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Old 04-07-2023, 04:44 PM   #1
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Chimney exit through window?

My wife and I bought a stove from tinywoodstoves.com and installed it with the chimney pipe exiting through the window. (See attached pics)

We did this for a couple of reasons.

1. We decided to only make a "temporary" wood heat source for insurance purposes. The main source of heat for the bus is propane and deisel. The chimney, stove, and window insert gets removed any time we move the bus.

2. We would only need the wood heat during the cold months if we even decide to spend the winter in the north. No reason to have a stove taking up space if we're not using it. The space becomes a cushioned reading nook by a window when the stove is put away.

3. We want to get a large canvas tent to set up outside of the bus and would like to use the stove outside if we're setting up camp for long periods.

The stove is going to be stored under the bus in a storage container. The chimney will be stored under the bus as well.

The insert is made from a layer of 3/4" plywood and 1/4" hardibacker, sandwiched between two 1/8" steel plates. The chimney pipe that runs through the insert is insulated and I also filled the cracks with fireproof sprayfoam insulation. There is a hole in the insert for the air intake that leads directly to the stove.

The hearth is directly over the wheelwell. It's insulated with 3" of Rockwool at smallest point and filled with rockwool throughout the rest of the space in the box. Topped with 3/4" plywood and hardibacker. It will be tiled after we build the divider wall on the left side. The divider wall will also be insulated with 3" of rockwool, hardibacker and tile. The wall around the window is all 3" of rockwool and hardibacker and the rockwool extends past the hearth area through the rest of the living room wall. The ceiling above the hearth will also get rockwool.

Our stove is the 5kw dwarf stove from Tiny Wood Stoves. It has the option for a baking oven that can attach to the top. We plan to get one once they are available. To do this, the stove pipe has to exit out the back of the stove. Since we decided to pipe it through the window, it needed a total of two elbows on the interior of the bus. Then, one more insulated elbow outside of the window and 7 feet of insulated chimney pipe, capped with a wind sheild also.

The first three burns were at 500 degrees for the curing process. The only issue was the glass getting a little hot by the exhaust, so we put a piece of hardibacker against the window and plan to tile that as well.

The air inlet draws perfectly. There is great draft through the chimney. Everything is sealed with high temp metal tape. The door of the stove has a great seal on it. The only place it's possible for smoke to backdraft is through the small baffle adjustment slot above the door and there hasn't been a single issue with that.

The walls, floor, window (after putting in the piece of hardibacker) and window frame all got only slightly warm to the touch with a 500 degree burn.

On safety precautions...

We will have at least three co detectors throughout the bus. There will be a hood fan in the kitchen along with a ceiling vent/fan in the kitchen. There will be a hepa vent in the front of the bus, a vent in the shower, the toilet, the living room and the back bedroom. We have three fire extinguishers placed around the bus. There will be a couple fireball extinguishers in the electrical cabinet which is also getting the rockwool insulation around it.

We've discussed our plan with the manufacturer and consulted multiple people about the chimney setup, some pro installers, some not. No one so far has had much to say about it until I got torn apart on Reddit for it. Needless to say, I'm no longer a part of the skoolie community on Reddit.

I was told that I was going to kill my entire family with that stove and I'm going to burn my bus down and anyone parked next to me. Lol, so is there any constructive criticism anyone could send my way? Is there a real problem with this setup? If there is, can it be altered or does it need a complete overhaul? Could we just extend the chimney if there are ever any draft issues?
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Old 04-07-2023, 08:01 PM   #2
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Please forgive my ignorance but...does the air intake need to be up there with the chimney outlet? It would seem to me that it could go straight out the back, through under the window or down through the floor.
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Old 04-07-2023, 09:12 PM   #3
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Please forgive my ignorance but...does the air intake need to be up there with the chimney outlet? It would seem to me that it could go straight out the back, through under the window or down through the floor.
It can, but then we would have to drill a hole in the side of the bus, which is what we were trying to avoid. It doesn't seem to make any difference in air flow with it in the window.
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Old 04-08-2023, 01:34 PM   #4
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One suggestion . . .

I hope you let no one on reddit stop you from enjoying it. They were idiots.


I think I'd rather you have two CO detectors and two propane/flammable gas detectors, and fans to make sure air is distributed. Without artificial circulation propane will settle and CO will mix evenly with air. If any surface that can conduct to a flammable one can become too hot to put your hand on, probably you need a sheet metal heat shield between that and the combustible surface, with air circ between. If the current setup draws well, then it draws well, the stack might need bracing?


