With so much information about wood stove chimney available, it can be very difficult to figure out what type of chimney is the best fit for your situation, especially if you haven’t owned a wood burning stove before. Often, homeowners expect that they simply need chimney pipe when beginning to search for wood stoves. Most people just visualize black stove pipe, since that is most commonly seen where a wood stove is installed. In order to be safe, you need to educate yourself on every different type of wood stove chimney pipe and which is used for different parts of the installation.
Most people associate wood stove chimney with standard black pipe. This is very common, yet there are actually two types of black stove pipe, single wall and double wall. Insulated wood stove chimney pipe, otherwise known as “Class A” chimney, is what is used to pass through combustible walls and send the exhaust outside of the home. When installing a wood stove or wood stove insert through a fireplace, you would use a type of wood stove chimney called a “fireplace chimney liner.” This is also commonly used in oil flue relining.
Black stove pipe is what is used to connect a wood stove to a chimney flue, available in both single wall and double wall. Offering a very economical approach to wood stove chimney, single wall stove pipe is very common. Made of basic painted steel, it will require an 18″ clearance to any combustible wall or material. Single wall stove pipe is typically only available in one or to foot increments as well as adjustable 90 degree elbows. Because of the single wall design and recommendation to replace every 3-5 years, no warranty is offered with single wall stove pipe.
Double wall wood stove chimney pipe will be used for the same purpose as single wall, however, there are some serious advantages. Often times double wall stove pipe is confused with the insulated stove pipe used to pass through combustible material. Double wall stove pipe has a steel pipe on the outside, very similar to the single wall. There is a half inch air space inside of the outside wall, and then an inside layer of stainless steel chimney pipe. By creating an air space between the two pieces of stove pipe, the clearance to combustible is reduced to 6″, allowing the wood stove to be installed into a much smaller space. Double wall wood stove chimney pipe often carries a warranty with it, and will not need to be replaced for 20 to 25 years depending on how it is maintained. Double wall wood stove chimney pipe is significantly more expensive than single wall, but will insure your safety inside the home.
When you want to install a wood stove, but have no chimney in the location, you will use insulated or “Class A” wood stove chimney pipe. Insulated chimney uses a double layer of stainless steel, either one or two inches apart, separated by a layer of kaowool insulation. Kaowool is heat reflective, and is the same material NASA uses to insulate the space ships. The insulation factor reduces clearances to 2″ making it easy to pass through walls and ceilings. The pipe sections will either snap or twist lock together, or occasionally use mechanical fasteners (metal screws) to lock the pieces together. There are a wide range of sizes available for different applications, straight sections are generally available up to four feet in length. An entire chimney system can be costly, starting around $1500 for an entire installation, depending on components needed.
The final type of wood stove chimney is a fireplace chimney liner. This is one continuous piece of chimney, made from a single wall rigid stainless steel. It installs with a connector to the top of the stove being inserted into the fireplace, and runs the entire length of the chimney to the top of the flue. At the top it is secured by a top plate that holds the chimney centered, as well as blocks off the rest of the flue from draft. This way when the atmosphere pulls on the chimney, it is only drawing from that flue liner, rather than the entire chimney, creating a perfect draft for the wood stove. A cap is placed on top to protect the flue from weather.
There are several different types of wood stove chimney, and being sure that you know what to look for will greatly help you when putting your system together. It will also ultimately save you money so that you do not purchase the wrong products, and it will help you to be able to compare different products, so that you can figure out what is the best for your situation.
Learn more about chimney. Stop by Stove King’s site where you can find out all about wood stove chimney and what it can do for you.
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