dealer that deals in only SuperVent or SuperPro parts... Are you getting the gist yet? Same companies make different lines of pipe that are not compatable ....I wish the hell someone had told me this before i set out to install my own chimney installation. What a waste of some 20 hours.
I recommend as an online pipe supplier ...."Venting Pipe.com" Knowledgable, friendly, reasonable shipping rates and people that know when you ask for a none fitting part to tell you so... I had a very pleasant experience on the phone with these experts and , of coarse i spent more than what i wanted, but was surprised by the low shipping cost.
Trying to help our new people may a smooth transition
Always trying to help, joe

 

[Willman]

Whats the difference between each pipe from the same company ? Is one better quality ?

Will

 

[BJ64]

I am very glad you posted that because I am about ready to start gathering materials for my wood stove project.

 

[begreen]

Some advice that Joe needed:

1) visit the company websites. Both Selkirk and Simpson have excellent websites. Another fine product is ICC Excel.
http://www.selkirkcorp.com/products/chimney.aspx
http://www.duravent.com
(broken link removed to http://www.icc-rsf.com/en/icc/Our_Products)
2) don't be afraid to call their customer support hot line. They are very helpful.
3) download their installation manuals. they cover 90% of the issues you may be trying to solve
4) also check out this article on the site:https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/installing_a_woodstove#chimney

 

[JPapiPE]

As I think I mentioned I have gone with the Dura-tech line of pipe, chimney and fittings. According to the experts, one line of pipe is just as high quality as another and all will do the job. There are a few differences in the pipe, such of length of warranty, price and some are just more availible with parts being sold at local hardware stores. Some people do have their preferences and will insist that one brand is better than the next. I did choose the dura-tech line as my Local Trustworthy sells it and I live in the country and the closest Stove Shop is 20 miles away.

I think that once one realizes that there are compatability issues with the different lines of pipe sold by the same manufacturer, it takes a lot of the complexity out of the stove pipe/chimney/parts issue. This was a hard lesson for me to learn.

 

[Sawyer]

As I think I mentioned I have gone with the Dura-tech line of pipe, chimney and fittings. According to the experts, one line of pipe is just as high quality as another and all will do the job. There are a few differences in the pipe, such of length of warranty, price and some are just more availible with parts being sold at local hardware stores. Some people do have their preferences and will insist that one brand is better than the next. I did choose the dura-tech line as my Local Trustworthy sells it and I live in the country and the closest Stove Shop is 20 miles away.

I think that once one realizes that there are compatability issues with the different lines of pipe sold by the same manufacturer, it takes a lot of the complexity out of the stove pipe/chimney/parts issue. This was a hard lesson for me to learn.

Thanks for the warning and timely post! I am just organizing to get my Dura-Tech ordered for my Garn.

 

[verne]

I just installed my chimney , and supervent and superpro are interchangeable. I used a superpro tee and super pro ceiling box and then purchased my supervent pipe for half the price at lowes. I was told that they were the same by cozy heat before I bought everything, all specs are the same .

 

[JPapiPE]

Maybe a lucky consequence Verne...But I wouldn't recommend people go out and buy all assorted mixture of pipes and chimney parts and expect a successfull install.....I'd say you lucked out Verne.....good for you, I really am glad your install went easily... Joe

 

[verne]

actually not a lucky consequence , I did a lot of research, and asked the pro's who do it everyday. I would never think to mix a bunch of different brands together without first checking compatability . I too found that different styles of the same brand dont have the same connections , but they do sell adapters to go from stove pipe to double wall etc. If you dont know ask someone who does :smirk:

 

[JPapiPE]

I'm glad it worked for you. I didn't talk to any installers, just called the companies and they advised me to stick with one line. I did order my stuff on-line and didn't want the headache of having to send stuff back. Thanks for the information.

 

[JPapiPE]

Well Verne2 you have proved me wrong, but I think for the average newbie, like me, that doesn't know a piece of fatwood from a firestarter it might be easier on the stress level to go with a single brand and type of pipe. You seem to know your parts very well, but for the rest of us it can be a guessing game. And sending stuff back can be costly if you happen to order supplies on line.
Regards joe

 

[WILDSOURDOUGH]

I used Dura Vent- bought it through Northern Products, saved a little $$$.