Installing pellet stove vent into wood stove chimney???

[mrbotto]

I'd like to install a pellet stove but I'm not sure if I can vent it into my existing chimney. Here is my setup. I have a chimney that is brick with what I consider clay piping as the liner. It was built in 1988 so its not old construction. There are 2 clean outs so I assume there are two clay tubes in it. The oil furnace looks to vent into one side and our wood stove upstairs vents into the other. In the basement there is another vent available which is where I want to vent the pellet stove.

Can I simply vent the pellet stove into this outlet on the chimney or will I have issues upstairs? I believe there was a wood stove hooked up in this location before but I can't confirm.

My thoughts are that if the wood stove can vent efficiently then the pellet stove would be fine but I'm no expert.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[webbie]

What size is the chimney inside (7 x 7 ?)

The owners manual on your stove should discuss a situation like this, but here is the issue as I see it. Pellet stoves FORCE air up the chimney, as opposed to using natural draft. That means if the chimney structure is not very tight, some exhaust gases will leak out through the tile joints, cracks and places like where that other stove was installed. For this reason, a single wall chimney liner would be a much better job.....or, forget the chimney and vent the pellet stove right out the wall.

 

[mrbotto]

The vent holes appear to be 6 or 8" and where it comes out the roof it looks like its a rectangle, so maybe 6" wide and 8 or 10" long.

The way my basement is setup its not easy to direct vent the stove outside. I would have to bust through a masonary wall and would have to put the stove in a location that isn't optimal.

 

[MrWinkey]

It depends on your local building codes and what the pellet stove maker recomends.

My local building codes required I take the pipe up to the top of the roof and terminate it with a vent cap. No venting into an existing masonry. So when you get your permit to install the pellet stove check with the building inspector at that time.

This would be better for draft in event of a power failure and IMHO much easier to clean out.

 

[jtp10181]

This flue you want to use is a third currently not use flue? I would get a pellet liner kit and just drop that down, basically what MrWinkey has done it sounds like. This would contain all the exhaust so you would not have to worry about it leaking into the house anywhere. Also with the flue sized correctly it is going to work better.

 

[seaken]

Hi mrbotto,

we need to establish how many separate flues (clay pipes) you have in that chimney. You have mentioned two appliances are currently hooked up, an oil furnace and a wood stove. If you are going to keep those appliances in place you need a third flue for the new pellet stove. Can you get on your roof and look at the top of the chimney?

You cannot simply add the pellet stove to that thimble you see in the basement until you confirm that it belongs to a third flue. For safety reasons, you can have only one appliance per flue.

If you do have an open flue, you will want to re-line it with the appropriate size pellet liner, probably 4" diameter.

 

[eernest4]

If i were going to put a pellet stove in my basement, I would be looking for a window to vent the double walled stainless 3 inch insulated vent pipes though but if you have the third chimney liner (day pipe? ) that might be better. another consideration is outside air intake for pellet stove.
you can intake basement air for combustion, but that will create a vacuum in the basement and the basement will be looking to suck air from anyplace it can,outside ,down drafting through the chimney, if that may turn out to be a low resistance path, from upstairs, thru a window or under a door, pulling more cold air into the basement.

If you vent through a basement window with double wall stainless, you have a cheaper to pay for instalation and a place for your cold outside air intake.

jsut thoughts for your consideration, is all.

 

[begreen]

As Sean noted- make sure you have 3 flues and can dedicate one exclusively to the pellet stove. Also, what is the height of this chimney? If the run is over 30' from the basement, it may be better to vent it directly to outside.

 

[mrbotto]

It looks like there are only 2 flue pipes. one is being used for the oil furnace, and the other is tied into the wood stove upstairs. I'd assume they had both wood stoves tied into the one flue at some point.

I can't find a location to vent it out the wall and still have it in a location I want. My basement is strange and doesn't have windows only two large sliding glass windows.

I'm leaning towards moving the wood stove downstairs to push the air upstairs. the real issue is that our wood stove gets so hot the upstairs is too hot while downstairs is cold.

 

[begreen]

What is the wall like outside to the location in the basement where you want to put the pellet stove? How much of the basement wall is exposed above grade?

 

[mrbotto]

The real issue is that there are rooms partitioned off so there aren't many points to put the stove in the main room. On one end it would come out the cement block wall and under our deck. The other end of the basement only has maybe a foot exposed above grade. It could be done, but its at the far end of the room. I'll have to take a closer look, but it would cut down on how much heat would rise to the upstairs.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

bottom line, you flat out cannot vent a pellet stove into a flue currently serving another device, also BeGreen has a valid point if flue heigt is like 30 ft , then better to through the wall vent. if the flue opening in the basement opens to the flue the woodstove hooks to you cannot use it.

 

[mrbotto]

that is the definite answer I was looking for. I'll have to investigate going through the cement blocks and putting a vent up the side of the house.

 

[seaken]

that is the definite answer I was looking for. I'll have to investigate going through the cement blocks and putting a vent up the side of the house.

Or go through a closet with the pellet vent and out up through the roof. It will have to be enclosed but it might be a good solution if it will help place the stove in a more favorable location.