# Country Comfort insert drafting questions



## Storm (Dec 24, 2014)

I recently had a Country Comfort insert given to me. It seems to be a very nice stove with minimal use so far. I pulled the manual on the stove and it states to use a direct connect kit on the top of the stove flue up into the chimney flue. The stove I received did not come with one of these direct connect pieces and I cannot find a picture of one anywhere online. My stove has a rectangular opening at the flue with a slide damper. I was just going to have someone make me a direct connect, but I don't even know what size pipe to have this connect to. Any help would be appreciated!
Thank you.

Below is a quick picture of the stove. I can take to top cover off and show a picture of the flue opening on the stove if that would be of help.


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## bholler (Dec 24, 2014)

I would run a full liner not just a direct connect it will work much better and be much safer.  There are lots of places that make adapter boots or you can get a custom one made up.


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## Storm (Dec 24, 2014)

bholler said:


> I would run a full liner not just a direct connect it will work much better and be much safer.  There are lots of places that make adapter boots or you can get a custom one made up.



Do you mean a full liner all the way up the chimney? And what size liner would be appropriate for this insert? Thanks.


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## bholler (Dec 24, 2014)

that depends on the size of thet rectangular opening it should match the volume of the liner i would guess 7 or 8" but i need to know the size of the opening to know for sure


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## Storm (Dec 25, 2014)

The size of the opening is 9" wide by 6" deep. And the house was built in '68 so I believe the chimney is very sound.


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## bholler (Dec 25, 2014)

Storm said:


> And the house was built in '68 so I believe the chimney is very sound.


what would make you think that a 46 year old chimney is necessarily sound? That is a long time for weather to take its tole on that masonry and allot of time for the liners to be damaged from heat moisture and corrosive gasses.   And you would need an 8" liner to match that opening


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## Storm (Dec 26, 2014)

Thanks for the information. Being that the chimney is on the outside of the house, I will install an insulated 8" liner with a cap and a back-off plate. Is there any specific liner you would recommend? For example, what type of steel, where to purchase, single wall? Thanks.


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## bholler (Dec 26, 2014)

For wood stoves we always use heavy wall flex liner 304 alloy.  But light wall will work also i would recomend against the double layer smooth wall stuff i dont find that it holds up as well.  There is also preinsulated stuff available as well and that is fine.


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## mellow (Dec 26, 2014)

Are you sure you want to plunk down that extra cash for an 8" insulated liner?  Take a look at this thread:  Country Comfort Insert


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## bholler (Dec 26, 2014)

mellow said:


> Are you sure you want to plunk down that extra cash for an 8" insulated liner?


I agree that i personally would not but some people like their old stoves and still want to use them.  We install liners on 7 or 8 a year


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## Squeaky_6 (Dec 29, 2014)

This is the adapter that came with my country comfort stove. Oval must have been popular back in the day. I bought an adapter that I am hoping to connect it to my 6inch liner. If I were you I would have a adapter made to cover the opening into whatever diameter you decide for a liner. I am going to try and use this since I think making the adapter will be speedy.


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## Storm (Dec 31, 2014)

Squeaky_6 said:


> This is the adapter that came with my country comfort stove. Oval must have been popular back in the day. I bought an adapter that I am hoping to connect it to my 6inch liner. If I were you I would have a adapter made to cover the opening into whatever diameter you decide for a liner. I am going to try and use this since I think making the adapter will be speedy.



This is the exact type of connector I will need with my insert. The problem is I cannot find a single store that has a compatible adapter. Does anyone know where I could get one or have one made? Thanks.


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## Storm (Dec 31, 2014)

mellow said:


> Are you sure you want to plunk down that extra cash for an 8" insulated liner?  Take a look at this thread:  Country Comfort Insert



I don't necessarily want to buy an 8" liner, but I don't know what my other options are for having a safe burning fire. I am new to all of this. I feel that the price spent on a liner and getting this stove running will pay for itself in cost savings for heating the house. My house currently has radiant ceiling heat and is not working well in all the rooms and it is very expensive for electric heat. Around $250 a month when its below freezing at all.  I would like to be able to heat with wood in the very cold months of the year here in WV.


