Questions about wood stove pipe installation

Bishopknight · September 14, 2009, 07:23:33 PM

Hey everyone

I'm about to start the wood stove pipe installation in my house and I'm a little nervous about proceeding. I was hoping you all could help me. I have a vermont castings 6" oval shaped exit on my wood stove. I also have a 3/12 interior pitch cathedral ceiling. There is about 6' of distance in the attic between the ceiling and roof.

I saw a 6" wood stove pipe kit for sale at Lowes for around $170 which has all the major pieces, none of the straight pieces though. Is that something people here have used or would recommend? Is there another kit that is better but costs only a little more? Have any of you done this install yourself or hired a professional? I was thinking about going with black stove pipe up till the ceiling collar, then stainless steel the rest of the way. Does that sound correct?

Also, like I mentioned, my wood stove has an oval opening in the top, have any of you had to bend the stove pipe to fit it?

Thanks,
BK

MountainDon · September 14, 2009, 07:43:08 PM

25 years ago when we had a VC that had an oval smoke outlet on the stove, it came with the oval to round adapter. IIRC it was seamless, or more likely welded seam and very heavy gauge. Maybe try VC for parts. I think you'd need some luck to have a round pipe reformed to an oval. Try measuring around the oval with a string and compare that circumference to that of a round pipe.

The 6" kit I bought from Lowe's was meant or a flat ceiling. I've used two of them, one in our cabin and one in the gazebo. I can't think of any easy way to use it on a sloped ceiling short of building a dropped box to provide a horizontal surface.

In order to guarantee the pieces all it together you should pick one brand and stick with it. There are special mounts available for sloped ceilings.

We used single wall black pipe from the stove to the ceiling thimble adapter. From there up it's the stainless steel insulated (mineral wool?) double wall Selkirk pipe, also from Lowe's.

I positioned the stove where we wanted it and used a 2# plumb bob and string to assist in locating the center of the chimney pipe on the ceiling.

September 14, 2009, 07:53:48 PM

We have a 12" section of insulated pipe that hangs down below the ceiling. That's to keep the possibly much hotter single wall black pipe further away from the ceiling.

The pipe section I used from the stove to that insulated pipe is a special two piece telescoping heavy gauge welded seam pipe. It made it very easy to complete that section securely. It also makes it easy to disassemble or a thorough cleaning. Mine was about $80 from a local stove dealer. It's also available in stainless steel for about $200 more.

It's like the one at this link, half way down the page...

http://www.chimneylinerinc.com/singlewallblack.html

ScottA · September 14, 2009, 08:11:03 PM

You can oval the end of a piece of single wall pipe to fit your stove. I've done it before. It's not too difficult. Be sure to use a long enough piece so it can get back to round again before the next piece. A 3' section should work.

Bishopknight · September 15, 2009, 12:13:01 PM

I may just build a box for the Lowes kit then, we'll see.

I'll try that scott.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll report back here soon.

September 18, 2009, 08:20:07 AM

Our local Lowes says they will order the cathedral ceiling suppor kit for me anytime, they nolonger carry them because not enough demand.

hers is a link to the box
http://store.woodstove.com/xcart/home.php?cat=285

There are 2 with different pitch adjustments 2/12 to 6/12 and 6/12 + . Our Lowes will only order the 6/12 +.

JRR · September 18, 2009, 12:05:31 PM

These folks seem to be a good resource:
.
http://www.elmerspipe.com/

SkagitDrifter · September 18, 2009, 12:41:31 PM

I have a VC but with a round vent connection.
These guys were great to deal with and less $ than anyone else I talked to.
I'm sure they would have some kind oval to round adapter right off the shelf.
Good Luck

http://www.lindemannchimney.com/Default.aspx

speedfunk · September 19, 2009, 07:05:10 AM

Thanks for posting BK . Were at same point need to heat to work in...

September 19, 2009, 08:19:20 PM

You need to get a drop-box chimney support for a vaulted ceiling. It gets nailed through the sides from on top to the truss or other framing you install for it. The box extends a few inches below the ceiling, thus providing adequate clearance between the single-wall pipe below - as Don mentions. Once installed, the stainless, double-wall pipe just sets into the box from above, with the required 2" clearance between the pipe and combustibles (framing) being provided by space within the box. When the collar flashing is installed, it prevents the chimney from moving any sideways. Stay with the double-wall, insulated, stainless (I like Metalbestas) chimney pipe from the lower end of the box all the rest of the way up. If it extends more than 5' or so above the roof, you need a couple of adjustable metal supports attached at an angle from the chimney to the roof above the chimney. I've installed two of these systems, and they have both worked fine for many years. Very, very important to install the chimney correctly and clean it every year.

mountainmomma · October 24, 2009, 12:42:19 AM

We just got a Vermont Castings woodstove too. Ours is an older Resolute model which apparently doesn't have the defined "oval" shape OR the true circular shape. Rather, its something in between. I contacted 4 seasoned VC reps and was told to go ahead and bend a circular into the oval-like shape. But, said that if I had the oval shaped flue to buy the converter for the best fit. You can find them on the VC website and on other google searches in the shopping category.

I just discovered though that the gaskets are a different size from those in common woodstoves. They are quite a bit thinner. So, now I have to order those on-line and wait a little while longer to get this ball rolling.

Redoverfarm · October 24, 2009, 08:50:26 AM

Quote from: mountainmomma on October 24, 2009, 12:42:19 AM
We just got a Vermont Castings woodstove too. Ours is an older Resolute model which apparently doesn't have the defined "oval" shape OR the true circular shape. Rather, its something in between. I contacted 4 seasoned VC reps and was told to go ahead and bend a circular into the oval-like shape. But, said that if I had the oval shaped flue to buy the converter for the best fit. You can find them on the VC website and on other google searches in the shopping category.

I just discovered though that the gaskets are a different size from those in common woodstoves. They are quite a bit thinner. So, now I have to order those on-line and wait a little while longer to get this ball rolling.

Are you referring to the flue exit off the back of the stove. Regular 6" round can be compressed into the oval design providing that you have a substantial length of pipe (12-18"). But they do make the oval to regular round conversion adapter which is so much simpler. I just bought one this past week for my cookstove for less than $10 at the local hardware store.

http://www.northlineexpress.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=5IM-BM0037

Mine was a little more substantial and cheaper in price but I think you can see what I am talking about.