Replacing entire flue for new stove?

[barnhome]

New to the forum here. We've just moved into a new home in the Allentown, PA area. It was a former barn built in 1890 that was renovated in 1989 and that was pretty much the end of all the maintenance. We are in the middle of our own remodel and I had the existing stove looked at, and, unsurprisingly, that was not well taken care of either. The old stove is a Hearthstone 1 with 8" flue straight up 17' to the ceiling and about 5' of a chimney on the roof. I've decided to replace it with a BK King after reading miles of thread on this site. The local stove shops are all saying they need to replace the entire flue inside the house without ever inspecting it. Does this seem right to anyone? I am brand new to wood-burning stoves and this seems completely illogical to me that I should replace perfectly good piping (if it is so, of course).

House is 3240 sq ft above grade with 23' ceilings, fairly open plan, and an additional 3000 sq ft of a basement, which I plan to allow the oil boiler to heat. Looking to use the King as the main heating source of the house (sans basement). Additionally, will I have a problem with over-drafting and will I need a damper?

Thank you for your help all!

 

[begreen]

If the stove pipe is single-wall, it should be changed to double-wall, per BK specs. The flue temps for the BK will be cooler than the old Hearthstone and more at risk of causing creosote buildup if too much heat is lost due to the single-wall pipe. Double-wall stove pipe will help mitigate this issue.

The draft may be ok, but your dealer could test for this to see if it is in spec.

 

[stoveliker]

You'll likely need ceiling fans to push down some heat as a lot will go up ...

Minimum flue length can be found in the manual (not brochure) on the BK website. If you are far (!) over that a draft measurement might be necessary. If you're not far over that, a damper likely is not necessary (but, all installs are different - geography, trees, other bldgs etc).

 

[barnhome]

Thank you for the reply. Like I said, I’m a newbie, but that looks like a double wall pipe to me. The only thing I can think of is a liability issue for them if they don’t replace everything. But then I get to thinking that these folks should be able to inspect the piping and determine if it’s the correct stuff for the job...unless I’m missing something. Are they just trying for a money grab?

 

[barnhome]

You'll likely need ceiling fans to push down some heat as a lot will go up ...

Minimum flue length can be found in the manual (not brochure) on the BK website. If you are far (!) over that a draft measurement might be necessary. If you're not far over that, a damper likely is not necessary (but, all installs are different - geography, trees, other bldgs etc).

Thank you for the advice and we agreed...so we went with a big 72” in the great room, opted for the optional fans on the stove and have ceiling fans in the bedrooms on the first floor as well.

 

[Nigel459]

I bet you’ll be good with draft. Definitely get a second opinion on your chimney (of course the stove shops say you need a new chimney) but be prepared for the same answer. 1989 or older is pretty old.

begreen is referring to the connector pipe between stove and chimney and I agree, you’ll want to switch that out to some new double wall from 1989 (or older) single.

Good luck and enjoy the process, the king will be great! Good choice. Oh and get going on stockpiling your dry wood supply...

 

[barnhome]

begreen is referring to the connector pipe between stove and chimney and I agree, you’ll want to switch that out to some new double wall from 1989 (or older) single.

See...I missed that entirely. Thank you for the clarification and the advice!

 

[barnhome]

Update: I had a level 2 inspection done and the whole system is shot, including the chimney and support bracket up top. It will need a total replacement. Can’t say I’m surprised as we’ve had to fix virtually every other thing in this house, but definitely a pricey discovery. Oh well, it will be well worth it for years to come.

 

[Nealm66]

Send some pics when it’s done , will be interesting to hear your reloading cycles and heat performance

 

[barnhome]

Send some pics when it’s done , will be interesting to hear your reloading cycles and heat performance

Will do. I’m planning on keeping a burn log for a while until I get the hang of it.

 

[Nealm66]

Sounds good. I’ve actually found it kind of fun trying to get mine dialed in. Burned a pre epa stove for almost 40 years and it’s definitely different lol

 

[kennyp2339]

Even if its ok, I'd bite the bullet and replace it just due to product shelf life and knowing / assuming that the chimney was not cared for (not being swept regularly or having a chimney fire sometime during its 30 year install life.

 

[barnhome]

Even if its ok, I'd bite the bullet and replace it just due to product shelf life and knowing / assuming that the chimney was not cared for (not being swept regularly or having a chimney fire sometime during its 30 year install life.

After the results of our level 2 inspection, that’s exactly what we decided. The inspector said it would cost about $2k just to clean it and reuse the 30 yr old system. With little ones in the house, it did not seem like the wisest decision to keep the old system.

 

[barnhome]

Next week the new BK King goes in with all new flue and chimney! I’ll post pics when all is gone.

 

[stoveliker]

Next week the new BK King goes in with all new flue and chimney! I’ll post pics when all is gone.

Cool, exiting! Please if you could also post some (maybe on the BK performance thread rather than here) posts detailing your experience, lessons learned, first burns etc and tips for other new users who might run into the same things.

I always enjoy reading those.

 

[barnhome]

Hey gang, new BK King 40 stove is in and it looks great, with about a 25 foot draft, straight up. When I have the door cracked it’s a great looking fire but as soon as I shut the door, the flame dies despite the baffle being wide open. The needle keeps rising, indicating the catalyst is working, but I can not get a nice flame. Any thoughts?

 

[stoveliker]

If the bypass is open, the cat temp should not be rising much..?

 

[begreen]

Yes, I was wondering if the OP meant that the thermostat is set to wide open? If so, this sounds like poorly seasoned wood.

 

[barnhome]

Yes, I was wondering if the OP meant that the thermostat is set to wide open? If so, this sounds like poorly seasoned wood.

Yes, exactly, begreen. It could be and I hope that’s the problem. The previous owners left a bunch of cord wood that I assumed to be seasoned but who knows. I have a moisture meter on order.

 

[bholler]

It is also pretty warm in pa now which will really hurt draft

 

[barnhome]

If the bypass is open, the cat temp should not be rising much..?

Yes, my mistake. I meant the air control.

 

[begreen]

Try mixing in some 2x4 cutoffs.

 

[kennyp2339]

@barnhome - congrats on the new stove. The king should treat you well, and luckily for you there's a cold front coming tonight!!
Anyway, what I find with my BK is opening the T-stat (air control) almost all the way by turning it clockwise, make sure the by-pass is open to (the handle on the side, open is with the handle turned counter clockwise towards the front of the stove, closed is turned clock wise and you'll hear / feel a click from the cam shaft grabbing on more or less snapping closed.
So I make a fire loading the stove almost packed full, get it going well, air is set all the way open, by-pass is open, The fire gets rolling along and I make sure the door is closed / latched, I wait for the cat probe needle to hit within the active range and then close the by-pass (takes anywhere from 15 to 25min from lighting the initial fire, After closing the by-pass I let the fire go for another 15-20 min (most of the logs in the firebox should be burning, medium to vigorous) I'll then turn the air down to my desired setting. Start by turning to half way (aka 3 o'clock) then adjust down from there till you learn your air setting, also wait 15-20min between changing air setting while your learning them, thats how long it should take for the fire to adjust.
*be advised with new cats, there hyper sensitive, so expect the cat prob meter to be between 3 and 6pm even when theres no flame in the firebox.

 

[clancey]

Congrats on your stove and I am getting a little stove and I am new at all of this and just learning but yours sounds just beautiful..and hoping someday you will send a picture in of your new BK King...clancey.

 

[barnhome]

I think begreen was right, apparently I had some less than dry wood for those first four logs. Just re loaded with a full box and the new wood seems to be much drier and burning like a champ! I’ll post the new set up below: