New pellet stove and chimney

[vdlinden]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone can give me some advise on the following. I am replacing my old pellet stove with a new one. The old one was an insert and so is the new one. When we bought the house about 15 years ago, the pellet stove was already there and the owners had placed a pipe inside the old brick chimney to connect to the pellet stove.
The dealer where I'm buying the new pellet stove is asking me, if this pipe goes the whole way up through the chimney. I think it only goes half way up, but that never caused any problems. He says though that it would be better to replace the current pipe with a new one, that goes the whole way up to the top of the chimney. The problem is, that this would cost me around $1,000 extra. Could anyone let me know if this is really necessary?

Thanks for the help!

Cornee

 

[Xena]

Hey there and welcome to the forum!

You don't mention exactly which stove you are getting,
but you should be able to download the manual from
the Mfg's web site and have a look at the recommended
installations as well as requirements. The manual should
explain everything you need to know about the venting.


That said, I think it wise to replace that 15 yr old pellet vent
and go all the way up the chimney and cap it properly. That's
how we did ours. It makes it very easy to clean with a chimney
brush and a shop vac. Plus to me it just seems like shoving a little
piece of pipe up a chimney is a half assed way of installing it.
Just my 2c. Other opinions may vary. I'm no expert on the subject
so lets wait and see what other folks say.

 

[pegdot]

Certainly no expert but I think that $1,000 to run the flue to the chimney top is a bit high. I've recently priced 4" SS liners and I know I could do mine myself for less than $500 in materials. If your at all handy and willing to do a little research you could likely do it yourself and save some money.

An installation that goes all the way to the top of the chimney is the best/safest way to go!

 

[vdlinden]

Hi,

The new pellet stove I'm buying is the Harman Accentra insert. I looked online at the manual and can't quite tell if you have to run the pipe the whole way to the top of the chimney or not....

Cornee

Hey there and welcome to the forum!

You don't mention exactly which stove you are getting,
but you should be able to download the manual from
the Mfg's web site and have a look at the recommended
installations as well as requirements. The manual should
explain everything you need to know about the venting.


That said, I think it wise to replace that 15 yr old pellet vent
and go all the way up the chimney and cap it properly. That's
how we did ours. It makes it very easy to clean with a chimney
brush and a shop vac. Plus to me it just seems like shoving a little
piece of pipe up a chimney is a half assed way of installing it.
Just my 2c. Other opinions may vary. I'm no expert on the subject
so lets wait and see what other folks say.

 

[pegdot]

Can you run a pellet insert with only a partial pipe? Yes. Is it the best way to do it? No

There's been quite a bit of discussion on this here. If you do a search I think you'll find loads of information on the subject but, long story short, running it to the top will not only improve the safety of the installation but will also make your maintenance chores easier.

 

[Xena]

As pegdot mentioned, installing yourself can save a lot of money.
With two people and some basic tools such as drills, caulking gun,
etc, it isn't out of the reach of folks who are handy and willing to go on the roof - but -
some, not all, but some dealers get their nose out of joint when
people do their own installs and it can backfire on you later if
you need service from them. Just saying, it's a good idea to talk
it out with the dealer IF you wind up wanting to install yourself.
$1000 is ballpark for the installation including the all the piping in my area
anyway. (450 ish for all venting materials and $500 for labor)
I paid $450 for our complete venting kit. Pricing may vary greatly
100 miles in any direction from me, but that's what it is here.