Proper Way To Line Chimney?

[Egon]

Consider looking into a new stainless steel insulated chimney. It may be an option compared to working on a chimney of dubious quality.

 

[QueBota]

Same as Skyco, 6" stainless steel liner (25' Forverver Flex 316 ti) wrapped in insulation blanket, kind of like a giant sock. Cut liner to length, wrap blanket around liner, tape seam shut, pull giant stainless mesh "casing" down over blanket, wrestle wrapped liner down chimney, install tee on bottom of liner connect tee to stove with snount/takeoff.

I believe the liner needs to be insulated to meet most codes. Mine went inside of a 9"x13" terrra cotta lined flue that was approx. 30 years old. Still in good shape. County told me existing flue would have to pass complete inspection to not require a liner. No one was clear on what a "complete inspection" entailed. Went with the insulation to meet code, piece of mind and to keep the insurance co. happy. The insulation only cost around $200.00.

I installed a new catalytic stove, was told that the insulation would help to keep the exhaust temp up and deposits down. Flue temps on catalytic stoves are relatively low.

Dave

 

[samtmc]

Sorry if I am repeating someone else as I did not read all of the posts. I just went thru a very similare situation. (having to replace or fix a chimney. Mine was caused by chimney fire). a couple of things I learned thru the whole adventure was, never adapt to a smaller flue than what comes out of the back of your stove.And no more than 2 90 deg elbows.
I ended up tearing down the whole block chimney and re-doing it with a Class A stainless and I could not be happier, way easier to clean (at least in my aplication) takes up alot less room, and I installed it myself and saved enough money to buy a new wood stove. I had several quotes to fix and or replace and most were over 10k. I spent about 6500.00 for new wood funace, new chimney(about 26 ft ), and new duct work to connect to my oil burner as well as get a UV light and whole house humidifier.
hope this helps.

 

[jinman]

I just had my chimney lined. The original chimney was only a year old but the morter between the 8X8 clays failed. I got the same confusing information.

How did you know the mortar was failing? Did chunks fall down on the inside of your chimney? On my chimney, I have no idea how I'd ever know the condition of the chimney tile unless I called in an inspector with a camera. My tiles are very large (see photo), but I have no idea of how to check them for quality of the mortar joints.

 

[JB4310]

How did you know the mortar was failing? Did chunks fall down on the inside of your chimney? On my chimney, I have no idea how I'd ever know the condition of the chimney tile unless I called in an inspector with a camera. My tiles are very large (see photo), but I have no idea of how to check them for quality of the mortar joints.

You can simply look up and down the inside of the chimney to get a pretty good idea, can't see every joint of course but with straight flues you should be able to see if something was really wrong.

If the criteria for needing a chimney liner was the condition of those mortared flue joints every 2 feet, then I can tell you from experience that almost every chimney needs to be relined. Don't forget the chimney is still a minimum 4" masonry wall, plenty of older chimneys I've worked on have no flue at all. The heat and gases tend to follow the path of least resistance and go out the big hole at the top. the worry of smaller openings in the flue passage would be if a blockage occured, then the exhaust would be forced through those openings.

That would normally be accompanied by back-up in the house so obvious it would not be possible to ignore.

I think for non catalytic stove the liner alone would be more than adequate and stack temps and draft would be within specs.
I have no experience with the new EPA stoves.

There is a pour in insulation that's added after the liner is put in, it's not as even an insulation but may be something to consider, as I'm sure it would help keep the flue hotter than without.

I have probably a thousand pictures of chimneys in all states of damage and repair, but all are before the digital age.

JB.

 

[Egon]

If one has a large pile of loose mortar pieces laying in the bottom of the chimney you may suspect a problem.

 

[Bedlam]

Thanks for mentioning the correct way I watched this
YouTube - Rockford Chimney Supply - How to install a chimney liner
I knew the guy i worked for all these years was doing something wrong when we didn't use the blanket,(threw it way)LOL
And BTW this was a guy who had a fancy truck, and a big ad in the newspaper. Yes real PRO>

Get references. and watch real close as they do it ...This is one area i can attest to alot of scams or shoddy workmanship.

 

[arrabil]

Thanks everyone. I got a lot of research to do...

 

[Highbeam]

Your chimney needs to meet certain specs to be adequate/safe/acceptable to current codes. If the masonry chimney does not meet all of the current specs WRT clay liners and mortar then it is a non-compliant chimney. To line that chimney with a non-insulated liner would not be sufficient to meet code. The only way you can use an uninsulated liner is if the existing masonry chimney is in tip top shape and in that case, why bother? The insulated liners are easy to drop with the manufacturer's supplied insulation "sock". There are additional benefits to the insulation such as faster heat up and stronger draft.

You must use a flue with at least as much cross sectional area as the appliance's flue. So a 6" stove collar must empty into a liner with at least the same area. Now in the case of a 9x7 clay chimney you would use an oval liner. More expensive but certainly available.

Both contractors were bad. You shouldn't use poured insulation as it is an inferior method.

What I did was rip down the silly masonry chimney and go to a SS class A pipe system that works much better. The only reason to use masonry for a chimney is aesthetics. They are inferior to the current class A chimney systems.

 

[arrabil]

Thanks Highbeam. I'll have to look into doing this myself, the right way.