Pellet Stove into Class A Chimney Question

[CompShooter]

I had my house built a year ago with two flues put in. The first one goes to the fireplace on the first floor and the second goes into the basement because I originally planned on putting a wood stove down there. I have since decided to buy a pellet stove instead. Right now I am planing on buying a Englander pellet stove from Lowes or Home Depot. It has a three inch exhaust port. My Class A chimeny travels 24 feet to the roof.

What should I do and why?
1) Just connect the 3 inch L pipe to the class A chimney.
2) Convert to 4 inch L pipe and conect to class A chimney.
3) Convert to 4 inch L pipe and run it all the way through the chimney to the roof.

Or is there something else I should do (besides going through the wall)?

Thanks!

 

[KeithO]

Your insurance may require you to use "pellet vent" because it is the only "listed" venting for your stove. Functionally, the class A is much better insulated and for a run that long, you would more than likely need to switch to a 4" pellet vent anyway (I had to on my corn stove install, required by the manufacturer on over a certain length of instal) Remember that the flue gasses are much cooler for pellet stoves than for conventional woodstoves and that the flue gasses are "pressure exhausted" as opposed to "drafted" since the draft at those low temperatures is so bad.

You might consider running the pellet vent up the inside of the class A, so that you don't have to take anything out or cut any new holes in the roof. You would need a custom block off plate top and bottom to stop drafts and water penetration but may be able to keep the original 6" raincap. Maybe that is what you mean by the 3rd option.

 

[jtp10181]

A lot of pellet stoves offer a 3 to 6" increaser to hook into 6" class A. Check the installtion manual for options.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Your insurance may require you to use "pellet vent" because it is the only "listed" venting for your stove. Functionally, the class A is much better insulated and for a run that long, you would more than likely need to switch to a 4" pellet vent anyway (I had to on my corn stove install, required by the manufacturer on over a certain length of instal) Remember that the flue gasses are much cooler for pellet stoves than for conventional woodstoves and that the flue gasses are "pressure exhausted" as opposed to "drafted" since the draft at those low temperatures is so bad.

You might consider running the pellet vent up the inside of the class A, so that you don't have to take anything out or cut any new holes in the roof. You would need a custom block off plate top and bottom to stop drafts and water penetration but may be able to keep the original 6" raincap. Maybe that is what you mean by the 3rd option.

type "L" is pellet vent pipe , that is the class listing , either "L" or "PL" just as "class A" is the type listing for solid fuel chimneys

personally i like running the liner up if the flue is more than 6" existing,or external , or if its more than 1 story, but some manufacturers require it and some do not. direct connect adapters are generally available to connect to a prefab chimney like a duraplus or selkirk metalbestos chimney, remembr though as keith said above pellet exhaust max's out at 500 degrees plus ambient essentially 550 degrees is a good round figure to look at so cooling is a factor especially in an exterior chimney. definately read the manual, and check code in your area to see if there is a local requirement that demands full liners.

 

[CompShooter]

My chimney is interior, smack dead center inside my house. It's also 24 feet from the ceiling of my basement to the cap on the roof of the house. I was mainly concerned whether or not if I needed to line the class A chimney with pellet vent pipe because of condensation issues in such a verticle run of 6" class A.

The information I read about verticle runs seem to say if you start with 3" PL and the verticle rise is greater than 15 feet, then the remaining distance has to be 4" PL. So a twenty foot verticle run would have to be 3" PL for the first 15 feet and 4" PL for the remaining 5 feet.

But my situation is a little unique because I have a 24 foot verticle run of 6" class A. So I would like to convert to 4" PL at the back of the stove and then connect to the 6" class A at the ceilinig. The remaining 24 feet of class A would be 6".

Does that sound logical? Is it safe? Or should I just run 4" PL all the way up the inside of the class A to the roof of the house?

 

[KeithO]

The default instalation in fact normally goes through the wall "direct vent" fashion and most owners use it because it is generally the cheapest option. At the same time, they pull in the fresh air from outside, so air starvation is also avoided. I couldn't go with this on my install, since the corn stove is sited against an inner wall. I think I spent close to $1000 on the 4" pellet vent and miscelaneous fittings alone ! If my memory serves me I used 5x 5ft lengths thus 25 ft + the T adapter behind the stove.

Write / call the stove manufacturer and see what they say. Having something in writing from the manufacturer may save you a lot of grief with the inspector. If you can go with the class A it will certainly save you a bundle.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

direct connect with a chimney is acceptable with englander units in a 6 inch class a flue up to 32 ft (i'll check that as right now im working from memory) however , outside air is mandarory for englander units so that may be a problem also , if you end up running up the flue, you could transition from 3 to 4 inch at the tee, and have 4 inch running all the way up , that way you have 4 inch pipe all the way down , easier to brush down a you only would need 1 brush. i'll get back to you about the direct connect specs when i can get to the info (at home now and dont have it here. but the bad news is the outside air need to be installed and thats gonna take some thinking with as center chimney.

 

[Gooserider]

direct connect with a chimney is acceptable with englander units in a 6 inch class a flue up to 32 ft (i'll check that as right now im working from memory) however , outside air is mandarory for englander units so that may be a problem also , if you end up running up the flue, you could transition from 3 to 4 inch at the tee, and have 4 inch running all the way up , that way you have 4 inch pipe all the way down , easier to brush down a you only would need 1 brush. i'll get back to you about the direct connect specs when i can get to the info (at home now and dont have it here. but the bad news is the outside air need to be installed and thats gonna take some thinking with as center chimney.

I've seen mention of those "Coax" style pellet vents - will those work with an Englander, and would it be a viable option for the OP to run that up his Class A, giving him the benefit of having both pipes in the existing flue?

Gooserider

 

[CompShooter]

Cool! So it seems going right into a 24 foot class A chimney is ok.

I'm aware of the need for outside air with these units and I already have that problem solved. I am going to run 3" OA vent between the basement ceiling rafters and then box out an area along the side or back wall. And then go right into the stove.

Right now the basement isn't finished so the final appearance isn't as big of a deal. Next year I can tidy everything up and make it look pretty when I make the area down there into some sort of rec room.

Next question...

Would it matter if I stayed with 3" PL from the stove to the class A? Or would 4" give me some kind of benefit?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Cool! So it seems going right into a 24 foot class A chimney is ok.

I'm aware of the need for outside air with these units and I already have that problem solved. I am going to run 3" OA vent between the basement ceiling rafters and then box out an area along the side or back wall. And then go right into the stove.

Right now the basement isn't finished so the final appearance isn't as big of a deal. Next year I can tidy everything up and make it look pretty when I make the area down there into some sort of rec room.

Next question...

Would it matter if I stayed with 3" PL from the stove to the class A? Or would 4" give me some kind of benefit?

ok good deal with the OAK , as for the 3 v/s 4 inch pipe , unless you are above 4000 ft in elevation 3 inch will work just ducky, no problems, if above 4k ft go with 4 inch pipe due to elevation and subsequent air density. the 24 ft chimney should not pose any problems for the direct connect as well if 6 inch.

 

[CompShooter]

Thanks for the info. Now I just have to call the permit guy tomorrow and get started on this adventure!

 

[stoveguy2esw]

kool! welcome to the Englander family. give me a shout if you need anything