Pellet stove breathinh

[bohica65]

I've seen in some areas of the forums where some people have cautiioned against having too long of a horizontal run of vent pipe due to causing breathing problems with the stove. What exactly is meant by breathing problems?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

breathing problems = air flow issues = draft issues = poor draft = poor burning.

Long horizontal runs cause both extra air flow resistance and promote faster ash build up in that section of the flue.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

pellet stoves require a free flow of air to burn at optimal efficiency, long horizontal runs do not allow natural covection (rising of hot air) to "help the air along" shorter the horizontal run the better. vertical runs on the other hand can be longer due to the same convective help, but even they have a maximum , usually determined by the manufacturer.

 

[crausch]

Just as an addition to what Mike said...think of it like a wood stove without the exhaust blower that pellet stoves have. The smoke needs to rise on its own out the chminey. Hot air rises, but in a horizontal run there is no place for it to rise. This creates the resistance trying to get to the outside. The ability for the exhaust to rise to the outside on its own is called a natural draft. If the air can't go out then fresh combustion air can't get in. Thus a inefficient sooty burn. The lack of a god draft could also cause smoke to draft into your house during a power outage. Sort of like your stove having a stuffed up nose. - lol

The horizontal runs also tend to be a place where ash accumulates as it can settle and just lay in the pipe. Like a clogged artery, thus restricting the flow/draft even more.