Installing Pellet Stove in Shop

[Luremaker]

I just purchased a multi fuel stove and plan on installing in my shop this week end. I have never cut a hole through the wall and am a little apprehensive about doing it. I'll have to cut a round 6 inch hole and slide a thimble into the hole seal it up and somehow make the outside of my corrugated steel shop look half decent. Sounds simple enough. I guess I'll just start cutting and hope there are no problems.

Here is a picture of the stove. It is a Grain Comfort Plus. It is a big stove weighing 375 lbs. The vent kit was included with the stove from the stove manufacturer. It is not the prettiest stove but burns corn, rye, wheat and wood pellets an is rated for 60,000 BTU..

Here is the back of the stove.

Here is the vent kit. The 3 inch center pipe looks like muffler pipe.

 

[Luremaker]

I wanted to post this in Rural Living not in Related Topics. Sorry Mods!

 

[MossRoad]

I wanted to post this in Rural Living not in Related Topics. Sorry Mods!

How's that?

 

[2COR517]

That's a big stove, should heat ok. One disadvantage of pellet stoves is that most I've seen is a max BTU of about 35K. Those low outputs are best for maintaining temperature, not for quickly heating a large area. Anyhow, installation should be pretty easy. I would use a jig/sabre saw to make a neat hole in the steel siding. One you have the outside half of the thimble installed, mark the wall at the top of the thimble. Take out the thimble, and cut the siding along the line, maybe past each end an inch or so. You need to get a piece of flashing up under the siding, and then fit the thimble up under the flashing. This should keep the water out.

Maybe post some pics when you are done.

 

[AKwelder]

I have a pellet stove and trust me, you have never seen cold like I have here. Until 10 below the stove heats the whole 28 x 60 2 story house. It has a good response time and gets the house up to temp in just a couple hours. Now when it gets real cold it doesn't heat evenly and I have to turn on the furnace to keep the exterior walls warm enough. After 30 below the plumbing to the kitchen sink can freeze up with out heat moving through the duct work.

I have been dumping a lot of pellets in my stove and have bought a grand total of 22 gallons of heating oil this year. With heating oil at $5 plus a gallon last summer I thought the stove was a great idea. And I am still ahead and on track to pay for the stove the pellets and my time if diesel stays above $2.50 a gallon. Maybe I guessed right and maybe not.

 

[Luremaker]

This stove is rated at 60,000 BTU and right now I am using an old oil furnace rated for 53,000 BTU which is on it's last leg and it heats my entire 40' x 60' x 14' shop with the ceiling fans on. So I should have plenty of heat. I've been thinking pellet stove for a few years and finally bit the bullet. Heating oil is 84 cents a litre (~$2.60 US Gal) and I got corn for helping out a neighbor in September so I hope to pay for the stove in 2 winters after that the heating cost will be almost nil.

I am getting ready to cut the hole and hope to have it burning in a couple of hours or so.

 

[charlz]

So you plan on just a 'vent cap' or whatever on the exterior? One thing I have noted is, while you can install the exhaust that way, it tends to blacken the wall around the vent. Best to extend it above the eave like you would a regular stove. While the pellet stoves burn pretty clean they still make a little smoke each time they start up.

 

[Luremaker]

... Anyhow, installation should be pretty easy. I would use a jig/sabre saw to make a neat hole in the steel siding. One you have the outside half of the thimble installed, mark the wall at the top of the thimble. Take out the thimble, and cut the siding along the line, maybe past each end an inch or so. You need to get a piece of flashing up under the siding, and then fit the thimble up under the flashing. This should keep the water out.

I did what you recommended and cut a rectangular hole for the thimble. Any recommendations on the flashing. I was going to bend some aluminum similar to door flashing.

 

[2COR517]

Any recommendations on the flashing. I was going to bend some aluminum similar to door flashing.

That's exactly what you want to do. The front lip of the flashing needs to extend down vertically over the thimble about a half inch / one centimeter. You should extend the flashing horizontally past the thimble to a "Valley" in the corrugated siding. You will probably need to do the flashing in two pieces in order to get them in. That is OK, just overlap an inch or two. A little sealant on the ends of the flashing and you should be good to go.

 

[Luremaker]

Well I have the stove installed and working. I am burning corn right now. It's only been on an hour and it really producing a lot of heat. I can't say if its 60,000 btu though. Here is a picture of the stove and one through the door glass.

You can see the chute where the corn drops into the fire box below. Air is blown through the firebox from below. This stove is incredibly simple. No high tech circuit boards to burn out or anything fancy. You have two controls on the top, one controls the feed rate the other controls fan speed. Tomorrow I'll burn wood pellets and after that some rye to see the difference.