Stove pipe
A single-wall stovepipe is the standard item you need to use in your home to vent or release the smoke from your burner or stove. It is also known as a “connector pipe” because it connects the stove to the flue system that carries the exhaust smoke out of your home created by your burner.
Our stove pipe is a matte black finish with a solid single wall. It’s enamel both inside and out, meaning that it has much stronger resistance to high temperatures and potential damage that a stove pipe gets from condensation via damp air.
At only 1mm thick, you can easily cut these steel flues using a grinder or a cutting disc to make them whatever size you need them. You can also use a fairly fine hacksaw that you can get from your local DIY shop.
Our connector pipes are UK approved for both domestic and commercial use. These are very solid bits of kit and they last for years and years.
You can use these sturdy pipes for oil, gas, and solid fuels, you can choose them straight, as bends (elbows), and tees (a T-junction with three tubes).
Just to be clear, this type of connector pipe or single wall stovepipe should only be used as the connection between your burner and the smoke outflow pipe, which is either your chimney or your flue liner.
You should never put a stove pipe or connector pipe through a wall, ceiling, floor, or window. Direct to outflow only!
If you need to go through a wall or something else that isn’t your chimney, then you need to use a twin wall flue pipe at least 150mm before passing through a non-combustible wall or ceiling. That means a wall or ceiling that cannot burn under any circumstance, like brick, for example.
If you have a 5″ flue pipe, then you need to keep it at least 15″ away from combustibles (burnable materials) and if you have a 6″ flue pipe, then you need to be at least 18″ away from combustible materials in any direction.
Avoid bends in your chimney if possible- the fewer bends, the better the air gets drawn up from your out pipe. UK Building Regulations and HETAS both recommend no more than four 45-degree bends in any one system- and we agree with them. If you can keep your out pipe or flue going straight up without bends, you are going to have less chance of problems later and more chance of the smoke just floating up beautifully and consistently, as it should.
Another useful rule to remember is when you install a flue for your burner: the higher the chimney, the better the updraft will be.
As we mentioned, the ideal flue or outflow goes straight up from the burner’s connector pipe and flue collar, directly into the chimney with no corners at all. It isn’t a bad idea to include what we call inspection hatches - these are little doors that you fix to your wall or chimney so that you can open them and check for problems with your outflow if you have problems at a later stage.
A flue that goes directly or vertically up gives you the least restriction to a healthy flow of smoke and gas and results in a stronger pull or draft on your out pipe.. Vertical pipes also need less maintenance because there are no corners for creosote deposits to accumulate and slow down the flow. This is not so much of a problem short term, but long term you definitely don’t want to be messing around with creosote build-ups because of smoke travelling slowly up the flue.
A completely vertical stove pipe is great if you can have one going straight up inside your house, instead of outside. Why? You get more of the warmth from your burner radiating through the house. The warmer outflow keeps the smoke rising consistently, so this is actually a really good option from all angles.
The (inner) diameter of your stove pipe is usually the same size as the flue collar on your stove. Follow manufacturer recommendations whenever applicable. Never have a chimney with a smaller diameter than the flue size of the burner you are connecting it to. An improperly sized chimney results in excessive creosote formation and poor draft.
Be sure to install a chimney cowl (that’s like a little hat that goes over the top of your flue pipe) to prevent animals and rain from coming down the chimney. Of course, if you have cold wet rain in your flue pipe, your outflow is going to get cold and damp, which will contribute to creosote again, in the same way we mentioned earlier.