Newbie with some questions. Wood stove new construction

  • 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.

Noslen

Member
Dec 26, 2019
16
Idaho
Hi everyone, I am so glad to have found this forum, I have been reading it like crazy.

We are building a small new house this spring and have decided to add a wood stove, I think I want to go with the Englander vl-17 if I can still get my hands on one. We would also like to do a DIY install.

It is a vaulted ceiling with scissor trusses and the stove would go straight in the middle, so we would probably need to build down a little framed box for it to have a flat surface to enter through. Ideally I would like to go straight up through the roof peak, but will need to see if our builder thinks that is a good idea. Otherwise a 15 degree bend in the ‘attic’ space wouldn’t bother me too much.

I’ve been researching everything I can find but have a couple questions for those of you who are experienced.

What stage of construction should we install the chimney? My husband thinks it would be best to do it before the drywall goes up, which makes sense to me since there isn’t really an attic to get to from above due to the scissor trusses. My only question is, doesn’t the ceiling support box need to be installed on top of the drywall? Or maybe I am thinking about this wrong, tell me what I need to know.

Either way, I would like to not install the pipe or stove or hearth until all the painting etc has been done so they don’t get in the way.


I’ve attached a picture of the plans of the wall it will go on. Right in the middle of the room, against the wall as close as we can.

Thoughts! Thank you!
 

Attachments

  • 2D558BFB-0A2B-4BAD-8413-B7F471FC3F48.jpeg
    2D558BFB-0A2B-4BAD-8413-B7F471FC3F48.jpeg
    114 KB · Views: 154
Im not 100% sure that the stove your choosing is up to the task at hand in your climate.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jan Pijpelink
What are the dimensions of the room and will it be open to other rooms? What is the whole house sq ftg? If the goal is a chill chaser for an occasional fir it may work. It's a good little heater but the stove will have a short burn time due to the small firebox.
 
Since you’re using trusses the framing will be easy..
just remember you need 2” min. to combustibles from your class A stovepipe...
Oh, and you should’nt need any bend either, straight from the stovetop to the ceiling support box, then straight up through truss space and out the roof..
You’ll need to tell your builder/framer the center line of your stovepipe so it does’nt land on a truss,,, you don’t even wanna think about going through one...
 
What are the dimensions of the room and will it be open to other rooms? What is the whole house sq ftg? If the goal is a chill chaser for an occasional fir it may work. It's a good little heater but the stove will have a short burn time due to the small firebox.
The whole house is 1536 sq feet and the room it is in is an open living/kitchen (and hallway)that is around 900 something square feet.

I did a lot of reading and this stove appeals to me because of its shallowness. I can’t find many that have low clearances and are this shallow. I know it comes at the expense of the firebox size, but I think I’m willing to make that trade.
 
Since you’re using trusses the framing will be easy..
just remember you need 2” min. to combustibles from your class A stovepipe...
Oh, and you should’nt need any bend either, straight from the stovetop to the ceiling support box, then straight up through truss space and out the roof..
You’ll need to tell your builder/framer the center line of your stovepipe so it does’nt land on a truss,,, you don’t even wanna think about going through one...

Thank you!
 
The whole house is 1536 sq feet and the room it is in is an open living/kitchen (and hallway)that is around 900 something square feet.

I did a lot of reading and this stove appeals to me because of its shallowness. I can’t find many that have low clearances and are this shallow. I know it comes at the expense of the firebox size, but I think I’m willing to make that trade.
It's a nice little stove and very affordable. Leave some extra room around it in case you want to upgrade at a later date.

Will the vaulted ceiling have a ceiling fan? Heat is going to want to pocket at the peak. A ceiling fan will help circulate the air.
 
It's a nice little stove and very affordable. Leave some extra room around it in case you want to upgrade at a later date.

Will the vaulted ceiling have a ceiling fan? Heat is going to want to pocket at the peak. A ceiling fan will help circulate the air.
Yes, it will have a ceiling fan.
I would like to add built in shelves around it which would complicate upgrading later. I will have to figure it out!
 
Mind clearances to the stove and to the stove pipe. Plan for the future in case the stove is upgraded to a larger one.

Will it be connected with double-wall stove pipe? It's recommended for long runs of pipe.
 
Mind clearances to the stove and to the stove pipe. Plan for the future in case the stove is upgraded to a larger one.

