Pellet vent for Keystoker 90?

Just curious if a direct vent style stove like the Keystoker can use 4" pellet vent pipe? Since it works on the same principle as a pellet stove, I'd assume it can use the same venting? I know the Harman DVC-500 uses a unique vent system, but the Keystoker doesn't, from what I can see.

Thanks for any thoughts!

Chris

bump...

Anyone have any thoughts? It looks like pellet vent would be a hot ticket for a direct vent stove. 570F max. continuous rating, and 1" clearance to combustibles. It is also sealed for use in a direct vent system without having to gob everything with silicone.

Chris

Chris,

Simpson Pellet vent specs says for use with pellet stoves and low temperature venting systems up to but not exceeding 570 degrees. No specific mention of coal. I'd run that one past the Keytoker folks.

Kirk

I did call them regarding it, and the gentleman I talked with was a bit less than helpful, but said it should work fine as long as it passes code. He just recommended plain 4" pipe and run out through a homebrew thimble of 12" long x 6" round pipe.

In short, he was thinking I was wasting my money. Maybe so, but the clean install offered by pellet pipe (low clearance, sealed joints) makes it worthwhile to me. At 570F, that's more than enough for a stoker stove, they run cooler than a pellet burner on the exhaust temps.

Chris

Europachris - Just a quick thought. If you installed the pellet vent pipe how easy would it be to clean fly ashout of the pipe? I'm sure a coal stove creates more ash than a pellet stove, and a direct-vent stove needs to be cleaned several times a heating season. I'm not really familliar with the pellet vent that is why I'm asking. Can you post a picture or a link so we could see it? Thanks, Shawn

I'm not a big fan of 4" pipe on coal stoves. If you use 4" pipe without a draft inducer or power vent it will only take hours for your house to fill up with CO. We have played with 3" power venters rated at 75,000 BTU's and have postive pressure at full burn. The power venter that we use now can draw up to 170,000 input. That's why it needs to be rheostated down. When using 4" pipe you will fill up the pipe with fly ash in no time. I think if you look at the UL tag on the back of the Key, Leisure Line or Alaska it will state the its only approved for 6" black pipe.
Jerry

Leisure Line wrote:I'm not a big fan of 4" pipe on coal stoves. If you use 4" pipe without a draft inducer or power vent it will only take hours for your house to fill up with CO. We have played with 3" power venters rated at 75,000 BTU's and have postive pressure at full burn. The power venter that we use now can draw up to 170,000 input. That's why it needs to be rheostated down. When using 4" pipe you will fill up the pipe with fly ash in no time. I think if you look at the UL tag on the back of the Key, Leisure Line or Alaska it will state the its only approved for 6" black pipe.
Jerry

Hi, Jerry. This is a direct vent Keystoker, so it has the 'power vent' built right into the stove. Therefore it is a pressurized exhaust, like a pellet stove, and requires a well sealed system. I thought that instead of trying to use regular 4" pipe and sealing it to use a sealed design system to begin with.

Chris

REDMAN wrote:Europachris - Just a quick thought. If you installed the pellet vent pipe how easy would it be to clean fly ashout of the pipe? I'm sure a coal stove creates more ash than a pellet stove, and a direct-vent stove needs to be cleaned several times a heating season. I'm not really familliar with the pellet vent that is why I'm asking. Can you post a picture or a link so we could see it? Thanks, Shawn

Here's a catalog of the Simpson Pellet Vent. Nice stuff, and very flexible in installation.

Chris

Just so there isn't any confusion - I'm looking at pellet vent for a DIRECT vent Keystoker 90, not a regular vent system stove. Direct (or power) vent is pretty much my only option to get a stove in this house, especially if it has to go in the (finished) basement.

The only other option is one of Jerry's Econo Sidewinders placed in front of our existing gas fireplace and tapped into the Class A chimney it has. It would just barely fit. But then I worry about the noise right in the same room as the TV. I run into either a window within 4' of where I'd vent a direct or power vent stove or no access at all to the outside. It's 2 story, so access to the roof isn't easy, either, for a stove on the first floor.

I'm a bit of a bizarre person in that I really can't justify a stove with my current natural gas prices. But, I love stoves and want to have one in the house as a focal point of warmth and backup. If I could pay back a stove in a year or two like a lot of you here, I'd hack a hole for a chimney just about anywhere I could to make it work.

But, since that's not the case, I need to do this in the most friendly way to the house and make it almost reversible in case it doesn't work out. I could easily deal with a little ash or dust, etc. and colder rooms at the ends of the house, but my wonderful wife may not, especially again, if it's really not saving us a lot of money. I can easily see where it might go with her dealing with another one of my 'science projects'. Not good....

These modern homes with direct vent furnaces (and we even have a direct vent gas water heater) just weren't designed to accomodate solid fuel heating devices.

Chris

I have the keystoker in a 20x48x10 poly hoophouse/greenhouse, its the upgraded 105k btu direct vent , I plumbed the exhaust with 4 inch black flue pipe on the inside, and the stainless stuff on the outside, I run rice coal in it from one of the local dealers, probably rin about 6 tons through it since Ive had it, my digital co meter has never read more than 1 ppm co, and that was on a windy day where it was drafting back in from the outside, even on a fullburn, the pipes do not get very hot, not liek a wood stove would get, and I have it plumbed directly through a corogated poly wall with the thimble in cluded from keystoker, this unit is connected to a simple wall thermostat and it works wonderfully, keeping the greenhouse at 60 degrees on the coldest NY nights without a problem, as for the ash, a coouple brushings with the included flex brush pretty much cleans it up good as new, Ive been thinking of installing a hot water loop so as to do bench heating in the greenhouse, allowing me to run the house at a cooler temp, maybe this year.
I think the stove is well built, and good value for the money, I will probably buy another to heat a 1200 sq ft garage

europachris wrote:Just so there isn't any confusion - I'm looking at pellet vent for a DIRECT vent Keystoker 90, not a regular vent system stove. Direct (or power) vent is pretty much my only option to get a stove in this house, especially if it has to go in the (finished) basement.

The only other option is one of Jerry's Econo Sidewinders placed in front of our existing gas fireplace and tapped into the Class A chimney it has. It would just barely fit. But then I worry about the noise right in the same room as the TV. I run into either a window within 4' of where I'd vent a direct or power vent stove or no access at all to the outside. It's 2 story, so access to the roof isn't easy, either, for a stove on the first floor.

I'm a bit of a bizarre person in that I really can't justify a stove with my current natural gas prices. But, I love stoves and want to have one in the house as a focal point of warmth and backup. If I could pay back a stove in a year or two like a lot of you here, I'd hack a hole for a chimney just about anywhere I could to make it work.

But, since that's not the case, I need to do this in the most friendly way to the house and make it almost reversible in case it doesn't work out. I could easily deal with a little ash or dust, etc. and colder rooms at the ends of the house, but my wonderful wife may not, especially again, if it's really not saving us a lot of money. I can easily see where it might go with her dealing with another one of my 'science projects'. Not good....

These modern homes with direct vent furnaces (and we even have a direct vent gas water heater) just weren't designed to accomodate solid fuel heating devices.

Chris