Copyright 2009 Rt 52 Seasonal Selections. All rights reserved.
So you've decided to invest in a pellet stove. Great idea. Now what about pellet stove installation? Is it something that you can do yourself? In all cases you should follow the instructions of the manufacturer and have your stove PROFESSIONALLY installed. We have provided some information below of how the process works.
If you buy a freestanding pellet stove you're going to want to locate it in a central location so that heat will be distributed more evenly throughout the areas you want to heat. Follow the manufacturers guidelines regarding placement. In order to get the maximum efficiency from your pellet stove it may need to be set a certain distance from walls.
If you're installing a pellet stove in a much older home make sure the floor will be able to support the weight of the stove, and the hopper filled with pellets. Some hoppers in larger stoves can hold up to 85 lbs. of pellets.
Another guideline is that you never direct vent a pellet stove. Direct venting in most, if not all cases will cause damage to the exterior area where it is vented. It's always best to vent a pellet stove straight up through to the roof. Luckily it's relatively simple to provide ventilation for a pellet stove. They're vented using Class L chimneys which are stainless steel interiors and galvanized aluminum exteriors.
It is possible to install the ventilation system for a new pellet stove into an existing masonry chimney as long as an approved chimney liner or PL vent is used. The guidelines for installation from the pellet stove manufacturer will tell you what size diameter vent is the proper one to use with your stove. Before you place your vent make sure it isn't near walkways, doors or windows where people could potentially come into contact with it.
You're going to need to protect the floor where you're going to place the pellet stove. Again, follow the manufacturers installation recommendations. They will tell you what type of flooring materials are necessary and they will give you the minimum size of the floor to be protected. You are going to want to protect flooring from burning or damage from hot embers.
If you buy a freestanding pellet stove you're going to want to locate it in a central location so that heat will be distributed more evenly throughout the areas you want to heat. Follow the manufacturers guidelines regarding placement. In order to get the maximum efficiency from your pellet stove it may need to be set a certain distance from walls.
If you're installing a pellet stove in a much older home make sure the floor will be able to support the weight of the stove, and the hopper filled with pellets. Some hoppers in larger stoves can hold up to 85 lbs. of pellets.
Another guideline is that you never direct vent a pellet stove. Direct venting in most, if not all cases will cause damage to the exterior area where it is vented. It's always best to vent a pellet stove straight up through to the roof. Luckily it's relatively simple to provide ventilation for a pellet stove. They're vented using Class L chimneys which are stainless steel interiors and galvanized aluminum exteriors.
It is possible to install the ventilation system for a new pellet stove into an existing masonry chimney as long as an approved chimney liner or PL vent is used. The guidelines for installation from the pellet stove manufacturer will tell you what size diameter vent is the proper one to use with your stove. Before you place your vent make sure it isn't near walkways, doors or windows where people could potentially come into contact with it.
You're going to need to protect the floor where you're going to place the pellet stove. Again, follow the manufacturers installation recommendations. They will tell you what type of flooring materials are necessary and they will give you the minimum size of the floor to be protected. You are going to want to protect flooring from burning or damage from hot embers.
Pellet stove pipe placement and sizing.
The pellet stove pipe classified always as a very important part of the pellet stove installation. The pellet stove pipe harnesses the heat of the fire to create what's called a stack effect and as the warm air from the fire in the pellet stove rises, cooler house air rushes into the wood-burning appliance through a pellet stove vent, providing the oxygen the fire needs to burn. Starting a fire in pellet stoves with a good hot burn will encourage this healthy draft to flow.
Also, between the higher and lower pressure zones of the home lies a neutral pressure zone. The neutral pressure zone tends to move toward the largest air leak. When the top of the pellet stove pipe classified as the outlet is located above the home ceiling (as it should be), the pipe's neutral pressure zone is above the neutral pressure zone of the house. Such proper pellet stove pipe placement creates a gentle flow of air into the appliance and out the pipe even when no fire burns.
Pellet stove pipe classified for inside use?
