Hi,
We’ve had a problem with our wood stove back puffing in our house, and are wondering if we ought to consider swapping it out with another stove (along with other, suggested changes). Some background first…
I’ve currently got a Lennox wood stove (model CI1000HT) in the bottom floor of a bilevel house (roughly 2,500 square feet). Our house was built in the late 1970s and, like other houses in our neighborhood, it is a tightly sealed house — too tight, in fact, with little airflow. That, combined with the stove’s location on the bottom floor, no intake ventilation for the stove, and a single-walled stove pipe (which gets quite cold during the winter, and apparently wasn’t fitted at the right angle) contributes to the back puffing.
Yes, we do heat the stove pipe and open windows and doors before starting an initial fire. It helps, but our house still gets smokey even will all of these measures. And yes, we’ve had the chimney cleaned recently.
The chimney cleaner suggested we redo the pipe — both using double walled pipe, and refitting how the stove is connected to the pipe, and is shaped at the right angle from the stove to the wall. (He also suggested installing a draw collar to the chimney pipe.) And some have suggested that after all of that we might also want to consider swapping out the Lennox with another wood stove that’s breaths better.
Anyway, I just got a free Vermont Castings Vigilant 1977 that’s in good shape. I’ve cleaned it and, as far as I can tell, nothing seems broken. I’ve done some research on the stove, and know it’s an older, well-built, sturdy stove — though it was "hi-tech" (for its time) by using the damper for secondary burns. I can see how it might “breath” better than the Lennox (i.e., through the temperature door in the back, and air valve). But I know it’s less efficient than more modern woods stoves, and that it lacks certain environmental features that found in modern stoves.
Overall, would others suggest or discourage me from replacing the Lennox and with this VC Vigilant 1977?
Our main concern is avoiding back puffing for any stove. So, I’m wondering if this VC Vigilant 1977 would be better a better fit for our house, as far as being able to “breath” better — and less inclined to smoke us out compared to the Lennox?
If I do install this stove (even as a temporary solution) I could install a double-walled (and better fitting) chimney pipe, and redo all the stove gaskets. Beyond that, we’d crack a window to prevent back-puffing — and I’d welcome any other ideas for additional mitigation. But again, I’m first trying to determine if it’s advisable to install this VC Vigilant 1977 in the first place.
Thanks!
We’ve had a problem with our wood stove back puffing in our house, and are wondering if we ought to consider swapping it out with another stove (along with other, suggested changes). Some background first…
I’ve currently got a Lennox wood stove (model CI1000HT) in the bottom floor of a bilevel house (roughly 2,500 square feet). Our house was built in the late 1970s and, like other houses in our neighborhood, it is a tightly sealed house — too tight, in fact, with little airflow. That, combined with the stove’s location on the bottom floor, no intake ventilation for the stove, and a single-walled stove pipe (which gets quite cold during the winter, and apparently wasn’t fitted at the right angle) contributes to the back puffing.
Yes, we do heat the stove pipe and open windows and doors before starting an initial fire. It helps, but our house still gets smokey even will all of these measures. And yes, we’ve had the chimney cleaned recently.
The chimney cleaner suggested we redo the pipe — both using double walled pipe, and refitting how the stove is connected to the pipe, and is shaped at the right angle from the stove to the wall. (He also suggested installing a draw collar to the chimney pipe.) And some have suggested that after all of that we might also want to consider swapping out the Lennox with another wood stove that’s breaths better.
Anyway, I just got a free Vermont Castings Vigilant 1977 that’s in good shape. I’ve cleaned it and, as far as I can tell, nothing seems broken. I’ve done some research on the stove, and know it’s an older, well-built, sturdy stove — though it was "hi-tech" (for its time) by using the damper for secondary burns. I can see how it might “breath” better than the Lennox (i.e., through the temperature door in the back, and air valve). But I know it’s less efficient than more modern woods stoves, and that it lacks certain environmental features that found in modern stoves.
Overall, would others suggest or discourage me from replacing the Lennox and with this VC Vigilant 1977?
Our main concern is avoiding back puffing for any stove. So, I’m wondering if this VC Vigilant 1977 would be better a better fit for our house, as far as being able to “breath” better — and less inclined to smoke us out compared to the Lennox?
If I do install this stove (even as a temporary solution) I could install a double-walled (and better fitting) chimney pipe, and redo all the stove gaskets. Beyond that, we’d crack a window to prevent back-puffing — and I’d welcome any other ideas for additional mitigation. But again, I’m first trying to determine if it’s advisable to install this VC Vigilant 1977 in the first place.
Thanks!