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## mellow (Dec 31, 2014)

I would sell that thing and buy a newer insert that will use a 6" insulated liner (Will an 8" or 6" insulated fit in your chimney??)

In order to use that stove you will also have to buy this:  http://woodheatstoves.com/oval-to-round-adapter-p-17614.html

By the time you get done you will have quite a bit of money invested into that insert to make it right, and that is not including if the cat in it is still good, if not that will be $200 to replace.


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## Storm (Dec 31, 2014)

mellow said:


> I would sell that thing and buy a newer insert that will use a 6" insulated liner (Will an 8" or 6" insulated fit in your chimney??)
> 
> In order to use that stove you will also have to buy this:  http://woodheatstoves.com/oval-to-round-adapter-p-17614.html
> 
> By the time you get done you will have quite a bit of money invested into that insert to make it right, and that is not including if the cat in it is still good, if not that will be $200 to replace.




Is there a reason buying a newer insert is better than fixing this one up? Are they a lot more efficient? I'm just want to try and make the best decision. If I put say $300-$400 into fixing this insert up and an extra $300 on an 8" liner vs a 6" liner, then wouldn't I still be spending less money on using the one I have? And if I do go that route and decide to upgrade my insert later, would I have to redo the liner to a 6" or is having a larger liner than needed ok? I haven't checked my chimney dimensions yet as I need to borrow a ladder to get onto my roof. It looks like it is a dual flu chimney, so I may be limited on my space for an insulated liner.

And if I do go with a newer one, do you have any recommendations?

Thanks!


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## mellow (Dec 31, 2014)

I personally can't stand the looks of those old country comfort stoves, that just screams 80's, though some might like that look.

You wouldn't want to run a stove made for a 6" exhaust running on 8", it will not draft as good, you might have to change to a 6" liner.

Depending on which one your efficiency could jump quite a bit, if you go with a BK princess insert your burn times and efficiency will jump quite a bit, it will marginally look better 

I would get something new that will last for a long time if this is something you are serious about, if you want suggestions for a new insert I would start a new thread with all the info about your house and fireplace size and the size of your chimney and height so this one doesn't get all gunked up.


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## Storm (Dec 31, 2014)

mellow said:


> I personally can't stand the looks of those old country comfort stoves, that just screams 80's, though some might like that look.
> 
> You wouldn't want to run a stove made for a 6" exhaust running on 8", it will not draft as good, you might have to change to a 6" liner.
> 
> ...



Mellow,

Thanks for all the info. It was truly a great help.


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## Squeaky_6 (Jan 2, 2015)

Storm,
Country Comfort went out of business. If you need an adapter and don't have one like mine, I would just get a plate of steel and have a cirle cut into it and a pipe the diameter you need welded to it and then secure that to the stove. The adapter I have is kinda a pain. I bought a Vermont Stove company oval to round adapter, and I am going to have to plug it with gasket tape and stove mortar to fill in the gaps since it doens fit exactly. I am debating just having a round adpater made to avoid the oval design all together.

I wouldnt sell that thing...I paid 300 for mine and just finished sanding it all and painted it black. turned out nice and hope to install it soon. Look on craigslist for used good chimney liner. I found over 20 feet of flex for 225!

Do people on here think this insert would work with a six inch liner?????


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## Storm (Jan 2, 2015)

Squeaky, 
Does this insert have a cat?


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## Squeaky_6 (Jan 4, 2015)

If you have the CC300, which mine is, then no. There is a baffle with a secondary burn tube, that is also why there is a hole in back. But no cat, I believe they had a different model with a cat. Your's looks identical to mine though. Snap a picture of your baffle and I will tell you if same as mine.


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## Storm (Jan 4, 2015)

Squeaky_6 said:


> If you have the CC300, which mine is, then no. There is a baffle with a secondary burn tube, that is also why there is a hole in back. But no cat, I believe they had a different model with a cat. Your's looks identical to mine though. Snap a picture of your baffle and I will tell you if same as mine.



