How to Choose your Brand of Stove Pipe

Stove pipe is the connector pipe that attaches your wood stove to your chimney. Stove pipe cannot penetrate any combustible materials like a wall, ceiling, floor or roof and it cannot run outside your home. It also cannot be used as a liner; you can’t reline your brick or mortar chimney with stove pipe. It can only be used inside your home to connect your wood stove to your chimney.

Stove pipe is brand specific and you do not want to mix brands together. However, there is one exception for mixing a brand of stove pipe with a different brand of chimney pipe. If your chimney pipe brand does not offer a stove pipe companion, then you must select the stove pipe that is recommended. If you are replacing an existing length of stove pipe, you can’t swap out a Snap-Lock for DuraBlack pipe and use them in the same run, they will not connect. The same goes for all other brands. If you have DuraBlack, then you must run DuraBlack the entire way.

If you are replacing a piece of pipe, and you’re not sure what brand you have, you want to look at the end and see if it’s a crimp end or if it’s a smooth end. Even if it’s a smooth end, it might be challenging to tell what kind of brand you have, so if you have any questions please call one of our chimney pipe experts and we will try to help you out with that. After assessing your install, you may find it's necessary to replace the whole section of stove pipe in that situation.

We have created the Stove Pipe Brand Comparison Chart below so you can easily determine which brand of stove pipe is the best for your install. Review each section and determine what is important for your install and the guide will help you make that decision. If you have existing stove pipe to replace, start by asking yourself which brand is the most compatible? For new installations, you will first want to determine the clearance to combustibles, this will allow you to decide whether you need single-wall or double-wall stove pipe.

Stove Pipe Brand Comparison
Brand	DuraBlack	DuraBlack Stanless Steel	DVL Double Wall	HeatFab	DSP Double Wall	Snap-Lock
Type	Single Wall	Single Wall	Double Wall	Single Wall	Double Wall	Single Wall
Diameters Available	6", 7", 8", 10"	6", 8"	6", 7", 8"	6", 7", 8"	6", 8"	6", 7", 8"
Cost Per Piece (6" diameter est.)	＄＄	＄＄	＄＄＄	＄＄	＄＄＄	＄＄
Compatible Chimney Pipe	DuraVent Shasta Vent	DuraVent	DuraVent	Selkirk	Selkirk	All Stove Pipe
Clearance to Combustable Materials	18"	18"	6" to walls 8" to ceilings	18"	6" to walls 8" to ceilings	18"
Quick Heat Up That Improves Draft	⤬	⤬	✔	⤬	✔	⤬
Mobile Home Installation	⤬	⤬	✔	⤬	✔	⤬
Radiates Heat Back Into The Room	✔	✔	⤬	✔	⤬	✔
Can I Install A Heat Reclaimer	✔	✔	⤬	✔	⤬	✔
Price Match Guarantee	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔

The other thing to keep in mind, is that if you’re installing DuraVent Chimney Pipe, it’s best to stick with DuraVent brand of stove pipe as well for that connection. DuraBlack is a single wall black stove pipe that will connect perfectly to your DuraVent Chimney Pipe. DLV is the double-wall option that you can also use for this connection.

It’s the same with Selkirk, if you’re installing Selkirk Chimney Pipe then you’re going to want to install the Selkirk brand of stove pipe which is also known as HeatFab. Heatfab offers a black steel single wall pipe and also DSP double-wall pipe.

You may ask why should I install the same brand pipe if there is a cheaper option available? It’s because those adapters are all made for each other so when you make that transition at the support box or the wall thimble, it’ll be an easy transition. Another thing to keep in mind is that brands like Selkirk and DuraVent have welded seams where as Snap-Lock could take some cutting and crimping to fit your install correctly.

If you do not have DuraVent or Selkirk Chimney Pipe, Snap-Lock stove pipe is a excellent option as this stove pipe will work with all brands that we offer. Snap-Lock will require you to bend and then snap together the pieces of pipe. This will be more labor intensive for your install but typically costs less than other brands of stove pipe. Shasta Vent Chimney Pipe does not offer stove pipe in their brand so our team recommends that you install DuraBlack stove pipe or Snap-Lock stove pipe.

Single-wall stove pipe has an 18” clearance to combustible materials. You need to keep this pipe 18” away from a wall or a ceiling during that installation. Whereas a double-wall stove pipe, like the DuraVent DVL stove pipe, has only a 6” clearance to walls and an 8” clearance to ceilings. You can get clearance a lot closer to combustibles if necessary. Another thing to keep in mind is that double-wall stove pipe is necessary for mobile home installations. Of course, single-wall stove pipe is considerably cheaper than the double-wall stove pipe, so that’s also something to consider.

Another thing about double-wall stove pipe, is that it has a stainless steel inner wall, so it heats up faster and it tends to stay hotter longer and that will improve your draft, and it will help speed up the time it takes to get that draft established. The downside to double-wall pipe, is that it is insulated better, so it doesn’t emit or radiate much heat into the room as a single-wall stove pipe would.

DuraBlack Stainless Steel stove pipe is perfect for those who like the look of stainless steel but still want the quality and reliability of DuraVent.

For most installations, the single-wall stove pipe is going to be the preferred pipe to use. You’re going to need to look at the individual brands themselves whether it be Heat-Fab, DuraBlack or Snap-Lock to figure out which one is going to be best for your installation. If double-wall is available for you and that’s something you’re interested in, check out the DVL by DuraVent or the DSP by Selkirk and just determine which one is best for your installation, again referring back to what brand of chimney pipe you’re installing as well.