I've got a Drolet Legend wood stove. Published specs (for back-toward-wall installation) say USA clearance for single wall pipe to wall is 10" - back of stove from wall spec is 6" - flue pipe on stove is about 4" forward from back, so this adds up... except I've only seen min clearance for single wall at 18". Canadian specs are 18" for the SW flue pipe and 15" for the stove (numbers add up, this would be typical USA spec). Regional sales said it must be a misprint and that I have to go by specs plate/sticker on back of the wood stove. Got the stove and sticker has exact same info (see attached).
Is there definitely a misprint on both sticker and published specs, or is it possible Drolet/SBI tested it according to (I think) UL1482 and UL737 standards, and proved that SW pipe can be 10" from the wall (assuming stove is "so efficient" that so little heat goes up the flue and the pipe/wall doesn't get hot)? Efficiency is listed as 75% (nothing special).
Interesting is for corner installation the SWP needs to be 18" from walls - there is ~9" from flue pipe to back corner of the stove, and the unit requires 9" from back corners to walls. The Legend has extra shielding on the back of the stove (which I'd expect allows stove closer to wall, but not SW pipe [unless tested and approved]).
I'll be using SBI single wall pipe (SP00370) hoping to get some radiated flue pipe heat into the room/picked up by a nearby return duct. The furthest I can get the SWP from the wall is 17" due to ceiling joist position - but stove would be too far into the room anyway. SBI makes a shield (SP00390) that should allow SWP to be 6" from the wall (which would also help radiate heat toward the room), but sales said there are no "official" test specs for this. My neighbor (carpenter) said most all inspectors don't care about what the manufacturer says about shields, etc and they'll want to it meet unshielded specs. I'm not sure where to proceed from here.
Here is Drolet page with pipes:
(broken link removed to http://www.drolet.ca/en/ventings/black-stove-pipe-/pipe-and-shield-kits)
Here are install instructions (pg 3 talks about "only deviation for SWP from 18" is if it has been tested and approved", etc):
(broken link removed to http://www.drolet.ca/upload/images/accessoires/manuels/drolet/45589A_30-08-2013.pdf)
I guess manufacturer can say/print anything they want, but it's up to the inspector to accept it or demand test results.
Even though double wall pipe would solve all issues, I'd still like to use the single wall. If specs are wrong, I'll give feedback to SBI. When I apply for permit, and if 10" SWP clearance is odd, the inspector might want to see more documentation (like UL test results) instead of just printed stove specs. If this plan falls apart, I can get double wall pipe - I've seen it's better for high efficiency stoves to keep flue hot/avoid creosote buildup (but I plan to keep up with cleaning, which is why I don't want any elbows/offsets).
After all this, main questions are:
1) are the Drolet Legend specs wrong? if maybe not, how to get proof for permit/inspector?
2) would the inspector accept using flue pipe shields to reduce SWP clearance?
Is there definitely a misprint on both sticker and published specs, or is it possible Drolet/SBI tested it according to (I think) UL1482 and UL737 standards, and proved that SW pipe can be 10" from the wall (assuming stove is "so efficient" that so little heat goes up the flue and the pipe/wall doesn't get hot)? Efficiency is listed as 75% (nothing special).
Interesting is for corner installation the SWP needs to be 18" from walls - there is ~9" from flue pipe to back corner of the stove, and the unit requires 9" from back corners to walls. The Legend has extra shielding on the back of the stove (which I'd expect allows stove closer to wall, but not SW pipe [unless tested and approved]).
I'll be using SBI single wall pipe (SP00370) hoping to get some radiated flue pipe heat into the room/picked up by a nearby return duct. The furthest I can get the SWP from the wall is 17" due to ceiling joist position - but stove would be too far into the room anyway. SBI makes a shield (SP00390) that should allow SWP to be 6" from the wall (which would also help radiate heat toward the room), but sales said there are no "official" test specs for this. My neighbor (carpenter) said most all inspectors don't care about what the manufacturer says about shields, etc and they'll want to it meet unshielded specs. I'm not sure where to proceed from here.
Here is Drolet page with pipes:
(broken link removed to http://www.drolet.ca/en/ventings/black-stove-pipe-/pipe-and-shield-kits)
Here are install instructions (pg 3 talks about "only deviation for SWP from 18" is if it has been tested and approved", etc):
(broken link removed to http://www.drolet.ca/upload/images/accessoires/manuels/drolet/45589A_30-08-2013.pdf)
I guess manufacturer can say/print anything they want, but it's up to the inspector to accept it or demand test results.
Even though double wall pipe would solve all issues, I'd still like to use the single wall. If specs are wrong, I'll give feedback to SBI. When I apply for permit, and if 10" SWP clearance is odd, the inspector might want to see more documentation (like UL test results) instead of just printed stove specs. If this plan falls apart, I can get double wall pipe - I've seen it's better for high efficiency stoves to keep flue hot/avoid creosote buildup (but I plan to keep up with cleaning, which is why I don't want any elbows/offsets).
After all this, main questions are:
1) are the Drolet Legend specs wrong? if maybe not, how to get proof for permit/inspector?
2) would the inspector accept using flue pipe shields to reduce SWP clearance?
Attachments
![[Hearth.com] Minimum clearance for 6" single wall flue pipe](/talk/data/attachments/147/147696-b249547cbe379ed962b389af248e5ee5.jpg?hash=6WNWpad25b)
Last edited:
