Just ordered a pellet stove and am trying to figure out what to do for venting. Is there any reason NOT to get a horizontal setup (So much cheaper!) other than the natural draft? Would it potentially break any building codes to not have it extend up vertically at all? I live in Harrisburg, PA. It would be within about 10 feet of a window that we never open. Thanks!
Venting, why not horizontal?
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I'll check
You'll also hafta make sure you're 36" from any combustibles outside...Leaves, bushes, trees all
can be ignited by the occasional spark that makes it through the cap...
can be ignited by the occasional spark that makes it through the cap...
Alrighty, it's pretty bare over there. Does it have to extend out of the house 36"? There is a kit I'm looking at but think it only comes with one 24" section of pipe.
aliciavr6 said:
It'll be in your install manual, but most of the ones I've seen require a minimum of ONE FOOT from the outside wall to the end of the cap...
For the first couple years I ran a quadrafire castile I had it vented horizontally. Worked ok but sooted up the side of the house and the occasional spark was a bit of a concern (never caused a problem though). After that I added 8-10' of vertical, no more sooting up the siding and no more visible sparks. The slight natural draft a vertical set up will provide is also desirable in case of power outage or other stove malfunction (no smoke in the house)
aliciavr6 said:
Mine is vented horizontal and i never had any issues with it. It needs to be 18" from the house and a 45 degree elbow at the end facing down. Mine is also about 30" off the ground. During power outages i did not have much smoke enter the house we hardly noticed it.
Mine is the factory Harman OAK and it is a horizontal setup. No problems with mine, I never questioned it since that was the factory one. I see to point to a little vertical rise to create a natural draft. Although I don't ever see changing the setup.
Mine's horizontal and works fine... never had a power outage but my stove emits very little smoke when the power is cut... unplugged by mistake a few years ago.
aliciavr6 said:
Take a look at this thread by one of the people on this forum, Rod Poplarchick, who does installs for a living. See post #2:
www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/13419/
My Whitfiled has had a horizontal exhaust right out the back of the stove. About 2 feet from the exterior wall.
There is no "natural draft" as there is a powered exhaust fan and the stove is basically sealed.
So these huge 12" chimneys are just problems waiting to happen.
No elbows.
There is no "natural draft" as there is a powered exhaust fan and the stove is basically sealed.
So these huge 12" chimneys are just problems waiting to happen.
No elbows.
i started out with a 4' vertical exhuast last year and had power outages a few times. I still got smoke backing up into the hopper.
This year I went with a horizontal exhuast and will see if there is a difference. One thing I noticed already is the horizontal is much easier to clean and much easier to use the leaf blower to clean out the stove.
This year I went with a horizontal exhuast and will see if there is a difference. One thing I noticed already is the horizontal is much easier to clean and much easier to use the leaf blower to clean out the stove.
The only thing that scares me about the horizontal is the random sparks coming out. My aluminum siding is very old and ugly anyway, and on a part of the house nobody really sees so I'm not worried about the soot issue.
One more question. Can we find the UL 641 rated piping/fittings at say Lowe's that we can piece together ourselves with the high temp silicone? Or do I have to order them online or in a specialty store?
aliciavr6 said:
Lowes & HD sell "kits" for vertical or horizontal pellet stove installs.....they are DuraVent, and are meant for pellet stoves. They twist-lock together. Some silicone is needed, especially for the adapter that goes on the exhaust pipe coming out of the stove. About $500+ free shipping:
(broken link removed to http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?keyword=duravent+kit&langId;=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053)
However, I think you can save a LOT of $$ by ordering from an online store.....I recommend calling Eric at Kinsman Stoves in Ohio. He's a well known & well respected member on this forum. He has great prices on pipe, and if you explain your stove & installation needs, I'm sure you can save some $$. He ships fast too.
(broken link removed to http://kinsmanstoves.com/)
A straight horizontal install doesn't involve too many pieces. The kits from the box stores have parts you won't need.
- Feb 27, 2007
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Back in the day my parents put in a Harmon and vented it Horizontally. I remember making pretty good money washing the side of the house that summer. That fall they vented it up over the roof.
That being said, I purchased a 2nd hand Kozi, and installed it myself, and vented it straight out the wall.... I had no issues with soot on the house...and my siding was white.
We had the odd spark come out..... but if you follow the directions and have clearance from combustables, I do not see a problem (unless power goes out)
We just installed a Quad Sante Fe in the basement, and the venting was too close to the windows to terminate horizontally, so I had to go up, out the wall, then up through the roof.
If I could I would just go out horizontally, its cheaper, and just as safe. You could get a UPS for 1/3rd the cost of the extra length of pipe.
That being said, I purchased a 2nd hand Kozi, and installed it myself, and vented it straight out the wall.... I had no issues with soot on the house...and my siding was white.
We had the odd spark come out..... but if you follow the directions and have clearance from combustables, I do not see a problem (unless power goes out)
We just installed a Quad Sante Fe in the basement, and the venting was too close to the windows to terminate horizontally, so I had to go up, out the wall, then up through the roof.
If I could I would just go out horizontally, its cheaper, and just as safe. You could get a UPS for 1/3rd the cost of the extra length of pipe.
aliciavr6 said:
Mine is horizontal. No problems except for when the power goes off.
Anyway about your "spark" concern, if, and that's a big if, a spark can get through the entire stove and piping, it would very little mass and very little in terms of BTU to transfer to any other object. The likely hood of something igniting from that spark would be low.
Oh I see, thank you! I guess I can always add on to the horizontal setup if there are any big problems.
One more question. Two actually. Are these safe to run when nobody is home? I plan on it being our main source of heat (last year we used all electric... which made for $500 monthly bills!) and I'd hate to have to turn on the electric ones to keep the dogs warm during the day. I read they are very safe but what if it runs out of pellets, will it just shut off automatically? I just got a 1500sqft Englander. 2nd question, do these smell like wood burning stoves? I love that smell.
aliciavr6 said:One more question. Two actually. Are these safe to run when nobody is home?....... I read they are very safe but what if it runs out of pellets, will it just shut off automatically? I just got a 1500sqft Englander. 2nd question, do these smell like wood burning stoves? I love that smell.
Yes. They have many systems to shut them down in case of a problem. Many people on here run them 24/7 once the weather gets colder. If it runs out of pellets, it shuts down.
I just bought an Englander too. I'm guess you bought a 25-PDVC? Good basic stove.
As for the smell, actually, if you smell smoke, that means you have a leak in your stove flue pipe....not good. These are actually a "sealed" unit....the only thing that should come into the room is hot air. But if you open the door for a few seconds, you'll get the smell.
Oh, and BTW, make sure you have Carbon Monoxide detectors in your house. One in the room w/ the stove, and a couple near bedrooms.....same w/ smoke detectors.
aliciavr6 said:
Yep...
My dealer, who is the largest pellet stove dealer in the US (their words), does the vast majority of installs with a horizontal flue. I asked about that when I purchased my stove and they told me they have had very few problems with that set-up... work's for me.
Yes, thats the one. They have very good reviews and didn't have too much money to spend. Plus my house is pretty small, 1500 sq ft cape cod. Thanks very much for the advice!! Smoke detectors all around but don't think we have CM ones, which I will rectify asap. We are picking up our stove tomorrow, but won't have the exhaust or hearth pad for another week or so since I had to order all that online. I'm excited though -- thank you all for the help! I would have been lost without it. (I'm sure I'll be back with more questions)
aliciavr6 said:
Yep, the 25-PDVC is a nice basic little unit that will throw plenty of heat for your small home. Just follow the install directions, take your time (AKA do it right the first time), and ask lots of questions.
And get good pellets.... a bad pellet will make it seem the stove's no good. Do some searching here, or just watch & read about different peoples experiences with different pellets,
This forum is a great resource, and I personally learned SO much from the friendly and knowledgeable people here.
Oh, and BTW, just in case you didn't know, when you bought the Englander, you also got access to the Senior Tech for their company who is on this forum pretty regularly....Mike Holton (stoveguy2esw). Any issues come up, you have the advantage of calling the 800 tech support # during the week, or try getting in touch with him here....a great resource to have.
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