To see or hide a Chimney, that is the question ?

OK, I'm getting a Hitzer stove either a 50-93 or the 354 hand feed. So where I'm putting the stove is almost in the center 1st floor 1800 sf ranch. It has a cathedral ceiling, but the stove will butt up to a 30" wide wall. Now behind this wall is a pantry, where I could run a metal chimney up so that you don't see it . Or should I just run the chimney from the stove right up to the ceiling and out. I'm thinking it would look better hidding the chimney, but a fellow told me that you do get some heat from the pipe up to the ceiling if I went straight up from the stove that I can use. If I went straight up from the stove I would have to get a top flue, and if I went into the wall behind the stove I would get the rear flue. The pipe straight up from the stove would be a lot cheaper being I could use single wall until I hit the ceiling. Where the piping going up through the pantry would have to be all double wall. I hope I explained this OK. Any thoughts ? Thanks

It is a lot easier to maintain the chimney if it is exposed. You already cited the lower cost. Also routing the chimney through the pantry will reduce the usable space in the pantry. Seems to me that unless aesthetic considerations (from your wife for example) dictate a concealed installation the exposed approach would be preferred.

Go staight up, the chimney will be more effiecient and a lot easier to maintain. After paying a ton of money for that stainless, I would want to be looking at it.

Also consider the ash that will be carried with the flue gases. It will fall out of the flue gases when the gas velocity is no long sufficient to carry it. If you flue is all vertical and you have a top of stove flue connection it will fall back into your stove. If you have a flue design that has some horizontal section close to the stove that's where it will fall out. You need to make provisions for cleaning it, sometimes a tee with a cap, sometime just take a connection apart. Think through where the ash will fall and how you will get it out in each case.

Well everyone here has got some very good reasons to go with the straight up from the stove. So that is what I will do, now that I have that out of the way. I will have to give some thought on which Hitzer I will get. I wanted the one (50-93) that has the hopper, because it has the top feed. But the flue is out the back which will put the stove out further from the wall. I have a friend that has a Harman 2000 that is a top hand feed with a top flue. I'm going over to his house to take a look, but its not for sale. And I don't think the dealer that I'm going to buy from has Harman anymore. Any idea's ?

Hello woody30 Have you looked at alaska stoves they make good units and they have the pipe coming out at the top on some of there stoves http://www.alaskastove.com and if you do not have a dealer near you they will sell direct to you so check there web page or call them good luck

Coal Berner, I will check out the Alaska, I think the dealer I have been going to sells those also. Thanks,Woody