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How do I properly vent my pellet stove?

You probably will have a few options for venting a pellet stove. Most pellet stoves require type “L” vent pipe. Many will have a 4” vent pipe requirement. L-vent uses a small air space between a stainless steel inner pipe and a galvanized outer pipe. Since the exhaust on pellet equipment is pressurized, all joints between pipe components must be siliconed or have a tight, gasketed/sealed connection.

Pellet stoves can be vented vertically through the roof or horizontally through a side wall. It’s always a good idea to get some vertical rise with the L-vent pipe, before venting horizontally through a side wall. If power is interrupted while the stove is operating, there will be a natural draft established with a bit of rise in the vent profile. This will help to remove the smoke from the stove if there’s a power failure or little hands accidentally unplug the stove from the wall outlet. This vertical rise can be achieved inside before the vent pipe is exited through the sidewall, or outside if you prefer an installation with no pipe showing inside. Inside or out, usually 3 or 4 feet of rise is sufficient.

If you plan to replace a wood burning stove with a pellet model, another venting option is to use the existing chimney for the wood stove. Rigid L-vent pipe can be installed from the pellet stove to the chimney. Special adapters at the chimney will allow a 4” flexible, stainless steel pipe to be installed up the chimney. Your dealer can help you evaluate your best venting option.

Never use PVC pipe, gas vent pipe, dryer vent pipe or single wall black stove pipe to vent your pellet stove.

Below is a list of fireplace and grill stores that service New York (NY)

Ridgefield, CT

Yankee Doodle, Inc.
71 Ethan Allen Highway
Ridgefield, CT 06877

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Bellmore, NY

Costello's Bellmore Hot Tub
5135 Merrick Road
Bellmore, NY 11762

Carmel, NY

Best in Backyards
30 Commerce Dr
Carmel, NY 10512

Findley Lake, NY

Matters of The Hearth, Inc.
2842 Route 426
Findley Lake, NY 14736

Matters of The Hearth, Inc. LogoVisit Store Page

Glenmont, NY

Matchless Stove & Chimney
693 US Route 9W
Glenmont, NY 12077

Halfmoon, NY

Matchless Stove & Chimney
1581 Rt 9
Halfmoon, NY 12065

Holtsville, NY

Ocean Stone & Fireplace
180 Long Island Ave
Holtsville, NY 11742

Island Park, NY

Costello's Island Park Hot Tub Showroom
3965 Long Beach Road
Island Park, NY 11558

Mahopac, NY

Best in Backyards
119 US-6
Mahopac, NY 10541

Marathon, NY

Papa Bear's Riverside Stoves
96 Cortland Street
Marathon, NY 13803

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Maspeth, NY

NYC Fireplaces & Outdoor Kitchens LLC
5830 Maspeth Ave
Maspeth, NY 11378

NYC Fireplaces & Outdoor Kitchens LLC LogoVisit Store Page

New Windsor, NY

Best in Backyards
432 Temple Hill Rd
New Windsor, NY 12553

Plattsburgh, NY

The Hearthside Shoppe
1024 Military Turnpike
Plattsburgh, NY 12901

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Rensselaer, NY

Matchless Stove & Chimney
300 Columbia Turnpike
Rensselaer, NY 12144

Smithtown, NY

Costello's Smithtown Hot Tub
602 Smithtown Bypass
Smithtown, NY 11787

Syracuse, NY

Hearth and Home of Syracuse
6701 Manlius Center Rd
Syracuse, NY 13057

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Utica, NY

The Hearth Shop @ Universal Hearth Stores Inc.
1420 Champlin Ave
Utica, NY 13502

Williamsville, NY

American Eagle Fireplace LLC
8455 Main Street
Williamsville, NY 14221

Barre, VT

Chimney Sweep Fireplace Shop
1284 US Rte, 302 Ste 10
Barre, VT 05641-2317

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Bennington, VT

Friends of The Sun
126 Hicks Avenue
Bennington, VT 05201

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Manchester, VT

Friends of The Sun
159 Depot Street
Manchester, VT 05255

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Shelburne, VT

Chimney Sweep Fireplace Shop
3113 Shelburne Road
Shelburne, VT 05482

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For more information, contact your local fireplace and grill store.
Frequently Asked Questions, Pellet
14 comments

Written by

Joseph Bodden is a Wisconsin native and is semi-retired after 40+ years in marketing, sales and technical customer service work. Over 28 of those years have been in the fireplace industry, many as the Hearth Division Manager in an organization that operates two retail shops. During that time, Bodden was certified by the National Fireplace Institute in wood & gas technologies. He was also selected several times by Hearth & Home magazine as a judge for the annual VESTA awards that recognize manufacturers creativity and innovation in product design and technology. One thing that Joe particularly finds fulfilling is explaining fairly complex subjects to fireplace customers and steering them to specific products that will satisfy their objectives. There’s nothing like unsolicited positive feedback from a happy customer! Bodden lives in the scenic driftless region in southwest Wisconsin with his bride of 49 years. He enjoys the outdoors, playing guitar and spending time with their grandson and five granddaughters.

