Woodstock Ideal Steel Stove Install Questions

[marsofold]

I just had a Woodstock Ideal Steel stove installed into my 1919 farmhouse and have several questionsabout the installation. It was installed by a family chimney sweep team who had to chisel the bottom of the chimney and some of the brick rear wall of the fireplace to fit the cleanout T and 18 foot long preinsulated liner. After they left, I felt that the stove was too close to the wood mantle for comfort, so I put a double walled damper in the rear vented double walled stovepipe to get the extra distance away from the mantle and have an emergency shutoff option in the event of an overfire/chimney fire situation. The problem I am faced with is that the rear venting double walled stovepipe (which connects to a single walled snout from the T) still has a downward slope of about an inch over the two foot distance to the T. I have wedged a 2 x 4 piece of wood to force the bottom T cap upward, then wedged a piece of brick under the cap to hold everything as high as possible. While not ideal, is an inch of drop over the two feet really that bad? Without another visit from the chimney sweeps, the only other option I'd have would be to reverse the stove's rear vent tube (it was shaped to slope upward) to get it a couple of inches lower to lower the stovepipe at the stove. Please advise. Thoughts on using the current stovepipe damper also welcomed.

 

[marsofold]

Pix:

 

[begreen]

Mantel clearances to the horiz. pipe still look too close due to the transition occurring right underneath it. Some shielding would help.

 

[marsofold]

I am planning to use a mantel heat shield. Basically a long "L" fitting under the top lip of the mantle. But in reference to my main question, do you think that I'll have draw/smoke problems due to the downward slope of the rear horizonal pipe going down an inch to the T? If so, what about upending the rear curved vent to get the pipe lower? And is the use of the stovepipe damper an issue? Thanks for all advice...

 

[begreen]

The downward slope is not desirable, but if the draw is strong enough you may be able to get away with it. Are the stove legs at their lowest position? The stove damper is not helping. I think a section of double-wall stove pipe tied to the tee would be better.

 

[marsofold]

The stovelegs are now at their lowest position. The black pipes as seen are all double walled. I could use some sort of pipe shield over the T snout. What about reversing the rear stove vent? As designed, it is currently positioned with the flat part at the top and the bottom sloping upward. If I reversed it, the horizonal rear pipe would be lower with the price of the vent sloping downward over a much shorter path. Which would get me better draft? What about creosote accumulation in either case?

 

[begreen]

Ask Woodstock tomorrow about reversing the flue collar. An alternative would be to grind out a section of the old metal decorative frame to raise the tee and connection.

 

[Tar12]

Ask Woodstock tomorrow about reversing the flue collar. An alternative would be to grind out a section of the old metal decorative frame to raise the tee and connection.

Or remove it all together if not to involved..

 

[marsofold]

I called Woodstock Soapstone and Mike Hartigan there said that reversing the flue collar at the rear of the stove would be fine and wouldn't make a significant difference in the draft. I estimate that doing so should enable me to lower the rear stovepipe at the stove by at least an inch and possibly 1-1/2". I also called Rockford Chimney supply to get them to send me a 12" long piece of 6" double walled stove pipe to replace the two sections with the stovepipe damper. If all of that doesn't work, then I will have no choice than to call the chimney sweep people back to try and get them to raise the liner a couple of inches. Can anyone say how difficult it is to raise a liner a couple of inches after the chimney cap install has been finalized? they said that their standard practice was to band the liner in place up there. Can they somehow get a hold of it and raise it without risk of it falling back down the chimney?

 

[bholler]

I called Woodstock Soapstone and Mike Hartigan there said that reversing the flue collar at the rear of the stove would be fine and wouldn't make a significant difference in the draft. I estimate that doing so should enable me to lower the rear stovepipe at the stove by at least an inch and possibly 1-1/2". I also called Rockford Chimney supply to get them to send me a 12" long piece of 6" double walled stove pipe to replace the two sections with the stovepipe damper. If all of that doesn't work, then I will have no choice than to call the chimney sweep people back to try and get them to raise the liner a couple of inches. Can anyone say how difficult it is to raise a liner a couple of inches after the chimney cap install has been finalized? they said that their standard practice was to band the liner in place up there. Can they somehow get a hold of it and raise it without risk of it falling back down the chimney?

