New To Burning/New Home

[johnpma]

Hi everyone new guy here.

Purchased a new (older) home with a fireplace in the living room. Had the local sweep come over and tell me that the chimney and liner are in great shape and the previous owner never used the fireplace. Only slight problem is a hairline crack on the top flue which he claims is pretty typical.

He then said no need for any kind of liner in the chimney. However, I was given a US Stove 2000 wood stove which I want to pipe into the existing chimney. The stove will have to be a bit forward out of the firebox of the fireplace. The sweep (as he jumped from the roof) said "follow me to my truck" he then handed me a piece of 6" SS flex and a stubby piece of black pipe. He told me to secure the damper open, fabricate a block off plate that fits below the damper from sheet metal, and cut a hole and connect the flex from the stubby black pipe on top of the stove to the block off plate and start burning.

Told me this was a common way of burning a wood stove in a fireplace way before flex liner was out.

My questions are:

1.) safety
2.) draft

Has anyone done this type setup in their home? How did it perform? He said it's not uncommon and there is no reason to not use a perfectly fine chimney.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[begreen]

Was this a certified sweep? It's a cheap way to connect the stove, but with some caveats. Draft can be terrible with a modern stove it the chimney tile is larger than 2x the stove pipe area. It will slow the draft down which will increase the likelihood of creosote deposits. This will be especially true if this is an exterior chimney. There is a risk of downdrafting, that is the stove reversing, spilling smoke into the room. And when the chimney is cleaned the creosote will just fall on top of the block-off plate and smoke shelf making a bloody, combustible mess.Would I do this to save some bucks? No.

What are the interior dimensions of the chimney tile? How tall is it? Is this interior or exterior?

 

[johnpma]

yes he said he was certified, the flue size is 8 X 12 the fireplace is relatively small fire box, the back side of the chimney is in the enclosed front porch and the total height of the chimney is about 18 feet

Ideally I' like a fireplace insert and install a liner but cash is tight after the home purchase.

 

[begreen]

It is right on the cusp. I can't say stubbing it in won't work, but note the caveats. Modern EPA stoves like strong draft.

Do you have a good source of fully seasoned wood? If not I would pass on burning this season and DIY install a liner this summer. And get the best seasoned wood you can asap. Stack it under top cover and let it dry.

 

[johnpma]

Thanks for your help. One thing he said that did not make sense to me (this is all greek to me) is my stove re-burns the gasses? Has some gas chambers on the top before the stove exhausts the smoke. Does that make sense?

Again thank you for your help

 

[bholler]

yeah that is still a legal way to hook up a stove but a very poor way to do it. it will not work very well it will be really hard to clean properly and it is not terribly safe. I would recommend against it and look for another sweep

 

[begreen]

Thanks for your help. One thing he said that did not make sense to me (this is all greek to me) is my stove re-burns the gasses? Has some gas chambers on the top before the stove exhausts the smoke. Does that make sense?

Again thank you for your help

Yes, it has secondary combustion tubes on the top of the firebox, under the baffle. Room air is pulled through a manifold in the firebox to be preheated on the way to these reburn tubes. It takes suction to do this. This is why you need a strong draft.

 

[johnpma]

So a liner kit would take care of the draft problem I assume? Or are there other ways to create draft? I do have very seasoned oak and birch wood.

 

[begreen]

A full liner will greatly improve draft, especially during milder weather. It will also stay hotter and will help keep creosote accumulation to a minimum as long as the stove is run correctly burning dry wood. Stove performance should also be quite better, again most noticeably in milder weather.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

My buddy did an install just as the sweep described. Worked great for years. One day his wife lit the stove, let it run too hot for a few minutes, all the creosote that built up on top of the block off plate went up in flames.
Nothing like a good old fashioned chimney fire to warm the house right up.

 

[weatherguy]

The old stoves worked just fine that was since they weren't airtight, chimney fires were also more common, I can remember an older couple in my town that bought a Better N Ben's insert and hooked it up like that, sadly the house and the couple are no longer with us. I highly recommend not doing it and lining the flue.

 

[johnpma]

Well good news. I called the sweep, and he said yes for sure you will have to stay on top of the cleaning, but it's a temporary workable solution on a budget.

I told him my concerns. He said "wait here I'll be back" and returned with (2) 5' sections of flex liner and (1) used (in good shape) 9' section and a few couplers. We silicone d, and hose clamped the sections together using the couplers and bingo!! Down the chimney it went. Had a good used cap as well. All for $150.00 Did have to crush the liner a bit to get it to pass by the damper.

Did not realize you could couple sections together.

 

[begreen]

It's not ideal, but a whole lot better as a temporary solution. He gave you one heckuva a good deal. By him a case of his favorite ale.

 

[peakbagger]

My friend had a similar setup in a large stone exterior chimney with a VC resolute, he rarely could eve engage the secondary burn. We finally ran a piece of stove pipe down the flue and tied it into the stub pipe. It worked much better after that but still want of much use until it got below 40 degrees.

 

[bholler]

well you should have cut out the damper frame instead of smashing the liner but it is way better than the original way you were going to do it