Here is a picture of my baffle.


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## Squeaky_6 (Jan 5, 2015)

Same as mine. That triangle coming down is a secondary burn tube, in the back there will be a hole about the size of a quarter for it to get outside air.

Above that baffle is your damper, which you control from the front, but no cat!


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## mitre (Jan 7, 2015)

Storm, you have a CC300 with a stainless steel baffle. Fantastic, high quality non-cat. stove. You can purchase an 8 inch stove connector, round, from M&G Duravent. Look in the Duraliner catalog. It's not cheap, but you will need to run 8 inch liner the FULL length of the chimney! Also, to meet code, you need 1/2 inch aluminized (white) insulation run from the stove through the damper, about 5 feet, also not cheap. I highly recommend insulating the entire length of the chimney. It will draw twice a good, burn 1/2 the amount of wood, stay hotter longer, and have a much easier time getting a fire started. I can get you more info if you go this route.


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## mitre (Jan 7, 2015)

Also, you may need an oval stove connector and oval flex pipe to get through the existing damper/smoke shelf area of your fireplace. You can then switch to round flex pipe, or keep it as oval to the chimney top/rain cap.


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## bholler (Jan 7, 2015)

mitre said:


> Also, to meet code, you need 1/2 inch aluminized (white) insulation run from the stove through the damper, about 5 feet


What code is that?  The only code having to do with insulation says that if you do not have proper clearance to combustibles (which most do not) you need to insulate the whole thing.  I have never seen anything in any code book about insulating just the bottom part.  I also strongly recommend insulating the whole liner regardless of clearances it will work much better.  And I would never ovalize to go through the damper cut the damper out so you can keep it round the whole way again it will work much better and be easier to clean.


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## Squeaky_6 (Jan 8, 2015)

What would happen if you put a 6inch round chimney liner on this stove??? Please any ideas? I have already purchased a 6 inch liner


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## mellow (Jan 8, 2015)

You might get smoke out the doors on reloads.


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## mitre (Jan 9, 2015)

bholler, It sounds like you know what you're talking about so I retract my statement.  My info was from a discussion with a Duravent service tech, so it may be based on best practices, or their requirements for liability with single wall flex. I would agree to cut out the damper first to round and keep bends to a minimum. I used an oval-flex 4ply ss pipe through the damper in my case as the stove outlet adapter is oval as well as issue of opening distance from the lintel. I ran the rest as single wall oval flex and insulated the whole pipe, required an overly-expensive oval brush. BTW Squeaky if you do insulate, check clearances with the added pipe circumference— I had a heck of a time stuffing the heavy, insulated pipe down the chimney! As to the pipe diameter, the stove was engineered to work with 8 inch, so I don't know what will happen w 6 inch. If you have enough clearance to run 8, I would.


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## mitre (Jan 9, 2015)

Found this link on flue undersizing:

https://chimneysweeponline.com/houndersiz.htm


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## bholler (Jan 9, 2015)

With an undersized pipe you will not have enough volume of air moving for the stove to work as designed and it can cause lots of problems.  I am curious mitre what is 4ply pipe i have never heard of it and i am curious.  I would always go with round when possible smoke travles through round much better than oval.  And an 8" pipe ovalized does not have the same volume as an 8" round we usually up size one size when we need to ovalize so for an 8" we would use a 9" pipe.


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## mitre (Jan 13, 2015)

I'm not exactly sure... It's their heaviest flex pipe. They call it 4-ply, but I think its really just uninsulated double wall and it has a smooth interior. I probably would have gone with single wall flex all the way up, but I got a great deal from a local supply co unloading their 8 inch stuff.


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## Squeaky_6 (Jan 14, 2015)

Thanks Mitre and Bholler!


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## Cooper12 (Jan 26, 2015)

I have a cc300. And have an extra never used stainless steel oval to 8 inch round adaptor.  Oval is 4 5/8 X 10 5/8.  Fits in perfectly let me know if interested.


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