Tiny House Episode 23: Hobbit Stove Test

---

In this video, I do the first trial run of the Hobbit stove after we installed it in the tiny house. You might notice that I am a little unfamiliar with the stove and the best way to operate it.

The flue priming was something I had read about needing to do but after using the stove for awhile we realized that there was no need. The way we installed the stove created a strong enough natural convection that it basically primes itself.

I also did a lot of tests with an infrared thermometer. These are often used in automotive repair when you want to check the temperature of a component where it would be really hard to use a normal thermometer. This thermometer is definitely a handy tool to have around the homestead.

I only touch on it a bit in the video but the main reason for the unconventional chimney pipe was to match the recommended chimney size of the stove; the stove was designed to use a 4" chimney. Salamander Stoves does sell a chimney kit for the Hobbit but when we were ordering the stove we thought the kit was a little too expensive. I figured I would have no trouble finding the chimney I needed here in Canada.

Well, I was wrong. Here in Canada the chimneys that are rated for use with wood burning stoves are called Class A and are double walled stainless steel and they are really expensive. They also only make them starting at a 5" diameter. I guess when they wrote the code for wood burning appliances they never thought someone would use a wood stove that only put out 20,000 BTU's. As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the advantages of building on a trailer is that the tiny house doesn't fall under normal building codes so you have a lot more flexibility for how you execute construction.

At first, you might think a bigger chimney wouldn't be a problem but there can be drawbacks. Using a chimney that is too big, increases the air volume held which in turn decreases the speed the smoke moves up the chimney. Slow moving smoke is more likely to cool off before exiting the chimney, building up creosote inside the chimney in the process. The code only allows for double walled insulated pipe to prevent the air from cooling off too quickly because creosote build up is a fire hazard. But by oversizing the pipe to 5" the air flow is reduced, defeating the intent of the code in the process. Using a larger chimney than the stove was designed for made no sense to me if it would be both expensive and more likely to cause a chimney fire.

After a bit of research, I found a solution. There is a spec plate on the back of the Hobbit Stove that lists the temperature of the flu gas: 258°C. Pellet stove pipe, also known as L-vent, came in 4" diameter and is rated for 300°C. The steel pipe is stainless on the inside, galvanized on the outside, and is also insulated. To top it all off, L-vent is significantly less expensive than the Class A chimney pipe that the building codes determined should be used.

Spec plate on the back of the stove.

Since I designed the chimney, using materials outside code requirements, and installed stove and heat shield myself, I figured I better be prudent. I tested the temperatures of everything, including the surrounding walls, and the heat shield, to ensure the installation was safe. I even fireproofed the wall of the tiny house where the chimney and furnace exhaust exit. If you want more information on how I fireproofed the walls read this article. I figured, if there ever was a chimney fire I would want the house to be able to withstand it.

In the video, you can see that everything checks out, except I am concerned with the wall temperature to the right of the heat shield. In my research, I came across reports that outlined what would normally be considered safe temperatures eventually causing chemical changes in wood over many years. As time went on these chemical changes would result in the wood combusting at temperatures much lower than the normal ignition point of wood. While these occurrences are extremely rare they have been documented and, knowing my luck, I worried that this would happen to me so I decided to be extra cautious.

After this video was filmed, I ended up getting a wider heat shield made to replace the original one. I've included a picture of the final installation to show the difference in width.

We have used the Hobbit stove for two years now and it has performed magnificently. We have not had any issues with creosote build up. It has a very strong draft which is a sign of a good chimney installation and we can even let it burn with the door open without smoke entering the house. Sometimes we even cook smokies on sticks in the Hobbit stove just for fun!

Thanks for reading/watching everyone! Please upvote, follow and resteem to support this work. As always, comments are welcome and I would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have about tiny houses.

---

▶️ DTube
▶️ IPFS