possible vent issues for basement install?

[pelletstovenewb]

I had a contractor stop by to give me a quote to install a pellet stove in my unfinished basement. The basement was piped in for a fireplace (8" vent), so I was hoping to save some money and use that. The contractor said that he wouldn't recommend a pellet stove because it would be costly to re-pipe (he wouldn't use the existing 8" vent) AND that I would be an unhappy customer due to the build up of ash as the stove it would have to be piped for 3 stories (approx 35'). He said the ash wouldn't make it out of the chimney and would quickly build up making the pellet stove inefficient.

He seemed like a smart man, but could I have a second opinion on this?

Thanks!

 

[MCPO]

I had a contractor stop by to give me a quote to install a pellet stove in my unfinished basement. The basement was piped in for a fireplace (8" vent), so I was hoping to save some money and use that. The contractor said that he wouldn't recommend a pellet stove because it would be costly to re-pipe (he wouldn't use the existing 8" vent) AND that I would be an unhappy customer due to the build up of ash as the stove it would have to be piped for 3 stories (approx 35'). He said the ash wouldn't make it out of the chimney and would quickly build up making the pellet stove inefficient.

He seemed like a smart man, but could I have a second opinion on this?

Thanks!

Mine is in the basement (7" insulated SS ) is closer to 32 ft high, straight up installed in 1988 .I burned 4 tons of soft wood pellets last year. (2004 Harman P38)
After the yearly chimney cleaning I got about 1 qt of fine , dust like , ash off the inside walls of the chimney , the short connector pipe maybe a cupful.
I could have let it go for another year but it`s so easy to run down the brush every year and feel good about it.

 

[Bioburner]

From my burning a Harman and able to compare to several others the exhaust of the Harman seems pretty well scrubbed of ash but others seem to collect more.

 

[Lake Girl]

I had a contractor stop by to give me a quote to install a pellet stove in my unfinished basement. The basement was piped in for a fireplace (8" vent), so I was hoping to save some money and use that. The contractor said that he wouldn't recommend a pellet stove because it would be costly to re-pipe (he wouldn't use the existing 8" vent) AND that I would be an unhappy customer due to the build up of ash as the stove it would have to be piped for 3 stories (approx 35'). He said the ash wouldn't make it out of the chimney and would quickly build up making the pellet stove inefficient.

He seemed like a smart man, but could I have a second opinion on this?

Thanks!

What stove are you looking at? Other options for venting out at a rim joist and up (ie do you have to use the existing piping)? If you did try the existing piping and found issues, the other options would come into play. With a DC location, I would suspect that wood supply might be a tougher option...

I imagine natural gas would be readily available. Reasons for looking into pellet heat?

 

[pelletstovenewb]

we don't have nat gas in my area. we are considering an enviro p3.

we either need to use the existing piping or repipe something inside of it, which is pretty costly considering the length.
anyone else have any input on this?

 

[alternativeheat]

It completely depends on your stove install instructions and inspector if you need an inspection in your area ( mine passed with the insurance). Most stoves have layout plans for venting, some allow to run a connector to existing vents of even 8" size and others do not. Worst case run a 4" flex pipe down the 8" with appropriate connectors to the stove. The dealer I bought my supplies from said that they run 40 ft of flex up existing chimneys like that a lot. I have 23 ft of flex running up a masonry chimney myself and have 0 issues with super draft etc. There are a lot of members here who have run various stoves into 6,7 and 8" flues but I would only do that if it's a recommended install from your manufacturer and of course if you need an inspection then the inspector will want to see those stove layout plans. For the record, I believe I recall seeing a Harman setup that did just what you want to do.

I ran a coal stove for decades in a setup like that with 10 times the ash and never had a problem. I ran the flex pipe down on dealer recommendation when we bought this pellet stove. Best I can tell ya !