Shuttlebus woodstove questions

[scootermcscoot]

Hi folks,

so I've searched the site numerous times for any information on installing a woodstove in a shuttlebus but so far haven't found anything shuttlebus specific. If you know something I missed please don't be afraid to post the link, I won't be offended

Anyway, we picked up a used Little Cod cast iron woodstove to use in Gordy the 2006 Chev Shuttlebus. It has a fiberglass shuttlebus body and all of the woodstove bus stuff I can find online talks exclusively about steel bodied skoolies.

I get the basic principles, heat shields, fireproof board etc but where I'm nervous/struggling/confused is the transition through the fiberglass roof. Has anyone installed a woodstove in a shuttlebus that's willing to share their experiences or can someone point me in the direction of a site that has all the information I need?

I'm planning to put some aluminum sheeting both on the inside and the outside and the install a silicon boot on the outside to keep the water out but what do I have to do at the point where it actually passes through the fiberglass skin? The skin looks to be about an inch thick and kind of honeycombed between the outside and the inside skins. I'm thinking that maybe I have to find some kind of selkirk stovepipe thats maybe 6" long with a 4" inside diameter (4" is the diameter of the stovepipe) and actually cut a hole and pass that through the skin of the bus and then pass the stovepipe through that but I'm guessing here.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by scootermcscoot

Hi folks,

so I've searched the site numerous times for any information on installing a woodstove in a shuttlebus but so far haven't found anything shuttlebus specific. If you know something I missed please don't be afraid to post the link, I won't be offended

Anyway, we picked up a used Little Cod cast iron woodstove to use in Gordy the 2006 Chev Shuttlebus. It has a fiberglass shuttlebus body and all of the woodstove bus stuff I can find online talks exclusively about steel bodied skoolies.

I get the basic principles, heat shields, fireproof board etc but where I'm nervous/struggling/confused is the transition through the fiberglass roof. Has anyone installed a woodstove in a shuttlebus that's willing to share their experiences or can someone point me in the direction of a site that has all the information I need?

I'm planning to put some aluminum sheeting both on the inside and the outside and the install a silicon boot on the outside to keep the water out but what do I have to do at the point where it actually passes through the fiberglass skin? The skin looks to be about an inch thick and kind of honeycombed between the outside and the inside skins. I'm thinking that maybe I have to find some kind of selkirk stovepipe thats maybe 6" long with a 4" inside diameter (4" is the diameter of the stovepipe) and actually cut a hole and pass that through the skin of the bus and then pass the stovepipe through that but I'm guessing here.

For the stovepipe ... use double-walled and keep it a minimum of 2" from any combustibles as it passes through the structure. It's the same standard as for a residential installation.

[scootermcscoot]

Does combustibles include the fiberglass shell and if so how does one do that?

The only double wall 4" pipe I can find seems to be for pellet stoves and the guy at the stove shop said woodstoves burn a lot hotter.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by scootermcscoot

Does combustibles include the fiberglass shell and if so how does one do that?

The only double wall 4" pipe I can find seems to be for pellet stoves and the guy at the stove shop said woodstoves burn a lot hotter.

It includes the fiberglass shell. Use a through roof fitting.

[Defjr333]

Something like this? Designed for fiberglass boats to be used with the Dickenson Solid Fuel Fireplace a few here have used.


http://dickinsonmarine.com/product/s...et-dress-ring/


Doug

[scootermcscoot]

Thanks Doug that looks like it might do the trick. Emailed the good folks at Dickinson to see what their thoughts are on the suitability. Fingers crossed.

[Defjr333]

Glad to hear. Have seen a few ppl here and a different site for trailers use that. Remembered (somehow) it came in 3,4, or 5" diameter. They also sell pipe with flue built in, and a wind cap that supposedly is good in winds to 60+mph gusts that prevent ash from blowing out inside. Expensive, but prob one of the better quality brands.
Doug

[ACamper]

Just treat the fiberglass as a combustible.
I agree with Twigg “use double-walled and keep it a minimum of 2" from any combustibles”.

You can always do a “dry install” fire it up and make sure it doesn't get the fiberglass too hot. Double walled pipe is designed to go tru plywood and other combustibles you should be fine

When you contact woodstove companies they will most likely not be real encouraging. They are used to fire codes and 10k-20k installs they will consider you an unprofitable liability.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by ACamper

Just treat the fiberglass as a combustible.
I agree with Twigg “use double-walled and keep it a minimum of 2" from any combustibles”.

You can always do a “dry install” fire it up and make sure it doesn't get the fiberglass too hot. Double walled pipe is designed to go tru plywood and other combustibles you should be fine

When you contact woodstove companies they will most likely not be real encouraging. They are used to fire codes and 10k-20k installs they will consider you an unprofitable liability.

The stove should come with installation instructions designed to meet the national code. Follow them for clearances, etc, and you won't go far wrong.

Our county code is also the national code, and I'd guess many are as it saves them writing a new one.

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

Originally Posted by ACamper

Just treat the fiberglass as a combustible.
I agree with Twigg “use double-walled and keep it a minimum of 2" from any combustibles”.

You can always do a “dry install” fire it up and make sure it doesn't get the fiberglass too hot. Double walled pipe is designed to go tru plywood and other combustibles you should be fine

When you contact woodstove companies they will most likely not be real encouraging. They are used to fire codes and 10k-20k installs they will consider you an unprofitable liability.

They also make a piece called a thimble that the double wall stove pipe fits through that gives you another 2"s of protection.
It might cost a little more up front but I would recommend stainless pipe.
If your going to leave your rain hood attached while driving I would recommend a backdraft damper or sometimes called a barometric damper to keep the traveling air or higher winds outside from blowing everything back in.
They are and will be problematic in a solid fuel stove.
I would just plan on pulling the top on the roof and put a solid cap on it until I got where I am going.
Good luck

[Defjr333]

The link i provided in post above has the barometric flue/ damper, the "thimble" or part that penetrates the fiberglass, the caps(3 diff styles), cover for caps, additional double walled pipes and elbows, and a heat extraction device for the pipe to get every btu out possible. U can prob find all these cheaper as dickenson is geared toward sailboats. And we all know what boat means:
Bust
Out
Another
Thousand

Doug