Bottom or Top?????

This is the way the stove was piped when I bought it. I kept it the same not knowing any better. Now Everyone is talking about the efficiency and crossburn of the Godin. Should I change the pipe onto the bottom port of the manifold and cap off the top??????

Common sense says YES!!!!! The manifold is what really throws the heat.

Only possible downfalls would be Lack/Change in draft. I'm going into an 8"round thimble (about 3 ft long) then into a square clay external chimney (only about 20 ft high) and only using a manual pipe damper.

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ps: for more pics see my previous post in this sub-forum

Joe

franco b wrote:The small round Godin was usually piped to the bottom. If you pipe yours at the bottom the heat exchange will probably be more effective. Be aware however that piping it at the bottom will create a trap for fly ash that could restrict the opening and that it why it is piped to the top for safety reasons.

And because of a fly ash blockage, he may want to install a "T" with cap for easy cleaning. I have a "T" with cap on my boiler. Every now & then, I pull the cap and vaccume when tending the boiler. Oliver

I have seen these stoves in front of fireplaces. Due to height restrictions they use the bottom outlet, a horizontal run into the fireplace, then a "T" to the flue. Yes, it does trap ash. The bottom of the "T" becomes a clean-out. When the stove is cold run a shop vac in there to get as much ash as you can.

If you get an IR thermometer you will see that the stove body is much hotter than the manifold. The stove is radiant via the body. The flue gasses are not that hot. You do not gain much heat by re-connecting via the lower outlet. You do reduce your draft because of all the turns. You do increase the possibility of ash build-up reducing your draft further or blocking it totally.

My opinion would be to leave it connected via the top outlet. With the top connected the path to the lower outlet will clog with ash & coal dust but it does not matter. During your end-of season maintenance you can clean it out. If you want to get a little more heat out of the stove try experimenting with the manual pipe damper in your vertical pipe.

My usual warning: Before you play with restricting the draft make sure you have a functional digital CO detector in the room.

KaptJaq