# Replacing powervent with a chimney



## Greg29 (Dec 9, 2008)

I have a Tjernlund SS1 powervent that is going on 9 years old, my heating guy told me, you should replace it with a chimney.  I'm wondering what brand chimney piping to use. it will be an external system- it 21 feet from the center of the powervent to the roofline.  I have to offset to get past the soffit. any guidance would be appreciated.
                                        Greg


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## stee6043 (Dec 9, 2008)

I used the pipe you can buy at Menards for my chimney and was quite pleased with how it went together.  It's sold as Supervent/Selkirk product.  Offsets are strongley discouraged, especially outside.  Insted of an offset I simply brought my chimney horizontally away from my house far enough to get my 2" clearance to the soffit.  It turned out that a 24" horizontal section into my base T did the job perfectly to get the pipe away from the house and still inside the basement far enough to hook up to black pipe....

Keep in mind you have to be 3' taller than the roof when you pass above it, 2' taller than any roof within a 10 feet circle.

This stuff is not cheap either...


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## Greg29 (Dec 10, 2008)

I had a pro chimney guy come in for an estimate, after I posted this morning, he started by telling me "that instead of thru the wall where the powervent is, we will proabley have to go thru the foundation, it will make it easier to clean"  I have a 10inch 4000psi concrete wall, which will make the chimney 4 inches closer to the ground, he also told me we will have to go up 28 feet.  From the center of the powervent to the roof line is 20.8 feet, what is the reason to go 7 feet higher than the roof line.
                                                Thanks
                                                  Greg


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## Redox (Dec 10, 2008)

I'm not sure why you would want to replace it with a chimney.  The chimney is going to be much more expensive and difficult to install.  It also probably won't exactly add to the beauty of your home.  This is oil or gas application, right?

If the old one is getting corroded or something, just shop around for another one and have it on hand in case the other one falls apart.  It should be very easy to pull one out and replace it if it is the exact same model.

Just my .02

Chris


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## pybyr (Dec 10, 2008)

no affiliation with anyone, but the tjernlund inducers, in my opinion, are cobby

look around Field Controls' web site for some newer, more innovative, and smarter attempts at assisted venting for those appliances (gas or oil) (unlike wood) where you can turn the flow of fuel on and off


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## stee6043 (Dec 10, 2008)

To your question, Greg, he probably wants to go that high to meet the 2 foott above in 10 foot circle rule.  It depends on the pitch of your roof.

I paid a local concrete cutting company $190 to bore through my 8" foundation.  It was a nice and clean cut.  Took the guy 45 minutes.  I wouldn't dream of doing it myself after seeing the pro's do it.

But like the others are saying, I wonder why he's recommending you replace the vent?  I had to build a chase around my chimney for asthetics so you may want to consider that in your cost as well...


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## Greg29 (Dec 10, 2008)

The real reason to replace the powervent with a chimney is peace of mind, it the past 9 years, when the temperatures were at the most critical the powervent went bad, one year a relay temp -4 outside (cost $700 service call, most of it time  to diagnose it). Another time $450 because the fan started to disintegrate even though it was cleaned 2 months before.  Last year $530 to replace a board that gave up the ghost.  I initially bought a new power vent, its sitting in the basement,  At this point I have no faith in Tjernlund or there equipment,  I thank god I bought a Quadrafire MT. Vernon last year, it has cut my oil consumption by 75%.   To answer other thoughts, I have a Burnham V7 series burner,(2003 sprung a massive leak due to poor casting-Burnham replaced the burner- installation $600, things are expensive in CT)  Another reason is having to clean the siding every 2 years because of the power vent.  I do not see a need to go through the foundation when there is plenty of room where the power vent is, it sits between 2-10 inch flooring joists. there is 3.5 inches clearance on the bottom of the power vent.  The pro said that he wanted to use Supervent piping.  Most of the vendors in my area carry Duravent- cost of a 48 inch double insulated length is $136.00 which is not bad.  I guess my question is which is better Simpson Duravent or Supervent.
                                               Thanks
                                              Gregory


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## stee6043 (Dec 10, 2008)

From what I've read you won't hear many complaints about either pipe.  I was very pleased with Supervent.  It costs $69.99 for a 36" piece of 6" pipe at Menards.  I believe 8" Supervent is $89.99....


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## smokinj (Dec 10, 2008)

stee6043 said:
			
		

> I used the pipe you can buy at Menards for my chimney and was quite pleased with how it went together.  It's sold as Supervent/Selkirk product.  Offsets are strongley discouraged, especially outside.  Insted of an offset I simply brought my chimney horizontally away from my house far enough to get my 2" clearance to the soffit.  It turned out that a 24" horizontal section into my base T did the job perfectly to get the pipe away from the house and still inside the basement far enough to hook up to black pipe....
> 
> Keep in mind you have to be 3' taller than the roof when you pass above it, 2' taller than any roof within a 10 feet circle.
> 
> This stuff is not cheap either...


I was able to do the same thing!


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## CK-1 (Feb 23, 2009)

While doing some searching on Class A Chimney installs.. I found this thread.   I have the exact power vent unit stated in this thread and I can understand why he wants to replace it with a chimney.   My unit is loud when it turns on and during windy days you can smell oil fumes in the house.   I'm thinking about installing a SuperVent Chimney for a add-on furnace install.    Was also wondering if the SuperVent could handle both the oil furnace and add-on furnace being connected at the same time..


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