Will it be connected with double-wall stove pipe? It's recommended for long runs of pipe.
The run of pipe will be about 7 feet and I was planning on just using single. Is there a rule of thumb for heights and upgrading to double wall? The chimney section is about 8 feet on top of that.
 
8' is often considered the maximum run for single-wall. You should be ok, just remember that single-wall stove pipe has an 18" clearance requirement.
 
Plan for the future in case the stove is upgraded to a larger one.
Some folks start with the idea of a stove for the ambience, and a bit of supplemental heat. They end up liking it, then getting a bigger stove to heat full time. It's a lifestyle that appeals to some, burning and maintaining a stove, and maybe cutting, stacking and drying your own wood.
I am so glad to have found this forum, I have been reading it like crazy.
I have to warn you, if you keep reading it, you may end up crazy like the rest of us. ;lol
Your brain will slowly turn to..
1579503208769.png
 
8' is often considered the maximum run for single-wall. You should be ok, just remember that single-wall stove pipe has an 18" clearance requirement.

In the vl- 17 Manual it says the rear clearance for stove pipe connector to combustible is 12 inches for single wall. Is that wrong?

I can do double wall if so. I need the tighter clearance.
 

Attachments

  • 4A877FDA-DDFE-407D-BA21-98D2DF80C5E9.png
    4A877FDA-DDFE-407D-BA21-98D2DF80C5E9.png
    124 KB · Views: 115
Definitely setup your vent system so that you can upgrade to a larger stove with much longer burn times in the future. As mentioned. If you were close I could get you a vl-17 for next to nothing. The original owner replaced it after just one season. It just could not provide usable burn time duration for him. Food for thought.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Noslen
Definitely setup your vent system so that you can upgrade to a larger stove with much longer burn times in the future. As mentioned. If you were close I could get you a vl-17 for next to nothing. The original owner replaced it after just one season. It just could not provide usable burn time duration for him. Food for thought.

I think we will upgrade eventually but we have several little children and I really want the stove to be on a rasised hearth out of their reach. Because of this I want to keep clearances small. Later when I feel more confident about it being on the floor I can upgrade sizes.

I also love the look of this stove and generally feel like I would prefer a smaller one to learn on, even if I have to refill it often.

Choosing the right/wrong stove is all part of the learning process I bet though. We will see what we think of it after we use it for a while!
 
Like begreen and woody stated... give yourself some extra room on clearances in case you upsize someday or upgrade to a stove with higher clearances and build you a large hearth area so you have plenty of room for wood and hearth tools.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Noslen
Definitely setup your vent system so that you can upgrade to a larger stove with much longer burn times in the future. As mentioned. If you were close I could get you a vl-17 for next to nothing. The original owner replaced it after just one season. It just could not provide usable burn time duration for him. Food for thought.
I’d be happy to look into buying it and shipping if it’s not crazy. I don’t know how much that usually costs
 
Shipping would be unreasonable. I've done it. Better off to buy local. Less hassle and potential damage to worry about also.
On another note. Where are you in Idaho? I rode a dual sport motorcycle through last summer. Some of the best FS roads I have ever rode.
 
In the vl- 17 Manual it says the rear clearance for stove pipe connector to combustible is 12 inches for single wall. Is that wrong?

I can do double wall if so. I need the tighter clearance.
Go with the double wall then.

Free shipping
 
Last edited:
Go with the double wall then.

Free shipping
It says sold. :(

Bummer. I found a similar looking one, the stuv cube 16. Too bad it’s several thousand dollars.


I could probably make myself happy with another Englander model but those hearth requirements are so high.
 
Shipping would be unreasonable. I've done it. Better off to buy local. Less hassle and potential damage to worry about also.
On another note. Where are you in Idaho? I rode a dual sport motorcycle through last summer. Some of the best FS roads I have ever rode.
East Idaho very pretty
 
It says sold. :(

Bummer. I found a similar looking one, the stuv cube 16. Too bad it’s several thousand dollars.


I could probably make myself happy with another Englander model but those hearth requirements are so high.
It's discontinued, so you are going to have to google around the country to find one. This place says they have it, but the web page could be out of date.
http://www.englandswoodstovestore.com/englander - 865-982-8194
 
There are some other stoves in this style, but they will cost more. Have you looked at the Drolet Soho and the Pacific Energy Neo 1.2 or 1.6?