Starting Pocono Installation

Hi,

I moved this post from a different board. People here helped me enormously in getting my hopper stove going. With that under my belt, I'm ready to move on to the stoker.

I have a used Pocono top vent with powervent. It's in my garage and am planning to open the top of a double hung window and powervent through there. The stove is scraped, brushed and painted and hopefully ready for installation.

To start, I have some questions:

1. What material should I use to block the window and put in the hole for the powervent? Is sheet rock ok or should I use dura board?

2. Do I need a damper? If so, I would get a barometric damper. Is it better to place the damper close to the window or close to the stove on the horizontal run (about 60")?

3. I see that I'll need a manometer. Can I just use a vacuum gauge that I use for carburetor work, or is it something more specialized?

4. It seems that a six inch diameter vertical pipe fits over the flue, then is stopped by the top plate. Is this correct? If so, how is the chimney pipe attached to flue?

5. With the powervent, do the pipe connections need to be airtight?

Thanks in advance for any direction on any of the above questions.

Something strong enough to hold the power vent will dictate what you use. I would not use sheetrock.

Pipes should not need to be airtight assuming that the power vent goes at the end of the pipe outside. If it mounts at the stoker then it is called a direct vent and the pipes should be sealed. You will need a manometer to set draft and your vacuum gauge is not sensitive enough. Dwyer Mark II model 25, about $25 at Amazon.

The damper would depend on the type of vent.

Others more familiar with that stoker can better answer further questions.

franco b wrote:Something strong enough to hold the power vent will dictate what you use. I would not use sheetrock.

Pipes should not need to be airtight assuming that the power vent goes at the end of the pipe outside. If it mounts at the stoker then it is called a direct vent and the pipes should be sealed. You will need a manometer to set draft and your vacuum gauge is not sensitive enough. Dwyer Mark II model 25, about $25 at Amazon.

The damper would depend on the type of vent.

Others more familiar with that stoker can better answer further questions.

Thanks!

I have some Duroc that I can use, and caulk around it.

The powervent is to be mounted on the outside of the window, so I'm hoping that I can just leave the pipe sitting on top of the Pocono flue outlet with some 600 degree caulk.

Ordering the Dwyer tonight.

I'll hold off on the damper until I hear some more.

Meanwhile I can get started.

Thanks again.

My thought on the damper is this: Stokers rely on forced combustion air so have a tendency to blow a lot more fly ash into the vent system than a stove with natural draft. Horizontal pipes receive most of this and many stoker users inspect their pipe frequently and some use a capped tee for inspection and cleaning. By using a barometric damper and first setting the draft with the power vent with the baro closed to a draft higher than needed the baro can then be used to fine tune the draft to the required amount.

This means that the baro will be slightly open all the time until and if a falloff in draft results in the baro damper closing to maintain the draft. It then becomes an indicator that the pipe should be inspected.

Another possibility is to install a tee at the first run of horizontal pipe, right after the elbow. Install it with the center section (the bull) pointed down and capped. When flue gas bearing fly ash passes this section its velocity will slow and might very well act as a trap for fly ash. Others use a tee in place of the elbow and install the baro there which makes a convenient place to shine a light through to check and by removing the baro an easy means to insert a vacuum. It is not the recommended place to install the baro however.

The pipe coming off the flue outlet has to be fastened down by screws into the flue collar. All joints also have to be secured. This is because if there is ever a puff back the pipe will not be blown clear of the stoker.

I am not an expert in stokers so this is just what I feel to be common sense, others with stoker experience can give their advice.

Thanks again.

I'm thinking to put one tee at the top of the vertical pipe with the cap pointed back in the direction of the front of the stove. Then another tee, this time with the cap pointing down, at the other end of the horizontal pipe. From there the baro, followed by the power vent.

That way I should be able to turn up the power vent without shutting down the stove, take off the caps and push the ash so that it falls out the bottom of the second tee. Hopefully it wouldn't send the ash into a dust cloud that would clog the power vent.

I'll take the top off the Pocono tomorrow. I didn't see any holes in the flue collar for screws; maybe they are below the top plate.

Thanks for alerting me to a safety issue!

Edit: Rereading your post leads me to ask: Are you saying the baro should be in the vertical pipe (that's where it is in my oil furnace), or at the end of the horizontal pipe near the outlet?

The baro can be placed vertical or horizontal. If you want to use a tee at the top of the vertical pipe instead of an elbow, why not put the baro there? It makes it easy to inspect and also to clean the pipe. It is not the recommended location but will work fine. I have no idea why it is not recommended but suspect that it is because the puff given when an oil burner starts tends to push against the damper plate. Thousands are installed this way and it probably is what I would do.

If you want to try a fly ash trap it should be close to the stove, maybe right after the first tee. That way it protects most of the pipe. To clean it should be just to place a container underneath it and slowly remove the cap. No blowing.

To secure the pipe, place it over the stove collar and drill through pipe and collar. At least one and preferably three sheet metal screws.