New member - new install

[spitfire]

Hi all,

New member here and I have two questions.

1. What size wood stove:

I have a (2007) manufactured home in northern Illinois, mostly open floor plan. I am planning on installing a wood stove in the family room on one side of the house (I have attached a drawing).

The open section of the house is ~1400 square feet. The rest of the rooms combined are ~1000 square feet. The HVAC return sucks directly off the room which the wood stove would be in.

I am debating between a drolet 1800 or 2100 escape. The 1800 is rated at 75,000 btu peak and a 2.4 ft3 firebox. The 2100 is rated at 110,000 but peak and 3.5 ft3 firebox.

I like the appeal of having the larger wood stove when I need it in the dead of winter but am concerned with overheating the space in the fall/spring. Any thoughts?

2.Per my home insurance:

I need a professional installation of the pipe/stove. I am planning on ordering all the parts (drolet stove and duratech double wall pipe throughout) myself and having it installed by a local chimney store. Are chimney sweeps typically considered professionally able to install per home insurance?

I contacted a local stove shop and was unimpressed by their knowledge/prices. They are wanting $2,500 for pipe (12 foot chimney), $1,500 for install, and $2,300 for a stove (Enerzone solution 1.8).

 

[bholler]

Hi all,

New member here and I have two questions.

1. What size wood stove:

I have a (2007) manufactured home in northern Illinois, mostly open floor plan. I am planning on installing a wood stove in the family room on one side of the house (I have attached a drawing).

The open section of the house is ~1400 square feet. The rest of the rooms combined are ~1000 square feet. The HVAC return sucks directly off the room which the wood stove would be in.

I am debating between a drolet 1800 or 2100 escape. The 1800 is rated at 75,000 btu peak and a 2.4 ft3 firebox. The 2100 is rated at 110,000 but peak and 3.5 ft3 firebox.

I like the appeal of having the larger wood stove when I need it in the dead of winter but am concerned with overheating the space in the fall/spring. Any thoughts?

2.Per my home insurance:

I need a professional installation of the pipe/stove. I am planning on ordering all the parts (drolet stove and duratech double wall pipe throughout) myself and having it installed by a local chimney store. Are chimney sweeps typically considered professionally able to install per home insurance?

I contacted a local stove shop and was unimpressed by their knowledge/prices. They are wanting $2,500 for pipe (12 foot chimney), $1,500 for install, and $2,300 for a stove (Enerzone solution 1.8).

I would not buy the pipe until you have your installer lined up. Many including myself will only work with certain brands and many others will only install what they sell. And yes a sweep should be a qualified installer. But it depends upon what your insurance company requires

 

[kborndale]

A sweep would be considered a qualified installer by your homeowners insurance. Unfortunately the reality is that some are not very good at their job. Look for one with a csia certification, it helps but still does not guarantee competence.

 

[spitfire]

Thank you for the responses.

I got ahold of a couple of chimney sweeps (csia) qualified who are willing to install the stove/pipe I picked out. But it also seems I missed the boat for getting it done this season as everyone is backed up until the spring.

I will be ordering the stove and materials shortly (I’ll be asking for advice on that soon) and work on getting the hearth installed.

Any input on a drolet 1800 vs 2100 for my home (described above)?

 

[begreen]

Both are very popular stoves, though the 2100 is much larger. Drolet makes a good quality no-nonsense stove. Enerzone and Osburn have the same fireboxes with a bit more features.

How well insulated is the home? (2x4 or 2x6 walls?) Is there a large amount of glass? High ceilings?

Note that the hvac return must be at least 10' from the woodstove according to mechanical code.

 

[spitfire]

With my budget, I don’t need any fancy features, just need something of good quality that will last for a long time. Drolet sounds right up my alley.

Ceilings are flat, 8 feet tall. Pretty well insulated and tight home. Average amount of windows (all double pane) and my exposure is south facing.

HVAC return is 15 feet away from the stove. Also, the propane furnace is rated at 72,000 btu furnace. It does a pretty good job heating the house but when it drops to below -10 it struggles keeping up (thankfully we don’t reach those temps often).

We typically use ~1,000 gallons of propane per year. That is with keeping the house at 70 degrees. The wife would prefer 78-80.

 

[Gearhead660]

I would suggest the larger stove. Can always make a smaller fire in a bigger stove, cant do the opposite.

 

[spitfire]

I ended going with the 2100, I found a good deal on it which made it $50 more than the 1800. Too hard to pass up.

I’ll post more questions as I move along in the project.

 

[Chilly Willy]

I was going to order the 1800 and found it on amazon for about $1200 shipped.
Several local shops quoted about $1500 for chimney, and the only price for install I've gotten was $2000~2500 INCLUDING the chimney hardware. Hope this helps.

 

[bunfoolio]

I use pine in the spring and fall to avoid getting roasted out of the house.

 

[spitfire]

Thanks for the numbers. Those seem more reasonable than the quote I got. They wanted $4,000 for pipe + install without the stove.

That makes sense, but I don’t have much softwood. My property is mostly red oak and maple with about 5% softwood.

 

[brenndatomu]

the propane furnace is rated at 72,000 btu furnace.

To me that says the 1800 would have been a good fit on all but the very coldest days of the year.
With the 2100 I think you will get good at building small fires in a large stove..."log cabin style" fires work well.

 

[spitfire]

I am reading through the manual for the Drolet 2100 I purchased (attached) and have a couple of questions.

