Upgrading Woodstove

[wormser]

Hey all. I've lurked on this site for some time and enjoy reading stories. I thought I would break down and post as I'm in the process of upgrading stoves. I've used Alaska stoves all my life and finally plunging into a more modern stove. I plan to pick up a Kuma Classic LE on Saturday .

Current Setup: 1500sqft Ranch style built in 2017 well insulated. I have a return for AC 20' from wood stove so I can turn on fan for whole house circulation. My stove is setup in the basement which goes to an external masonry chimney lined with a clay flue liner. The chimney is about 21'. I have a 7" thimble going out the basement wall. Would it make much of a difference if I go with 6" single wall pipe to the thimble and seal it vs. expanding to 7" pipe right at the stove. I have about 2 1/2' from stove up to thimble.

Any other tips on moving to a cat style stove for someone that has always burned smoke dragons?

Here is a pic of my setup. My father was a union bricklayer and while I didn't follow in his footsteps, I learned a lot as he dragged me around to side jobs. I picked stone off our property and put in the hearth/wall. The oak trim came off the property as well. I enjoy woodworking as a hobby and have plenty of red/white oak on my property to fill both the woodworking hobby and the house heating needs. That is after I burn all the dying ash.

 

[moresnow]

Welcome Wormser. Looking forward to hearing about your Kuma experience. A giant leap forward in technology! Enjoy.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

You may want to line the chimney with the proper sized liner. Cat stoves run so low you might have trouble drafting the larger chimney.

 

[gthomas785]

Second the liner. 6" insulated. You'll thank yourself later.

 

[wormser]

I will have to look into the insulated liner. My question would be the 90 where the thimble and chimney meet. Is there an somewhat easy way to connect the two? Do they make a T that fits down a standard chimney then you have your 6" thimble that you would connect to from standing inside? I also have a cleanout door on the outside of chimney which is below the thimble. That means the liner would not rest on anything. Can the connection at the top hold all the weight of the liner? The bottom of the T would likely be perfect height for me to remove a bottom cap for cleaning from my cleanout door outside. I'm a freak about cleaning chimney and typically brush it 3 times per heating season. Even if I look up it with a mirror and see nothing but flue liner the brush goes through it.

 

[gthomas785]

They make a tee with a removable snout. Basically you remove the snout and attach the tee to the liner, insert the snout through the thimble with the band clamp open all the way, then drop the liner down so the tee fitting slides inside the band clamp and tighten it. That's how mine is installed.

I never remove the cap from the bottom of the tee, I just sweep from the roof using a sooteater and then vacuum it out through the thimble. Works pretty well.

 

[bholler]

I will have to look into the insulated liner. My question would be the 90 where the thimble and chimney meet. Is there an somewhat easy way to connect the two? Do they make a T that fits down a standard chimney then you have your 6" thimble that you would connect to from standing inside? I also have a cleanout door on the outside of chimney which is below the thimble. That means the liner would not rest on anything. Can the connection at the top hold all the weight of the liner? The bottom of the T would likely be perfect height for me to remove a bottom cap for cleaning from my cleanout door outside. I'm a freak about cleaning chimney and typically brush it 3 times per heating season. Even if I look up it with a mirror and see nothing but flue liner the brush goes through it.

Reaching up to pull the tee cap can be a problem because you have no way to secure it. I typically extend the liner down to the clean out and mortar in a second tee body

 

[wormser]

I think I"m following you. The 2nd tee body opening facing out towards clean out door to access droppings from the cleaning. Do you close off the second tee opening when not in use? I have a cast iron door for clean out but it's certainly not air tight.

 

[bholler]

I think I"m following you. The 2nd tee body opening facing out towards clean out door to access droppings from the cleaning. Do you close off the second tee opening when not in use? I have a cast iron door for clean out but it's certainly not air tight.

I usually caulk the clean out door shut with silicone. When you need to open it cut it with a utility knife and the silicone will act as a gasket.

 

[wormser]

Sounds good. Last question(s). I have rectangle liner 8x13 with inside opening 6 1/4" x 11 1/2". It's ok to get a rectangular liner correct? I see rockford has the conversion sizes and can order a 4x8 giving me some wiggle room on each side to get it to go down.

Where you from in central PA? I grew up in Loganton area......better known as Sugar Valley.

 

[bholler]

Sounds good. Last question(s). I have rectangle liner 8x13 with inside opening 6 1/4" x 11 1/2". It's ok to get a rectangular liner correct? I see rockford has the conversion sizes and can order a 4x8 giving me some wiggle room on each side to get it to go down.

Where you from in central PA? I grew up in Loganton area......better known as Sugar Valley.

I would go with oval over rectangle ovals glow better and are easier to clean.

Snyder county. Susquehanna valley.

We work up in loganton occasionally.

 

[logfarmer]

Nice stone work.