Moving Pellet Stove

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

westcafe

Member
Oct 5, 2008
68
central, ma
We have decided to move our pellet stove from the basement to the main floor of our house. We have a gas insert in the fireplace that we are going to connect our pellet stove to. We were told that we need to replace the piping going up the chimney with stainless steel pipe as the current piping is aluminum. Also was told that it needed to be 4". Looking for some input on this and also where is the best place to purchase piping....we need about 30' of it.
 
sounds right.

best place to puchase for me would be somewhere local.

just my opinion.
 
Hmmmmm

Tell ya what, I am not a great fancier of long liners inside chimneys.

If it were me, I would keep the gas fire place Gizmo and install the pellet stove on an outside wall with a direct vent.

I Know that many folks dont like the direct vents, butttttttttttttt they are an easy install, very inexpensive and quick and easy to keep clean.

I have 3 stoves her at the ranch that are all direct vented and we have had ZERO issues.
During several power outages with the fire going, we have never had any smoke back into the room either.

You can get a "quick disconnect" for the pipe and place it right where the stove and pipe hook up.
This allows an easy way to get things loose in the event you need to without fighting a batch of silicone goop thats welded the pipe and the stove into one solid mass.

My Advantage has about 4 foot of pipe and the Prodigy has about 2 feet total run.

The outside of the house does not have any soot on it after 2 full seasons of burning and I do not use the OAK.

Possibly your setting does not allow this to work but its maybe an option, sure as heck far cheaper than a full liner and all the rest of the stuff.


Here are some pix of the quick connector and one of our direct vents.

Yessssss Its over 5 feet from the window that can open
Snowy
 

Attachments

  • quick1.jpg
    quick1.jpg
    25.2 KB · Views: 460
  • quick2.jpg
    quick2.jpg
    18.4 KB · Views: 445
  • Leaf blower trick.jpg
    Leaf blower trick.jpg
    36.7 KB · Views: 460
if we do run it up the chimney is there an actual length before it is not beneficial to do so? We have a split face block exterior and would rather not cut a hole in the block to do a direct vent system unless we have to.
 
We have a 35' 4" liner for our Harman Accentra Insert that was installed in our prefab fireplace.
We've had no issues.
 
Is there a specific reason why you need to line the whole chimney? What size flue is it? Is the chimney cracked or missing tiles or something? i would just recommend sticking a peice of flex up about 7' and allowing the natural draft in the fireplace to do the rest.
 
I noticed on some previous posts that if it is an interior chimney then some people have not installed a ss 4" pipe. We have a newer chimney with a clay liner in the center of our living space.....could we just run the piping to the chimney and not run the ss 4" pipe just vent it through the chimney itself?
 
If the chimney is in good shape I would suggest running about 7' of 4" SS pipe up the chimney and the chimeny will do the rest. That will save you a ton of money upfront. If drafting is in an issue in the stove I would also line the complete chimney with 4" SS from top to bottom, if its not then I would "stub" it up in the chimney.
 
Look to the stove manual. Might cover that specific installation question. Lot depends on the stove and the size of the chimney. Too big, you'll get a poor draft. You still have the issue of OAK. Not installing OAK is not an option for some stoves or in tight homes. You can do a search in this forum on the pro's and cons. Putting the stove in the area you intend to heat is a wise decision.
 
The most Harmanstoves does not require outside air. Unless you are in a mobile or modular home. As long as the size of the flue is 8" or smaller you should be perfectly fine stubbing the pipe into the chimney per the installation manual.
 
I would recommend a stove adapter which allows for the connection of a flex pipe, then installing a 4" flex approx 7' into the existing chimney.
 
I was told that we had to line the chimney. Of course if you don't think I have to and it's not another inept law of Massachusetts then I will use your recommendation. Just need to have it inspected once we move it.
 
westcafe said:
I was told that we had to line the chimney. Of course if you don't think I have to and it's not another inept law of Massachusetts then I will use your recommendation. Just need to have it inspected once we move it.

State law, local code enforcement, owner's manual, your insurance company, all trump recommendation of people on this forum.
 
Who is telling you the chimney has to be lined? Your best bet is to call a mason or chimney sweep who does free estimates, and tell them what your doing. They will tell you what needs to be done, if there are any cracks in your flue etc. Worst case scenario you could always just punch a hole out of the back of the chimney and pipe out directly ;-) Don't do anything you don't feel comfortable with, but a 3"-4" increaser with a female flex adapter running flex up 7' is generally sufficient draft and venting in a chimney situation.
 
Hi folks,

It's code her in Mass, no matter how high you have to go, if you install into a chimney you have to line the whole thing. Stinks, but if you want to do it "right" that's how it has to be. We installed into an existing fireplace and had to go up 24 plus feet. Because we did it proper with a permit/inspection, we had to. House insurance also plays into this...

good luck. :)
 
Follow what Save$ said and look in the manual. A lot of inspecters will allow what a appliance manual states. You will also have to comply with local laws so you might just as well ask the inspector before hand how he/she is going to require it to be done since they will be the ones saying ya or nay. You may be allowed to stub it out but I doubt it.
 
If thats the case punch a hole out the back of the chimney and direct vent it? or just line the sucker? or don't use the fireplace and put the stove in a spot that it can be direct vented? Anyway around it you can't use the gas stove pipe for the install, so you will need to either purchase pipe to go all the way up the chimney, or if you direct vent it the pipe to do that.
 
Most local code these days will require a full liner all the way up. You also need to head off the chimney top. No go on the gas pipe, Its probably aluminim. Must be stainless for pellet vent.

I highly recommend using a tee for cleaning and using 4" all the way. I'll link a few places below to get what you need. I'f you need assistence with whats needed? Ask away!

http://www.northlineexpress.com/multiple_items.asp?cc=4LDuraFlex

http://www.dynamitebuys.com/store/cart.php?m=product_list&c=214

You could also call Eric at kinsman stoves.

http://www.kinsmanstoves.com/
 
Thanks for ALL of your help. We decided we are going to fully line the chimney. Moving everything next weekend. the gas insert is going into the bedroom so it will be a full days work exchanging and moving.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.