Stack question

[Urban Sugarmaker]

I have a Mason 2x4 XL with rear exhaust exit. The chimney parts retailers say that elbows are not recommended for rear exit appliances and that a Tee is what I need. But, a tee is much more money. Does it really matter for this type of use? Thanks.

[bowhunter]

I have used an elbow for two years and it seems to work fine. They may recommend a tee because it is structurally more stable. The elbow has 4-5 slip joints that can move. You probably want to make sure you don't have too much weight supported on the elbow. I went straight out through the wall and the elbow was on the outside of my sugar house.

[lpakiz]

The section-type of elbow is certainly not very robust. There is another style that is "corrugated" and these are very tough and support a vertical stack quite well.

[Urban Sugarmaker]

Thanks. After the elbow there will be about 4 or 5 feet of single wsall pipe until it meets a flat ceiling support which is actually supporting the weight of the stack from that point upward. I might as well just spend the extra 30 dollars for the tee just to be safe. Thanks.

[steve J]

I have always used an elbow on my 2x3 and 2x4 mason evaporators but beware if you are using a blower with that 2x4 unless you have a speed control for it you will turn that elbow to cherry red to the point of melting your stack.

[Urban Sugarmaker]

I do have the blower. So I should probably go with the Tee then. Also, what does everyone recommend for a speed control unit? Would a basic dimmer switch work?

[maple maniac65]

depends on the amp of the blower. the 3x8 I have has a 125ocfm blower and uses a dimmer switch from a ceiling fan/light set up. In the past 12 years I have only had one go bad on me. It is mostly the constant turning of the speed that fries them. I fire on average every 10 minutes and have to knock the blower down some to take the heat and have a little hair left.

[Birddog]

what does everyone recommend for a speed control unit? Would a basic dimmer switch work?
Someone on this site recommended this router speed control to me and it has worked well on my Mason 2x3. http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=router+control