Pellet Stove Vent Pipe Kits

There are two possible vents on a wood pellet stove, the first vent is an air intake vent. This is usually used when the pellet stove is installed in a trailer or home that is super insulated. Instead of taking the air from within the dwelling, making a possible lethal situation the air intake vent will take air from outside. This vent is option depending upon local building codes.

The second type of vent is a traditional vent that vents the smoke created by the burning pellets outside, keeping the smoke from sneaking out into the house.

Air intake vents are all pretty standard, they have a two inch opening that usually has some type of mesh over it to avoid bees or wasps from building a nest within it. It is advised in the summer to cover this vent to avoid anything from trying to nest in it or any water etc... to sneak in.

The traditional smoke vent comes in various forms, there are vertical vents that go up like a normal chimney and there are horizontal vents that vent directly out of the wall. Features like this make pellet stoves the ideal add on for a home heating source because the horizontal direct wall vent allows you to place it on any outside wall with minimal modifications to your existing structure.

1) You will need the vent pipe, these are the sections of pipe that are joined together to vent the smoke.  They come in various lengths depending if you are doing a vertical or horizontal install.

2) Pipe adaptors - These will allow you to join various size pipe together, they might not be necessary on all pellet stove vent installs but might be.  Most of these adaptors are twist locking which means they twist and lock together so they can be removed later if needed.

3) Wall thimble - you will need to use a wall thimble this covers the hole you cut into the wall(incase it wasn't perfect) and also protects the wall from the vent pipe which may be fairly warm when in use.

4) If you are doing a install where the pipe vents through your roof you may need a storm collar and roof flashing to help prevent water leaking in.

5) Finally you will need a vent pipe cap this keeps things from falling into the vent pipe and keeps the weather out.

When installing your pellet stove vent, extreme caution should be taken, installed improperly you could easily burn down your house. The most common type of pellet stove vent used is a horizontal out the wall style as it allows you to add a pellet stove to just about any outside wall.

A vertical stove vent is usually used when the install is a "insert" pellet stove, where the pellet stove is being installed in an existing fire place.  These installs are fairly easy because the vent is going up the existing chimney.

On horizontal installs you need to first decide where in the room you would like to place the stove and then check on the outside to see if there are any shrubs, or other items that might pose a problem.  You also need to find if any electrical wires or plumbing pipes are in the wall where you are planning to drill the hole.

Personally I drilled a 3 inch hole with a hole saw kit that can be picked up at the local hardware store. I then took my reciprocating saw and enlarge the hole large enough so the stove vent pipe and wall thimble fit.  The thimble acts as extra insulation for the vent pipe and also allows you to cover up if you cut the hole a little too big.

Finally seal your pipe fittings with the high heat adhesive recommended by the stove manufacturer.  Be careful not to glue on your vent pipes end cap as this is removed to periodically clean out the vent pipe of any ash buildup.  Once this adhesive sets it is nearly impossible to remove any items that were sealed with it.

Before purchasing your pellet stove vent you need to determine what size vent you need. The easiest way to determine this is looking in your stoves operation manual. Most pellet stoves require a 3" or 4" vent pipe for proper ventilation. Anything smaller than this could cause smoke to back up into your house or your fire to burn poorly.

Pellet Stove Vent Pipe

The vent pipe you install should either be stainless or galvanized as recommended by your manufacturer. Never use the wrong size or style of pipe as it could be a carbon monoxide hazard.

If you are venting your pellet stove into an existing chimney you should always install a chimney liner. This is a pellet stove vent that is metal and is placed inside your chimney.  This is done because most household chimney pipes are too large. 

Venting your pellet stove properly is not only a safety concern but also need for proper air flow with the stove.

A vent pipe for a pellet stove does produce heat, while it is in an acceptable range for most glass block windows I would not recommend using a setup like this. Most build inspectors would not pass such an installation in a glass block window and if your house did happen to catch fire the insurance companies may argue an improper installation caused the fire.