# Installing a Small Woodstove...?



## ladymother (May 9, 2011)

i plan on purchasing a small cast iron woodstove in the next few weeks. i live in a 60'x12'old mobile home.... and was planning on putting the woodstove in the corner of my livingroom, and run the pipe out through the space where the front door used to be. 

i know there are very specific ways this must be done so i don't just end up burning the house down..... but dont know where to start!!

Ive searched online for installation ideas, but most of what I've read is confusing and expensive! Im pretty much on my own on this one, and don't have a ton of money to spend.

got any advice on where to begin, homesteaders?

thanks! and apologies for any weird typos. my phone has a mind of its own.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

The woodstove should come with information regarding the dimensions of its hearth pad as well as for setback distances from combustibles (walls and ceiling). Every woodstove is different. For insurance purposes, make sure your woodstove is UL listed and rated for use in a mobile home. Most mobile home installations require the ducting of an outdoor air supply for the woodstove.


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## Studhauler (Jul 30, 2011)

They make wood stoves rated to be installed in a mobile home? And still get insurance on that home? A new mobile home maybe required to install fresh air ducting, but all old mobile homes I have been in leak enough air that this should not be an issue. I live in a top of the line 1985 mobile home, fresh air is not a concern, it is just the opposite, we need to find drafts to stop.

Can install this http://www.usg.com/durock-cement-board.html on the walls around your wood stove to use as a heat shield. It or something similar is available at all lumber yards and big box home improvement stores.

Good luck on your project,


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## SteveO (Apr 14, 2009)

Try this it is a window mounted pellet stove 
http://www.northlineexpress.com/#
no hearth no exhaust just plug it in and feed it pellets
I have never seen one of these before they also have mobile home rated stoves also
steve


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## Osiris (Jun 9, 2010)

Lot of good suggestions. I don't know if you mentioned whether the cast iron stove was new or used. If new, make sure it's got a good seal. If used, make sure it's not cracked. Also it pays to have a blower on it if you can get one. Radiant heat is nice, but a blower will increase your heat output 100%. I've got a blower on my stove AND a Magic Heat box on the pipe. Also if you do vent out the old window, make sure the pipe slopes UP slightly on the way out. And have a good insulator around the pipe. Pipes go INTO (not over) the next section moving away from the stove. 

Good luck. Wood burning is so much more real. Just have to make sure you've got good wood. Pellets are nice I've heard. Whatever you do, be careful and enjoy.


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## wvstuck (Sep 19, 2008)

The problem with putting a wood stove in a mobile home that isn't rated for a mobile home is just what CF mentioned. It has to draw it's air from somewhere other than inside the mobile home. The Mobile Home rated stoves have a 2" duct on the rear that is connected to a stainless steel flex hose that goes through the wall of the mobile home to the outside.

Mobile homes are built in an airtight manner, not using the proper stove can result in the stove consuming most of the useable oxygen in the home. Leaving you with less air to breath.

make sure the stove is rated for mobile homes, it wouldn't be worth the risk of fire or life to save money on that.

As far as the venting of the exhaust through the stove pipe goes, it is expensive anymore. You can use a single wall black pipe from the stove to the pass through box and from the black pipe ending at the pass through you have to use triple wall stainless steel pipe. Remember the more turns or elbows you put in the pipe the more chance for creosote to build up. Making a mistake during installation of a wood stove usually never ends well. And making sure it is installed correctly is absolutely essential.

Each stove also has ratings as to how close it can be to walls and corners and the floor surface must be an approved non-combustible surface that extends past the corners of the stove a distance determined by the manufacture. 

Cutting corners on anything can lead to a disaster.


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