How to Install Venting for Old Wood Stoves
Installing the stove pipe venting for an old wood stove isn’t any different from installing venting for a new wood stove. Most stove manufacturers have used the same flue size for wood stoves for more than a century, though flues do vary between wood stove models. The outlet on top or the back of the wood stove for the stove pipe can be 4 inches, 6 inches or 8 inches in diameter, and the stove pipe is available from most any store that sells wood stoves. Venting your wood stove requires a chimney box or wall thimble through which the smoke exits the stove pipe. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Tape measure
- Ladder
- Single wall stove pipe sections
- Elbow sections, if needed
- Telescoping section
- Drill with screw bit
- Self-taping sheet metal screws, 3 per pipe section attachment
- High-temperature paint
- High-temperature caulk
Instructions
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1
Find the flue on the wood stove. Measure the diameter of the flue to determine the pipe size needed.
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2
Set up the ladder near where the chimney box exits the room. If it goes through the wall, it is called a wall thimble.
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3
Climb the ladder and measure the distance from the chimney box connection to the flue on the wood stove. If the pipe exits through the wall thimble – measure the distance the wood stove sits from the wall, a minimum of 18 inches is usually required according to local building codes. If through the wall, take a second measurement from the wall thimble down the wall to the level of the wood stove flue.
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4
Purchase the needed pipe sections to cover the distance. Most wood stove pipes come in varying lengths; use a combination of lengths to make up the distance. If it doesn’t come out even, purchase a telescoping pipe section to make up the distance for the last pipe installed. If the wood stove connection is on the back of the stove, this will require an elbow. If the wood stove connects through a wall thimble ,this requires another 90-degree elbow.
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5
Install the first stove pipe section. Look at the stove pipe sections. Each end of the pipe is somewhat different. One end’s pipe is flat, while the other may have a slight lip about 3 inches in from the edge of the pipe. This end fits into the pipe above it, or in the case of the first pipe section, into the lip of the chimney box or wall thimble, all the way against the ridgeline on the pipe, which prevents the pipe from going any further. Hold the pipe on both sides, firmly, but without squeezing it to avoid changing the pipe’s shape as you insert it.
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6
Insert the pipe into the circular mouth of the thimble or the chimney box by slightly twisting as you push up on it. Push it in all the way up to the ridgeline on the pipe, where it will stop. If inserting into the wall thimble, the pipe will be parallel to the floor.
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7
Secure the pipe to the chimney box or wall thimble by screwing three self-tapping sheet metal screws through pipe section and the chimney box or thimble mouth. Place the screws apart in equal distances around the circumference of the pipe.
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8
Add an 90-degree elbow to the pipe section coming out from the wall, if the pipe exits through the wall thimble. Ensure the mouth of the pipe is perpendicular to the floor to accept the next pipe section. Secure the elbow with the three screws as in the previous step. If installing through the chimney box, skip to the next step.
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9
Install the rest of the pipe sections in the same manner as Step 6 and secure as in Step 7. Repeat this process for all but the last pipe section. If the flue is on the back of the wood stove, install the second elbow with the mouth of the pipe section facing up.
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10
Add the telescoping pipe section into the pipe above and secure as in previous steps. Lift up on the bottom of the telescoping pipe and insert it into the flue, if on the top of the wood stove, or into the mouth of the 90-degree elbow. Adjust it to fit the distance as needed. Secure as in previous steps.
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11
Climb the ladder again and touch up the sheet metal screws with a spray coat of high-temperature stove paint.
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12
Take the ladder outside and access the chimney box or wall thimble. Add a coating of high-temperature caulk on the inside and outside diameter of the collar of the chimney. This will help prevent rain dripping on the pipe into the home.
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Tips & Warnings
Use caution when climbing a ladder. Make sure that it is sturdy before stepping on it and its feet splay the needed distance. Never climb on the top of the ladder or the two rungs below that.
Wear gloves when working with the stove pipe as its edges are sharp. Have an assistant help you to avoid climbing up and down the ladder.