If you are designing or building a new home, consider a pellet stove installation where the pellet stove pipe is placed inside your home. A more traditional pellet stove pipe classified for outside use, constructed along the outside of a home, will lose valuable heat to the cold, outside air. If the chimney air temperature falls below that of the inside air, the cold, smelly chimney air will be pulled into the house by the low pressure of the stack effect. In such a scenario, the house has become a better chimney than the pipe. So when a fire is lit, smoke fills the room.
Matching the size of the pellet stove pipe with your pellet stove during your pellet stove installation.
You should have pellet stove pipes classified to match the size of the pellet stoves, meaning the flue size should match the stove outlet. If the pipe is bigger than the stove or fireplace outlet, exiting exhaust slows, increasing creosote buildup and decreasing efficiency.
High-performance chimneys are also insulated. Older masonry chimneys can be relined to safely and efficiently connect them to newer high-efficiency, wood-burning appliances.
Again, the pellet stove chimney liner should be continuous from the appliance outlet to the pipe top. It is not uncommon to pay as much for the pellet stove pipe as for your pellet stove.
Free-standing woodstoves exhaust into a connecting pipe, which then connects into the pellet stove chimney. If the connecting pipe is longer than 8 feet (as in a vaulted ceiling), you should consider investing in double-layer pipe with 1-inch airspace between pipe layers.
Efficient modern pellet stoves produce large amounts of heat. Much of this heat can radiate from a longer length of single-layer pipe, slowing down the draft, which can impact the overall efficiency of your wood-burning system.
Venting
Proper venting is vital to for the performance of your stove, safety, keeping maintenance to a minimum, and the quality of the indoor environment. Pellet stoves produce hardly any visible smoke after startup, but exhaust gases, fine ash, and water vapor have to be removed safely from the appliance to the outdoors without leaking into the house. The purpose of all vents is removing combustion byproducts during normal operation. For most designs, the exhaust is mechanical: a fan blows the combustion byproducts out and draws air needed for combustion into the fire. A few stoves operate without a combustion air fan and use natural draft both for exhaust and combustion air intake. Some heat also moves through the vent. Protection of nearby combustibles is essential. The minimum clearance between the vent and combustibles, as specified in the vent installation instructions, must be met or exceeded to assure safety. The product specifically tested and listed for use with pellet stoves is PL vent pipe, labeled as tested to UL 641. PL vent pipe is double wall pipe; the stainless steel inner pipe that carries the exhaust products is separated from the outer wall by an air space. Pipe joints must be sealed gas tight to prevent exhaust products moving through the vent under pressure from leaking into the home. Stoves tested and listed requiring PL vent must use no substitute venting materials. Venting materials and products that MUST NOT BE USED TO VENT PELLET APPLIANCES include: * Dryer vent * Gas appliance (Type B) vent * PVC (plastic) pipe * Single wall stove pipe (unless clearly approved by the installation manual and local codes) Fig. 1 Pellet fireplace inserts and freestanding stoves are often vented into existing masonry and factory-built fireplace and wood stove chimneys (Fig. 1). The chimney should be inspected before installation to ensure that it is clean, mechanically sound, and meets local safety code requirements. The appliance manufacturer's installation instructions may require relining the chimney with an approved metal liner, pipe, or PL vent. Vents or grilles on the face of factory-built fireplaces which provide cooling air to the outside jacket of the fireplace must not be blocked. Cleanout access for future maintenance should be considered.
The pellet stove pipe classified always as a very important part of the pellet stove installation. The pellet stove pipe harnesses the heat of the fire to create what's called a stack effect and as the warm air from the fire in the pellet stove rises, cooler house air rushes into the wood-burning appliance through a pellet stove vent, providing the oxygen the fire needs to burn. Starting a fire in pellet stoves with a good hot burn will encourage this healthy draft to flow.
