Install Advice - Wood Stove into Masonry Chimney (with pictures)

[Yukon Tyler]

G'day. Nice forum here! I've been searching and browsing through over the past few days and there's tons of useful info.

I just moved from the Yukon to Prince Edward Island with my wife for our first home. We want to continue heating with wood as it's what we're accustomed to, but I have some questions on this particular install as I'm not familiar with masonry chimneys.

Prior to moving we knew that the previous owners had a wood stove, but at one point they removed it, blocked it off and covered the chimney with a decorative stone facade. As a condition of purchase we had a WETT sweep go up and inspect the chimney and flue. He said everything looks great and we're ready to install at our leisure.

Yesterday we tore off the decorative stone and the false wall framing which supported it. I was anticipating finding a chimney with patch work brick covering an old thimble. Instead I happily found this.

There's no 'thimble' here. I have this cast iron pass through (what is this thing actually called???), the brick of my chimney, some old grout/cement and then a square cut into my clay liner.

How do I best connect my stove pipe to my liner? There are no combustibles in the area. Lining the chimney is a consideration, but given a cross-country move and the very good review of the clay liner from the sweep I'm partial to using the clay flue.

The stove: $400, 2007 Flame XRV-1, used only a handful of times on the shoulder season by a family with an outdoor wood boiler. It's very clean.

 

[begreen]

Welcome. The first thing I see that could be wrong is with the framing going over the brick unless an prefab insulated thimble has already been planned for. Otherwise 18" from combustibles is required. That horizontal section of connector pipe will be very hot! This article should be helpful.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/passing_a_chimney
Example of an insulated thimble installation instructions:
(broken link removed to http://www.rockfordchimneysupply.com/insul_flue.php)

After a proper and safe thimble connection has been installed, follow the stove mfg. specs for clearances and hearth requirements. The manual is located here:

http://www.flame-intl.com/product.aspx?CategoId=1&Id=589&Page=spec

 

[Yukon Tyler]

The wood framing is gone.

"Yesterday we tore off the decorative stone and the false wall framing which supported it. I was anticipating finding a chimney with patch work brick covering an old thimble. Instead I happily found this."

I can see how that picture with me doing the demo would be confusing, though.

Currently the area looks like this:

 

[begreen]

Got it. That simplifies the install a lot! From the look of things you should be able to run the connector though that port until it is flush with the interior wall of the liner. Is that an 8" hole? If so, you would need a reducer to 6". What is the ID of the clay tile liner and how tall is the chimney from this opening?

 

[Yukon Tyler]

Thanks for the quick response, eh.

Liner: approx 6" x 9"
Flue height: approx 22' above the access hole
Hole: 7" ID

Plumbing my pipe through the hole with a reducer isn't a big deal. I guess what i'm more curious about is where the pipe meets the liner; does it have to be sealed against the liner?

If the stove pipe has to seal with the liner then I can see it being a bit of a pain, but if I can simply install a pipe flush with the liner's inner wall then I'll be in great shape. If it's the latter then I'll just seal up some small gaps between the masonry and the liner with some refractory cement and start my plumbing.

 

[begreen]

I'd pack the gap with mineral wool or refractory cement. The less air leakage the better. Do it from the inside of the reducer. At 54 sq in the liner is a bit large, but with 22' you may be fine for draft. It's worth trying it out. Check to see if there is a cleanout door down below on the chimney. If so it's a good idea to seal the door too with silicone.

How is the wood supply? This stove is going to want fully seasoned wood.

 

[Yukon Tyler]

Beauty. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction and also for confirming some of the ideas that I had in mind.

The chimney is a double flue - the other being used for an oil burner - and both cleanouts are in the basement.

As much as it pains me I'm going to buy some seasoned mixed-hardwood this year. I'll buy it in full lengths so that I can at least retain the cost of bucking and splitting. Also, at least down south the prices are somewhat reasonable. We never purchased up north and instead harvested our own, but a cord of soft was ~$300 delivered. Down here I can get seasoned hardwood for $120 right off the truck.

For the future I have approx 8 acres of woodlot (mixed hard and soft) at this new place to draw from. I should be able to pull approx 1/2 cord from each acre annually without depletion. This winter's purchase will be a small skidoo to help with the harvest.

 

[Huntindog1]

I use a clay lined flue 7" x 11"

I found that a better draw from the flue was obtained from putting the reducer right at the stove and running 8" all the way. I tried it both ways twice and definitely running the 8" pipe all the way was much better startups and quicker heating of the larger masonry flue. I think the reason being is I get a much larger volume of heated air starting from the hottest part of the flue system which is right at the top of the stove. This larger volume of heated air seems to feed the larger flue much better and gets it drawing quicker. So if you run into issues this is an option for you.

 

[begreen]

Unfortunately it is too late to split and stack for this season's burning. Trying to burn fresh split wood is going to lead to poor performance and a lot of creosote. I would ask around to find out who has the best reputation for dry wood in the area and pay the piper this year for already split wood that has at least been drying for a while. Even then the odds of getting nicely seasoned wood are slim unless they dried it in a shed over the summer. Try to get some ash if possible. Oak is going to need a couple years to season.

 

[Dix]

Pine will season quick,if it's available.