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Old 04-08-2023, 02:46 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by TaliaDPerkins View Post
I hope you let no one on reddit stop you from enjoying it. They were idiots.


I think I'd rather you have two CO detectors and two propane/flammable gas detectors, and fans to make sure air is distributed. Without artificial circulation propane will settle and CO will mix evenly with air. If any surface that can conduct to a flammable one can become too hot to put your hand on, probably you need a sheet metal heat shield between that and the combustible surface, with air circ between. If the current setup draws well, then it draws well, the stack might need bracing?


Maybe i should build a metal heat shield around the back of the exhaust pipe to protect the glass. Plus the additional tiled hardibacker on the window. The stove itself has heat sheilds installed but I might add another to all three sides. There's also going to be a mesh gate around the stove after the walls go up.

The bracing is something else my wife and I were discussing. We're trying to figure out some kind of diagonal bracing that's easy to remove. Like a couple steel rods with clips welded to the ends.

It's good to see that no one on here is rushing in to tell me we're all going to die. I didn't really think this was a dangerous setup. As long as we take safety precautions like with any stove in a home.
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Old 04-08-2023, 02:57 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by Poop Ship Destroyer View Post
It's good to see that no one on here is rushing in to tell me we're all going to die.

Oh there are people here who think having a woodstove on your bus is about as bad as having stir fried diced puppies and kittens for dinner with bowl of baby soup on the side.


Please ignore them.


Suggest making up spring loaded guy wires from 1/8th braided stainless steel wire rope? On spring carbiners to eye bolts? That can cover two of three, the 3rd would need a stake, or the like. Don't forget the anti-impalement cap.



Have fun!
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Old 04-08-2023, 04:56 PM   #7
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I dig it. Real fire warms the soul. And chrome to boot! Looking good Billy Ray!

So this goes under the heading “just sayin”. I had a gas water heater installed in a flip house a couple of years ago. It was vented thru the roof. It started raining hard bf the roof flash install. I grabbed a can of foam and filled the gap. The roof got done and the project finished and the bldg. inspector said I had to get rid of the foam. I think it’s toxic when it heats up? I saw the orange stuff in the picture. Picky picky.

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Old 04-09-2023, 11:45 PM   #8
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I dig it. Real fire warms the soul. And chrome to boot! Looking good Billy Ray!

So this goes under the heading “just sayin”. I had a gas water heater installed in a flip house a couple of years ago. It was vented thru the roof. It started raining hard bf the roof flash install. I grabbed a can of foam and filled the gap. The roof got done and the project finished and the bldg. inspector said I had to get rid of the foam. I think it’s toxic when it heats up? I saw the orange stuff in the picture. Picky picky.

[emoji3522]Dave
Ahh, yes. The foam was something I wasn't sure about at first. But, it's supposed to be fire resistant. I sprayed it in the wall gaps. I decided to try it on the chimney. So far, absolutely no problem. Yellow stuff melts but this foam is pretty tuff and won't burn easily when I touch a direct flame to it. We'll see how it goes.
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Old 04-10-2023, 06:53 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Poop Ship Destroyer View Post
Ahh, yes. The foam was something I wasn't sure about at first. But, it's supposed to be fire resistant. I sprayed it in the wall gaps. I decided to try it on the chimney. So far, absolutely no problem. Yellow stuff melts but this foam is pretty tuff and won't burn easily when I touch a direct flame to it. We'll see how it goes.
i used a new camper furnace for my heat and used that fire rated orange foam too. i took a piece of trim scrap of it and tried to burn it so i think your ok there. the orange color is reserved for the fire resistant foam thats how his inspector knew it was the wrong stuff. looks like you researched it good.
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Old 04-10-2023, 09:53 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by Poop Ship Destroyer View Post
Ahh, yes. The foam was something I wasn't sure about at first. But, it's supposed to be fire resistant. I sprayed it in the wall gaps. I decided to try it on the chimney. So far, absolutely no problem. Yellow stuff melts but this foam is pretty tuff and won't burn easily when I touch a direct flame to it. We'll see how it goes.
That was gonna be my question. Looks like you are accounting for all the right things.