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14 Responses

  1. RonKing
    Appreciated your information and it greatly helped me in planning for our future pellet stove placement.
    Reply
    May 16, 2020
  2. Richard McFarlin
    I purchased a Wise Way gravity feed pellet stove and would like to put it in my basement. What horizontal venting system would you recommend?? Thanks
    Reply
    October 15, 2021
    • Dominique Page
      Hello Richard, thanks for reaching out. I am not familiar with the Wise way pellet stove. It might be best to contact the store where you bought it from, or reach out to the manufacturer for guidance. Stay warm! Dominique
      Reply
      October 25, 2021
  3. Bonnie
    Hi, if I run the vertical rise on the exterior of the house, how much clearance do I need from the ground where the elbow/T for the vertical rise begins? I know the top of the exhaust pipe needs to be a minimum of 3' but is there a ground clearance for the base of the rise? Also, if the exhaust runs through a brick wall, can I just run the pipe out without the 3" wall thimble? Thanks, B
    Reply
    November 5, 2021
    • Dominique Page
      Hello Bonnie Thanks for reaching out. You need to keep at least one inch to combustibles with pellet vent. As per the wall thimble, it is mandatory to use it. All the best! Dominique
      Reply
      November 15, 2021
    • Gario
      Hi am I able to take off vertical from the stove inside the house then exit horizontal a few feet above?
      Reply
      October 14, 2022
  4. Pellet Stove in The Basement: Is it a good idea? – HVAC-BUZZ
    […] https://welovefire.com/faq/how-do-i-properly-vent-my-pellet-stove/ […]
    Reply
    December 22, 2021
  5. Roy
    How far should the cold air i take be from the exhaust of a pellet stove. Thanks,
    Reply
    January 22, 2023
    • Joe Bodden
      Roy, thanks for the question. It's always best to check with the manufacturers requirements regarding air intake distance from the exhaust cap on a pellet stove. If this info is not available, a good rule of thumb is 4 feet or more. I hope this answers your question, and thanks for your interest.
      Reply
      January 31, 2023
  6. Tonio
    I am installing a stove in my home using 80mm double walled tubes. The stove flue shoots out straight through the masonry wall into a Tee and then straight up. That is ok. The bottom end of the tee is supposed to have a removable cap for cleaning off pellet ash. My problem is that the removable cap is not on a ground floor but there is a 95 foot drop. I was wondering if I could extend the part where the ash cleaning cap is fitted by an additional 6 foot DOWN so that it can be reached out by a window on a lower floor in the building. There are no bends in the flue. All pipes are straight vertical. I do not know what effect such an addition to the pipework would do. Some advise would be welcome. Thanks
    Reply
    April 24, 2023
    • Joseph Bodden
      Tonio: Congratulations on your new pellet stove. We have a hunch you're really going to enjoy it! Extending the tee down for easier clean-out access should not pose a problem for you, as long as the same pellet vent pipe is used as the rest of the venting system and local codes permit a vent pipe to be installed that close to a window. But, as noted in the article, it's important that the joints of the pellet vent pipe are sealed. Most pellet vent pipe manufacturers have a gasket that seals the pipe when twist-locked together. If not, use silicone at each pipe connection. It's also important to thoroughly brace or support the pipe every 4 or 5 feet with a wall bracket support, so that the wind cannot move it and that it will remain secure when you remove the tee cap for cleaning. Thank you for your question and please spread the work about WeLoveFire.com to your family and friends!
      Reply
      May 1, 2023
  7. Art
    Can you use a brick chimney as the exhaust vent
    Reply
    May 1, 2023
    • Joseph Bodden
      Hello Art and thank you for your inquiry. You can use a brick chimney as a "conduit" to house a flexible, 4" stainless steel pipe, assuming that's the flue collar size of your pellet stove. It's important to size the vent pipe properly from the stove all the way to the cap. If you just run the correct size pellet vent pipe to the chimney, you're going to be asking for trouble because the existing brick chimney will be too large. The difficulty with a chimney to big for the appliance is that the by products of combustions will linger in the chimney too long because of insufficient draft. Deterioration of the inside of the brick chimney will soon follow. By installing the proper size vent for your pellet stove, you're ensured that the velocity of the draft will be sufficient to dispel the by-products to atmosphere. So, our recommendation is to run pellet vent pipe to the brick chimney, then with adapters use a flexible 4" stainless steel pipe up the brick chimney. Terminate the SS pipe at the top of the brick chimney with an anchor plate, support clamp and a cap with a storm collar. You'll be happy you did it the correct way and likely get better performance from your stove, too!
      Reply
      May 4, 2023
  8. Alan Cunningham
    I am replacing my old pellet stove and the location of the flue outlet is not the same . I am using a 45 and a 90 degree turn then a 12"section that goes through the wall thimble to a tee with a clean out. then it goes straight out through the eave. Is this to many bends?
    Reply
    February 20, 2024
    • Joseph Bodden
      Alan: Thank you for your question. If I'm picturing the venting profile correctly, you're coming off the back of the stove with a 45 degree elbow, followed by a 90 degree elbow and a 12" length of pipe through the wall to a tee. From this tee you said you're going straight OUT through the eave. Did you mean straight UP through the eave? If you meant UP through the eave, I think you should be in pretty good shape. As you read in the article, it's always a good idea to get some vertical rise with pellet vent pipe. Pellet stoves have a fan assisted exhaust system. Without any rise in the vent pipe there could be a potential issue with smoke backing up into the house if power is interrupted while the stove is operating. But with vertical rise either inside or outside the house, there will be a natural draft established if power is interrupted. This will help to remove the smoke from the stove if there's a power failure or if a little one accidentally unplugs the stove from the wall outlet. The key is getting some rise with the pipe, either inside or outside the house. Usually 3-4 feet (or more) of rise is adequate. That being said, I would encourage you to thoroughly read the owner's manual and definitely check with the dealer where you bought the pellet stove as there may be limits or restrictions on the venting profile. Good luck and thanks again for your inquiry Alan. Please tell your family members and friends about WELOVEFIRE.com!
      Reply
      February 21, 2024

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