Please help us pick a used stove!

[begreen]

Kenny, I appreciate the wood advice! I am going to think seriously about wood soon. Right now is the stovepipe installation mystery.

The stove arrived today! It looks good!

My husband is going to post here using my login to find out what he needs to know about stovepipe.

At this late date it is going to be very hard to find truly seasoned wood that is at the right moisture content to burn. Most wood sold as "seasoned" has not had enough time since being split and stacked, to dry properly. If you do find it or find some kiln-dried wood that is truly dry then there will be a premium price on it.

 

[Eliza10]

This is Eliza' husband with the stovepipe questions:
First off, I need to know if I need double wall pipe. I need to keep the stove as close to the wall as possible. Our mason is creating a ceramic tile wall behind the stove. The man from whom we bought our stove said single wall was all he had used, but he had had the stove sitting inside a fireplace. I know double wall pipe is more expensive. I would imagine it would also be more difficult to cut and fit, and I do not understand how it fits into the thimble.
Second: I need to know how to measure for pipe, like how many inches to allow for an elbow. Does double wall measure differently?
Can double wall be had in lengths greater than 48"
Third: I need to know the best and most cost effective way to buy stove pipe, or from whom to buy it.

 

[kennyp2339]

Just scanned through the posts, need confirmation on whether it has the bottom, rear heat & side heat shields.
As far as the black pipe, that's one of the more easier things to do.
Single wall pipe - minimum clearance - 18" from combustibles
Double wall pipe - minimum clearance - 6" from combustibles
It gets tricky without knowing the specific stove and estimated total chimney length (for draft purposes) If you working with a smaller total chimney run then a hard 90 into a thimble is not recommended, (2) 45deg elbows would be best to reduce smoke agitation (reduced draft) but if the chimney run is 18ft + a 90 deg elbow should work just fine. from the thimble you measure out to the flue collar of the stove (stove needs to be installed with all clearance within spec (or wing it and be a little more conservative by taking a cardboard cut out of the stove (measure from the manual) and set it in place and measure from there, so you get the run of the stove with elbow
Measure the round about size of the "rise" buy a telescoping piece of double wall that is within the measurement you take (you want the telescoping pipe because this pipe will be taking out seasonally for cleaning, the telescoping section makes life so much easier)
Dont forget about the adapter piece needed to connect the double wall to the cleanout T, also not 100% sure if your going to need an adapter to attach to the stove collar.
Do not just measure 6" from the wall and call it a day either, the stove has a minimum clearance with protected shield, so even though the pipe can be close, it doesnt allow the stove to get closer to the wall.

 

[moresnow]

Has the existing chimney even been inspected and deemed to be in usable condition?

 

[Eliza10]

Yes, we had the chimney inspected, and were told it was in good condition.

 

[Eliza10]

Want to ask also about hearth tiles. I watched one video about laying them dry over cement board over the wood floor, this being supposedly sufficient as the hearth need only serve as a spark arrester as no lower heat shield is needed for a stove up on legs. I am wondering if the cement board is even necessary. On second, thought, though the cement board may be cushioning the tile to an extent to keep it from cracking.

 

[Eliza10]

Sorry, more questions:
Do we need a 'T' and damper or can we simply use an elbow to get from the up pipe to the thimble part of the chimney liner?
Do I need an adapter to get from the double wall horizontal piece into the thimble? It will be only a short run perhaps 18 " at most from the elbow to the thimble. Is another telescope section needed and can that section connect directly to the thimble piece of the chimney liner?

 

[Eliza10]

Eliza here. Hubby is overwhelmed, I am going to repost/rephrase this question in a new thread.

P.S. moresnow: Yes, that is the first thing we did after I started this thread, got it inspected. Chimney guy, liek the others here, said we'd need a liner, which I had originally hoped we would not. But we went with advice. Liner from Rockford Chimney sits in the box in the driveway. Bespoke chimney cap came today.

_______

UPDATE! (already!) I decided to call the chimney sweep, not the one who gave us the inspection, but another, who'd left me a voice message (after the job was done) and I liked his polite and competent sounding voice. I texted him to explain the help we want and he already texted back that he thinks he can help us get stovepipe and helps us do the installation. Wants pics, so hopefully we are on our way to solving that problem, and I can go right on to learning/planning/ordering firewood once that is lined up, beginning with the helpful info in this thread.

Wow. Adding a wood stove to your house is no small matter!

Thank you Kenny for being so generous with specific advice. I appreciate the time you took. I was wondering why my husband wasn't acknowledging and engaging more on this but I see now he felt he was taking on too much.

 

[Eliza10]

So thankful! Our wood stove is installed, and I am confident of the safety of it and of its ability to pass inspection if we ever need that done. It seems not, but I will look into it later. Right now I need to order wood and I am starting a thread about that. I will definitely take pictures of the now-installed stove and post them here after I get the wood supply on the way.

 

[begreen]

You will find many wood sellers saying their wood is seasoned. While technically true, if the wood was split a week ago it is technically seasoned for a week, but 90% of the time the wood is not fully seasoned. Wood can be dry on the outside and still damp in its core. This makes for miserable burning and low heat. Caveat Emptor.

The best way to tell if the wood is truly seasoned is to split it in half and then test for moisture on the freshly split face. In lieu of a moisture meter you can put the freshly split face of the wood up against your cheek. If it feels damp, it is! Poorly seasoned wood will also be heavier and when you knock two splits together they will thud. If fully dry they will ring with a musical note, like claves.