Also, between the higher and lower pressure zones of the home lies a neutral pressure zone. The neutral pressure zone tends to move toward the largest air leak. When the top of the pellet stove pipe classified as the outlet is located above the home ceiling (as it should be), the pipe's neutral pressure zone is above the neutral pressure zone of the house. Such proper pellet stove pipe placement creates a gentle flow of air into the appliance and out the pipe even when no fire burns.
Pellet stove pipe classified for inside use?
If you are designing or building a new home, consider a pellet stove installation where the pellet stove pipe is placed inside your home. A more traditional pellet stove pipe classified for outside use, constructed along the outside of a home, will lose valuable heat to the cold, outside air. If the chimney air temperature falls below that of the inside air, the cold, smelly chimney air will be pulled into the house by the low pressure of the stack effect. In such a scenario, the house has become a better chimney than the pipe. So when a fire is lit, smoke fills the room.
Matching the size of the pellet stove pipe with your pellet stove during your pellet stove installation.
You should have pellet stove pipes classified to match the size of the pellet stoves, meaning the flue size should match the stove outlet. If the pipe is bigger than the stove or fireplace outlet, exiting exhaust slows, increasing creosote buildup and decreasing efficiency.
High-performance chimneys are also insulated. Older masonry chimneys can be relined to safely and efficiently connect them to newer high-efficiency, wood-burning appliances.
Again, the pellet stove chimney liner should be continuous from the appliance outlet to the pipe top. It is not uncommon to pay as much for the pellet stove pipe as for your pellet stove.
Free-standing woodstoves exhaust into a connecting pipe, which then connects into the pellet stove chimney. If the connecting pipe is longer than 8 feet (as in a vaulted ceiling), you should consider investing in double-layer pipe with 1-inch airspace between pipe layers.
Efficient modern pellet stoves produce large amounts of heat. Much of this heat can radiate from a longer length of single-layer pipe, slowing down the draft, which can impact the overall efficiency of your wood-burning system.
Venting
Proper venting is vital to for the performance of your stove, safety, keeping maintenance to a minimum, and the quality of the indoor environment. Pellet stoves produce hardly any visible smoke after startup, but exhaust gases, fine ash, and water vapor have to be removed safely from the appliance to the outdoors without leaking into the house. The purpose of all vents is removing combustion byproducts during normal operation. For most designs, the exhaust is mechanical: a fan blows the combustion byproducts out and draws air needed for combustion into the fire. A few stoves operate without a combustion air fan and use natural draft both for exhaust and combustion air intake. Some heat also moves through the vent. Protection of nearby combustibles is essential. The minimum clearance between the vent and combustibles, as specified in the vent installation instructions, must be met or exceeded to assure safety. The product specifically tested and listed for use with pellet stoves is PL vent pipe, labeled as tested to UL 641. PL vent pipe is double wall pipe; the stainless steel inner pipe that carries the exhaust products is separated from the outer wall by an air space. Pipe joints must be sealed gas tight to prevent exhaust products moving through the vent under pressure from leaking into the home. Stoves tested and listed requiring PL vent must use no substitute venting materials. Venting materials and products that MUST NOT BE USED TO VENT PELLET APPLIANCES include: * Dryer vent * Gas appliance (Type B) vent * PVC (plastic) pipe * Single wall stove pipe (unless clearly approved by the installation manual and local codes) Fig. 1 Pellet fireplace inserts and freestanding stoves are often vented into existing masonry and factory-built fireplace and wood stove chimneys (Fig. 1). The chimney should be inspected before installation to ensure that it is clean, mechanically sound, and meets local safety code requirements. The appliance manufacturer's installation instructions may require relining the chimney with an approved metal liner, pipe, or PL vent. Vents or grilles on the face of factory-built fireplaces which provide cooling air to the outside jacket of the fireplace must not be blocked. Cleanout access for future maintenance should be considered.
RT 52 SEASONAL SELECTIONS
1973 Rt 52 Hopewell Jct, New York 12533
P: (845) 896 2099 F: (845) 896 2801
1973 Rt 52 Hopewell Jct, New York 12533
P: (845) 896 2099 F: (845) 896 2801