I am doing a corner install, double wall pipe inside (manufactured home). I am planning out my hearth and backsplash. I will be doing Durock cement board covered with ceramic tile for both hearth and backsplash. The hearth is required to be noncombustible only so I don’t need to worry about an R value.

The C/F values in the manual are distances to a combustible. Does the cement board/tile depth count since they are considered non-combustible? I.E. if my cement board/tile is 3” thick, does that mean the stove could be 7” away from the face of the tile?

In determining the distance in front of the door for the hearth pad, does the 16” required refer to the outside edge of the door or the handle attached to the door? I.E. is my stove depth for purposes of the hearth 24 and 1/8 inch or 31 and 7/8”?

 

[Mech e]

The C/F clearance values are distance to combustible materials. Just measure the distances from the stove pipe and stove corner to the first materials that are combustible to find your clearance.

Use the door face, not the handle.

 

[SpaceBus]

I would also consider an outside air intake for your stove given the tightness of most manufactured homes.

 

[begreen]

I would also consider an outside air intake for your stove given the tightness of most manufactured homes.

Outside air is required for mobile home installation and the stove needs to be bolted down.

 

[spitfire]

I received my stove a few days ago and am moving forward with hearth install.

For the required outside air intake connection to the stove, I have a question about what is allowed.

The manual states it is acceptable to draw combustion air from outside through a wall or a vented crawl space. I have a pre-existing fresh air intake near the wood stove from my vented crawl space (see attached picture). My original plan was to route the insulated intake pipe from the existing opening under my hearth pad and have it come out an opening at the back of the hearth pad and run it to the stove intake.

However, the manual for the air intake only mentions two methods:

1. through wall and to the rear of the stove
2. Through the crawl space and underneath the pedestal (my stove manual specifically mentions this one is not approved)

Essentially, I am wondering if I can run the insulated intake pipe from the existing crawl space opening to the rear of the stove. (A combination of both step 3 in the attached manual pictures). (This would save me from having to cut a whole in the exterior wall).

 

[begreen]

Yes, you can.

 

[spitfire]

Thanks, I just ordered the insulated intake pipe.

 

[spitfire]

Piping questions:

1. Is it okay to use existing roof flashing from previous fireplace. My concern is it is 13” diameter opening while the one from duratech is 10.75” diameter. I don’t want there to be so much spacing that the storm collar isn’t effective.

2. The manual states a minimum 12’ chimney measures from the top of the stove. I am thinking of ordering two five foot exterior pieces and the stove pipe will be ~4 feet. So I’ll have ~14 feet chimney. I will need to put in two 45 degree elbows to account for an offset. Should the 14 feet be enough to overcome the disadvantage of the offset or should I add more exterior length?

3. Back to the 45 degree elbows, I have read a couple of places that the maximum allowed angle in the USA is 30 degrees. But I can only find duratech DVL in 45 degree elbows. Why the discrepancy?

4. Anything I should do with the piping system to make cleaning it easier? I would prefer to use a sooteater or similar product to clean from the inside of the house, if possible.

 

[begreen]

The old flashing is too large. It should be replaced with the proper sized one. I had a thought about splicing on the cone from the proper sized flashing to the existing one, but have never seen this done. Maybe someone else has.

I'd go ahead and try it with the 14'. It may work ok.

30º elbow is the limit for chimney pipe. Double-wall DVL stovepipe is a different animal entirely. It is only for interior use. They only make 45ºs and 90s for that system. Use their offset table to calculate the offset.

 

[spitfire]

I’ll buy the new roof flashing, I would prefer to do it right the first time than having to redo it later.

I suppose I can always add another length later if I am not getting a good enough draft.

Makes sense, the articles I read weren’t specific enough about the 30 degree max being for chimney pipe instead of stove pipe.

 

[spitfire]

I am getting ready to order my piping in the next day or two and would like back up in case I forgot anything. I am going with duratech class a for above the ceiling and duratech dvl for inside the home.

My list:
Cap 6DT-VC
Spark arrestor 5DT-SA
Storm collar 5DT-SC
Adjustable flashing 6DT-F6
Extended roof bracket support 6DT-XRS
Chimney adapter 6DVL-ADT
Exterior pipe 6DT-60SSCF
Round support box 6DT-RCS
Round trim collar 5DT-TCR
Telescoping dvl 6-12” for elbows 6DVL-12ADT
Two 45 degree elbows 6DVL-E45
Telescoping dvl 29-46” 6DVL-46TA
Appliance adapter 6DVL—AD/ADWD

Anything I am missing? (I don’t need the attic shield as it is too tall for my space and you are not allowed to cut it down - I will build a shield from plywood to block the insulation)

Also, for the appliance adapter, would it hurt to put the one with the damper built in? I don’t plan on using the damper on a routine basis, but would like the ability to have extra control over the stove if it gets really windy and the air intake isn’t enough to tone down the fire.

 

[MTASH]

You can get adjustable DVL elbows now, so you don't have to use 45 degree.

 

[spitfire]

Hi all,

It has been a while since I posted. I am making progress (slowly) and will be finishing up tile work in the next few days.

I have the actual wood stove install scheduled for the middle of January!

My wife wants to add a mantle to the project. I don’t want to spend the money for a non-combustible mantle so I would like to use wood. She is wanting it a couple feet above the top of the wood stove.

There is no mention of clearance for a mantle in the wood stove manual that I can find. So does the limiting factor become the distance between the exhaust pipe and a combustible? Which in my case is 6” due to using double walled pipe?