pellet stove vent setup

[oneweight]

The old wood stove in our house has a pretty funky, and maybe illegal, venting setup. We would like to put in a new PELLET STOVE if we can but we are concerned about how to vent it.

The stove pipe from the existing wood stove goes vertical about 4 feet, then takes a 90 into a wall. This wall is actually the outside of our kitchen pantry closet. On the inside of this closet wall there is insulated chimney pipe that spans 4 feet horizontally until it exits to the exterior of the house and into a factory built chimney which stretches vertically over the top of the roof.

A few stove dealers have told me this is ok (the horizontal run in the closet) since it meets the "distance from combustibles" requirement for chimney pipe.

The closest thing I can find in the regs and manufacturer guides is that a "chimney connector" cannot go through a closet, or similar enclosed area. (Is the 4 ft piece of insulated chimney in the closet considered a connector?)
Is there a venting setup for this situation that will be legal?
Before you suggest it....no, we cannot go vertical through the roof.
Any feedback is welcome.

 

[moralleper]

is it possible to place the new pellet stove on an exterior wall and just vent it straight out and up? bump...

TK

 

[oneweight]

I am trying to cover all logical, legal, and safe possibilities for this location since it is central location and a previous owner already laid down a tile hearth into the hardwood floor.
We could place the stove elsewhere but for various reasons it would not be our first choice.

Anyone else have an opinion on our original post?

 

[MrGriz]

It doesn't sound kosher to me; at least the way I'm picturing it. Can you post some pictures of the current set up?

 

[oneweight]

i will try to post some photos tonight. thanks.

 

[Gooserider]

The current setup might or might not be OK depending on just what the horizontal run is made of. If it is single or double wall connector pipe, then it is definitely NOT OK as connector pipe can't go through a wall. However you may be OK if the horizontal part is made from Class A chimney pipe, and meets the appropriate clearances. (and note that you would need to transition into the Class A in the stove room, not the closet)

As far as the pellet stove is concerned, I'm not an expert on pellet venting rules, but from my understanding, you could probably just pull the entire woodstove chimney setup and go out with pellet vent along the same path. Probably wouldn't need to go as high on the outside vertical though.

If the existing chimney hardware is in good shape, you might even be able to E-bay it off and get back some of the cost of the pellet setup.

Gooserider

 

[oneweight]

Thanks Gooserider. Yes, my plan is to have the installer yank the whole setup and start over and try and sell the exterior chimney parts. I definately want to get rid of the long vertical portion on the exterior of the house....or as much of it as possible.
I understand about not having stove pipe go through the closet and the need to have class A Chimney pipe instead.
You then mentioned having pellet venting replace the whole setup. I guess I don't know the difference between chimney pipe and pellet venting systems. Would I still need Class A chimney pipe through the closet if using pellet venting on the rest of the setup?

 

[Metal]

I would let your installer help you design the vent in the most appropriate fashion, don't follow the old route just to keep from making a new hole somewhere. The local inspector (and hopefully your installer) should know the local codes for installation. If you think anything they tell you sounds fishy you can always come here for our "opinions."

 

[Gooserider]

Thanks Gooserider. Yes, my plan is to have the installer yank the whole setup and start over and try and sell the exterior chimney parts. I definately want to get rid of the long vertical portion on the exterior of the house....or as much of it as possible.
I understand about not having stove pipe go through the closet and the need to have class A Chimney pipe instead.
You then mentioned having pellet venting replace the whole setup. I guess I don't know the difference between chimney pipe and pellet venting systems. Would I still need Class A chimney pipe through the closet if using pellet venting on the rest of the setup?

I'm not an expert on pellet vent, but it is normally much smaller diameter - typically 3-4" diameter, while stove chimney pipe starts around 6" It also runs much cooler, so it doesn't have quite the same requirements in terms of clearances. The fact that it is forced convection venting rather than a natural draft allows it to follow different rules about routing as well. You might try looking on some of the venting company websites for more detailed descriptions of the piping and the requirements for it.

Gooserider