I wrote a post a few months back for how I would do a wood stove, and it looks like you've accounted for all the key things I could think of, if I were to put one in:
https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f51/w...tml#post484999

I totally applaud your care in design.
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Old 04-10-2023, 10:11 AM   #11
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My only suggestion is to eliminate the window altogether with something that's fire resistant and water proof. 4 screws and you can have that window out or in depending on whether the stove is installed or not(sounds like this won't be permanent?) Maybe a sheet of hardiebacker that's waterproof?

I'd also suggest more bracing on the chimney, higher towards the top, as what you have doesn't appear to be enough for my amateur opinion. More bracing for sure if this thing will be going down the road with the chimney installed, which is something I hope you don't do.

I've never liked wall exit chimneys. I understand not wanting to cut into the roof on something that's demountable like this. I've just never seen a wall exit flue draw well, especially when the stove needs a good draw in order to work right. Wall exits just always seem to struggle with it until they get good and hot. Did you use double wall pipe on the whole thing? That might help it to draw if you did.
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Old 04-10-2023, 12:29 PM   #12
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My only suggestion is to eliminate the window altogether with something that's fire resistant and water proof. 4 screws and you can have that window out or in depending on whether the stove is installed or not(sounds like this won't be permanent?) Maybe a sheet of hardiebacker that's waterproof?

I'd also suggest more bracing on the chimney, higher towards the top, as what you have doesn't appear to be enough for my amateur opinion. More bracing for sure if this thing will be going down the road with the chimney installed, which is something I hope you don't do.

I've never liked wall exit chimneys. I understand not wanting to cut into the roof on something that's demountable like this. I've just never seen a wall exit flue draw well, especially when the stove needs a good draw in order to work right. Wall exits just always seem to struggle with it until they get good and hot. Did you use double wall pipe on the whole thing? That might help it to draw if you did.
Yeah, it's all double walled insulated pipe except on the interior. The insulated pipe runs through the insulated pipe.

I have noticed the draw probably isn't as strong as it could be, but it's still good enough to not backdraft into the bus. I just get a little smoke puff that comes out when I open the door.

Honestly, I would've preferred to exit through the top of the stove, but tinywoodstoves.com is releasing a baking oven that fits on the top of the stove. We plan to get one this fall, so we had to plan for the rear exit.

I do plan to add another brace about halfway up the chimney. It's pretty sturdy as is, but could be better.

You are correct, everything gets removed when driving. We are never going to drive with the chimney and stove installed. That's part of the reason we set it up this. It sticks out 10 inches from the side of the bus, so we can't drive with it legally anyway. It's just for use as an option for 3 months out of the year.

Really, we decided to get a stove as well as a deisel heater, a propane furnace and a minisplit. If we happen to get stranded in the cold and all other options get exhausted, we'll still have the ability to stay warm.

I gotta say, thanks to you and everyone else on here. I'm glad I can share on this site and get real, actual constructive criticism without getting ripped to shreds. I love this site.
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Old 04-10-2023, 07:23 PM   #13
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i used to cook on a wood stove it was a rear pipe that elbowed up then another 1 foot horizontal to my brick chimney. always had my coffee on it.
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Old 04-19-2023, 05:45 PM   #14
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i LOVE my TinyWoodStoves 3kw! it can heat the whole bus, although it takes a while to warm up from scratch.

and i vented it through a window, for similar reasons... but now i plan to go back and run it out the roof someday; hopefully next year. mostly because i get creosote buildup, but i can only sweep the chimney (while standing on the roof) down to the 90° angle.
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Old 04-20-2023, 05:55 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by TaliaDPerkins View Post
Oh there are people here who think having a woodstove on your bus is about as bad as having stir fried diced puppies and kittens for dinner with bowl of baby soup on the side.


Please ignore them.


Suggest making up spring loaded guy wires from 1/8th braided stainless steel wire rope? On spring carbiners to eye bolts? That can cover two of three, the 3rd would need a stake, or the like. Don't forget the anti-impalement cap.



Have fun!
Hey, what's wrong with diaster fried rice with puppies and kittens? Although a little greasy they can be great if you cook them right.
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Old 04-20-2023, 06:35 PM   #16
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my choice

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Hey, what's wrong with diaster fried rice with puppies and kittens? Although a little greasy they can be great if you cook them right.
yea exactly, I mean as long as they were free range and humanely slaughtered.
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