I would make them fix it they were the ones who installed it wrong to begin with. Is that wood trim on the hearth pad right below the stove?

 

[marsofold]

Per bholler, I removed the rear wooden trim under the stove. I also replaced the stove pipe damper with a regular straight 12" piece of double walled pipe, chiseled out a bit behind the cleanout T, and repositioned things a bit. Attached are the updated photos. A hearth pad per the manufacturer's written standards (1/2" Durock + 1/4" tile) was installed under the stove. The space between the hearth pad and the fireplace is wide solid concrete going down to the ground level under the house. All of the manufacturer's minimum spacings to combustible surfaces were either met or exceeded. There is 6" of space from the side heat shields to the side trim. There is 18" of space in front of the stove to the hearthpad's front edge. The manufacturer's optional rear heatshield (permitting a 6" rear stove-fireplace spacing) was installed at the back of the stove. For maximum safety, the actual spacing was increased to 14" from the rear heat shield to the fireplace. Double walled stove pipe was used to connect the rear flue collar of the stove to the cleanout T positioned inside the fireplace. The leveling leg shims under each rear leg are 1/2" thick, 4" square steel. Thoughts?

 

[bholler]

Per bholler, I removed the rear wooden trim under the stove. I also replaced the stove pipe damper with a regular straight 12" piece of double walled pipe, chiseled out a bit behind the cleanout T, and repositioned things a bit. Attached are the updated photos. A hearth pad per the manufacturer's written standards (1/2" Durock + 1/4" tile) was installed under the stove. The space between the hearth pad and the fireplace is wide solid concrete going down to the ground level under the house. All of the manufacturer's minimum spacings to combustible surfaces were either met or exceeded. There is 6" of space from the side heat shields to the side trim. There is 18" of space in front of the stove to the hearthpad's front edge. The manufacturer's optional rear heatshield (permitting a 6" rear stove-fireplace spacing) was installed at the back of the stove. For maximum safety, the actual spacing was increased to 14" from the rear heat shield to the fireplace. Double walled stove pipe was used to connect the rear flue collar of the stove to the cleanout T positioned inside the fireplace. The leveling leg shims under each rear leg are 1/2" thick, 4" square steel. Thoughts?

Well done

 

[begreen]

That's a much better and cleaner installation now.

 

[marsofold]

The only reservation I have about the setup is attaching the flue collar upside down so that the top of the rear flue collar slopes downward, lowering the stove pipe there by 1.5". The company guy said it would be OK, but I wonder if the upper flow having to slide downward 1.5" before exiting the stove will cause less total flow and more smoke out the door. Human nature being what it is, sometimes customer service guys/sales types tell you what you want to hear.

 

[moresnow]

The only reservation I have about the setup is attaching the flue collar upside down so that the top of the rear flue collar slopes downward, lowering the stove pipe there by 1.5". The company guy said it would be OK, but I wonder if the upper flow having to slide downward 1.5" before exiting the stove will cause less total flow and more smoke out the door. Human nature being what it is, sometimes customer service guys/sales types tell you what you want to hear.

Soooo? Fire it up and see?

 

[Highbeam]

Happy to hear that they are allowing just a layer of durock and tile under the stove now. Previously they had an R requirement that I thought was pretty high.

All current stoves should be designed to require ember protection only in my opinion.

I can't believe you haven't fired it yet. I'm burning right now and would light that thing up.

Also amazed at how shallow your old fireplace was. That is, unless it was filled with brick at some point!

Oh, start sanding that floor and get some nice poly on it.

 

[bholler]

Happy to hear that they are allowing just a layer of durock and tile under the stove now. Previously they had an R requirement that I thought was pretty high.

All current stoves should be designed to require ember protection only in my opinion.

I can't believe you haven't fired it yet. I'm burning right now and would light that thing up.

Also amazed at how shallow your old fireplace was. That is, unless it was filled with brick at some point!

Oh, start sanding that floor and get some nice poly on it.

It is an old coal burning fireplace