Venting stove into chimney

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.

micro7311

Member
Sep 14, 2017
17
Northeast
Hi, new to wood burning. I have a Russo stove which is operational in the basement of my single floor ranch. It generates good heat down there, but not much on the living floor. I noticed that it does hold the heat well upstairs so my oil furnace comes on less often.

I would like to move this stove upstairs and vent into my fireplace so I can use this as my primary heating source (I have lots of free wood). My question is, can I vent this into my chimney which has a clay liner? I have about 5 ft or so of stainless steel piping, so my though is to vent this up the chimney and the rest would vent through the existing clay liner.

My question is, is this acceptable? Of course I design a stainless steel plate in place of the damper, and put a steel sheet in the rear of the fire place to reflect the heat.
 
Last edited:
Hi, new to wood burning. I have a Russo stove which is operational in the basement of my single floor ranch. It generates good heat down there, but not much on the living floor. I noticed that it does hold the heat well upstairs so my oil furnace comes on less often.



I would like to move this stove upstairs and vent into my fireplace so I can use this as my primary heating source (I have lots of free wood). My question is, can I vent this into my chimney which has a ceramic liner? I have about 5 ft or so of stainless steel piping, so my though is to vent this up the chimney and the rest would vent through the existing ceramic liner.

My question is, is this acceptable? Of course I design a stainless steel plate in place of the damper, and put a steel sheet in the rear of the fire place to reflect the heat.

Best I can suggest is do more research and when You have all your info lined up just pay the dollar and have a wet certified inspector and installer come out for a consultation. I have a lot og guys who do tha here. They will help you realize if your idea is good and safe. They will also act as a consultant for you if you run into problems and need some help.
 
What you are proposing is called direct connection . It is acceptable if done correctly but it is is far from the best option with regards to performance safety and ease of cleaning. You would be much better off to run a full insulated liner. And to do a direct connect correctly your chimney needs to be in good condition, code compliant, and no more t than 3 times the volume of the stove outlet. You also need a blockoff plate and the stainless liner needs to be positivley connected to the clay.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: beermann and Ashful
No. This is what is referred to as a slammer install. You need to put in a proper stainless steel liner in the chimney.
 
No. This is what is referred to as a slammer install. You need to put in a proper stainless steel liner in the chimney.
No that is not a slammer it is a direct connect. And i would never recomend it or install a stove that way if done correctly itvcan be code compliant
 
What are the internal dimensions of your clay tile? Do you believe it to be to code and in good condition? If so, it is possible it could be used, but most prefer to just drop a stainless flex line down thru existing chimneys, for a host of reasons.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bholler
What are the internal dimensions of your clay tile? Do you believe it to be to code and in good condition? If so, it is possible it could be used, but most prefer to just drop a stainless flex line down thru existing chimneys, for a host of reasons.

The ID is 8" x 25" and yes I believe it to be in good condition. The ID of my stove and stainless exhaust is 6" round. Could you send me a link to some flex stainless line that can be used?
 
I was always under the impression that if a short section of pipe was just stuck up the flue it was a "slammer", and that a direct connect was where the stove pipe was flushly and securely connected into the flue by a few various means
 
  • Like
Reactions: blacktail
I was always under the impression that if a short section of pipe was just stuck up the flue it was a "slammer", and that a direct connect was where the stove pipe was flushly and securely connected into the flue by a few various means
No a slammer is just slid into the fireplace with no connection at all.
 
I'm interested to see what people suggest for liners... I've been looking at Champion, DuraVent, Metalbestos but once again it is frustrating, because there are so many different variations even in the same brand... it seems they're all pretty similar and priced similarly as well and there are not as many discrepancies when it comes to lining a chimney, as opposed to running class A outside the house, but what do I know.
 
The ID is 8" x 25" and yes I believe it to be in good condition. The ID of my stove and stainless exhaust is 6" round. Could you send me a link to some flex stainless line that can be used?

I bought all my stuff from Rockford Chimney Supply, who was a sponsor of this forum at the time. Good people, good product, as far as my limited experience could discern.

After one year of running my first stove into an 8" ID clay tile chimney, I put blanket-wrapped 6" liners in each of my chimneys. The 8" ID one was a little tight, but it fit. I'd be doing the same, if I had your chimney. It just works so much nicer with an insulated liner, particularly when outside temps are above 40F.
 
So the outlet of my stove is 6" and unfortunately will not fit through my existing flue opening. Is it acceptable to buy a stainless reducer from 6" to say 5" diameter and run this size liner up my chimney? My chimney ID is about 8" x 12" so 5" diameter liner will still meet the < 3x diameter requirement for venting into a lined chimney. The ID of my stove is 15" (L) x 12" (D) x 21 (H). I have an exterior chimney.
 
if you heat the upstairs only then the pipes will freeze and break
 
Thanks for oyur tips and the link u posted, have found help there!
Do not ovalize the liner through the damper as they recommend. And if you need an oval to make it fit order an oval don't do it yourself without the proper equipment
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ashful
dont matter mine is sealed as good as any, we had a wind storm last year take out our power so it took out the squirrel fan was only a day before i got a new one still took out the water heater, we had the one on the 1st going nothing blowing it around though
 
In order for the liner to fit in the fireplace the existing damper will have to come out. You could leave it there and do the direct connection. Some do that but I also don't recommend that. Nicest thing about a direct connection is the stove can come out easily in the off season if you wish to use the fireplace to burn wood for ambiance.

If you intend to leave the stove in the fireplace permanently, The existing fireplace damper has to go so you can run the liner. And it will have to be capped at the top. Most recommend a blockoff plate at the bottom of the flue, right above the stove as well but that's optional if you have it properly capped at the top. Nice thing about NOT having the blockoff plate at the bottom(but still capped at the top) is the stove might not cook you out of a room as easily. But itll take a winter to figure that out.