Pipe pricing - Are all pipe created equal?

[jjames]

Ok i have been a bit of a lurker, and finally took the plunge and purchased an Alderlea T6.

I am building my hearth, and looking at my clearances from the ceiling rafter.

I have not purchased my stove pipe yet, and have priced out double wall pipe from my stove up 9.5ft out a #4 pitch room and then 6ft out of the roof as being $1,200.

That seems a tad steep, and am goingto home depot to see what prices are there.

My wife pointed out a pass trhough system at HEP sales here locally that was $62 for the entire pass trhough unit.

Are all stove pipe created equal?

I spent all kinds of time researching my stove, how did i miss the pipe?

Yeah, I know that can/should be searching the archives, but i figure that some of you will love the opportunity to show a neophyte the "WAY" although i already know that revealing my stove choice is going to determine which side of the room I get sent too, and who is going to play with me on the playground.

 

[SteveKG]

About five minutes after I ordered some stovepipe online, I find your post. $1200 does sound a bit steep, but I don't know what you are needing besides just the pipe [dripless adaptor, metal roof boot, stove-to-pipe adaptor, etc., all adding up].

The insulated pipe is very pricey but there really isn't an alternative, far as I'm concerned. The portion of the pipe which is outdoors must be insulated, period. Particularly in your cold-weather region. You will be a sad stove user otherwise.

The portion of the pipe that is indoors from near the ceiling down to the stove can be either double-walled or single-walled. Around here, the single-walled is all we can find at H. Depot, etc. I am having to order the double-walled online.

The single-walled is much less expensive than the double. Far, far less expensive. The double-walled is not so much less expensive than the stainless, insulated pipe for outdoors. However, the clearance-to-combustibles for double-walled is less than a foot, whereas the single will either have to be far from combustibles or you need a steel [or other] heat shield bolted to the wall behind the pipe and offset from the wall an inch or two to create an airspace. [I cut half-inch metal conduit into short tubes and used that, as I had some lying around for free]. I used [free] steel sheets to create my shield.

There are single-walled pipes available in several thicknesses and either snap-together lengthwise [Home Depot, local hardware stores, etc.] or welded together along the seam. For longevity, and not having to redo the interior pipe every few years, if you go with single-wall, get the heavier gauge.

Again, around here, I am having to order this stuff online. I ultimately chose one of the sponsors's here, northlineexpress.com, for their free shipping and competitive pricing, but whatever.

I have been using single-walled indoors for 35 years and am now adding another stove and going with the double-walled for the closer clearance tolerances.

There are several makers of the insulated outdoor pipe [which can be used indoors as well, I have several feet of it coming below the ceiling of one room] including Selkirk's Metalbest. That's what I've been using for decades in my home but there are others which appear to be just as well made and seem to be about the same price.

You can go online to some of the stovepipe sellers and figure out how much the pipe would cost buying it that way, then compare with what you can get it for locally. At least get an idea of how reasonable your $1200 estimate is.

By the way, using single-walled indoors leads to cooler gases reaching the outdoor sections of insulated pipe. In my home, the ceilings are low, only 7 feet, and from the stove top to ceiling the run is only a few feet. My single-walled pipe has not lead to that problem. Since you've been lurking here, as you say, you probably know that cooler gases lead, or can lead, to more creosote trouble in the outdoor section of pipe. You will get more heat from the stove with single-walled, as it radiates out from the pipe as it carries the gas to the ceiling. I get a lot of heat. However, if your indoor run of pipe is long enough, and I am expecting yours is, you might want to write off the heat you'd get from the single-wall in the interest of safety.