chimney cleaning/flu fire

[Sturgeonslayer]

Hello all, Ive never posted before, Ive stayed in the shadows and just looked and read for about a year now. I have a few questions now though. How often do you clean your chimineys ? I have a old fisher insert that is a monster of a stove and this is our only source of heat. we are here in the northwest so I burn alot of diferent types of wood, maple and alder to fir and oak. I had a rager of a chim fire night before last and cleaned the chim yesterday although not much was left ! also I dont have a liner and am at a crossroad with that. No one will istall a liner for me because my stove is not EPA cert. The house is a 100 year old two story with a chiminey in the center of the house. any input would be great. Thanks.

 

[CrappieKeith]

Hello all, Ive never posted before, Ive stayed in the shadows and just looked and read for about a year now. I have a few questions now though. How often do you clean your chimineys ? I have a old fisher insert that is a monster of a stove and this is our only source of heat. we are here in the northwest so I burn alot of diferent types of wood, maple and alder to fir and oak. I had a rager of a chim fire night before last and cleaned the chim yesterday although not much was left ! also I dont have a liner and am at a crossroad with that. No one will istall a liner for me because my stove is not EPA cert. The house is a 100 year old two story with a chiminey in the center of the house. any input would be great. Thanks.

Welcome....
1st off buy and install your own liner.
2nd off clean your flue as often as needed.That means you'll need to inspect it regularly.
3rd...there'sfolks around that will earn your biz...you just need to look or learn how to yourself.

 

[hanniedog]

As Keith said clean it as necessary, I do mine once a month weather permitting.

 

[stumpy75]

Since you have a old central masonry chimney, and have had a chimney fire, I would get someone in to inspect it really well, or do that yourself. You have had a lot of heat in there, and that can loosen mortar joints...

I agree with CrappieKeith about getting a liner yourself.

I have an old Buck stove(one of the first UL approved ones), and I would have a problem using my masonary chimney with it due to the creosote problems. I was luckey when I bought the house, I already had a triple wall stack in another area, so I used that(had an old franklin type stove hooked to it). I have mine cleaned by a sweep at the end of each burning season when I clean up the stove. I clean it again myself from below somewhere in the middle of the season. Never get a lot out of it, but I consider it just like another insurance policy...

 

[mga]

i do mine maybe once every 5 years or so

 

[kd460]

Since you have a old central masonry chimney, and have had a chimney fire, I would get someone in to inspect it really well, or do that yourself. You have had a lot of heat in there, and that can loosen mortar joints...

I agree with CrappieKeith about getting a liner yourself.

I have an old Buck stove(one of the first UL approved ones), and I would have a problem using my masonary chimney with it due to the creosote problems. I was luckey when I bought the house, I already had a triple wall stack in another area, so I used that(had an old franklin type stove hooked to it). I have mine cleaned by a sweep at the end of each burning season when I clean up the stove. I clean it again myself from below somewhere in the middle of the season. Never get a lot out of it, but I consider it just like another insurance policy...

Good advice, if you can clean your own chimney, and are careful, and ask questions here, you can install the liner. It is a good idea, especially now that you have had a chimney fire. The teracotta inside your chimney can be cracked in addition to the lose mortar joints. The liner will increase the efficiency of your stove as well.

Fleabay has the liners for reasonable prices. Make sure you get at least 316ti stainless. It is rated for wood. Good luck KD

 

[Sturgeonslayer]

All great advice, Thanks to all, I have always cleaned my own chimney was just curious about others habits. Thanks for the fleabay advice, Would the flex liner work ok with a woodstove or is that more for pellet stoves ?

 

[ktlm]

A flex liner made for wood will work fine. You might need to insulate it. There is a rigid liner made that is insulated and can be used in a masonry chimney with no clearance to the masonry. Much better product than flex in my opinion. If you have moderate handyman skills, you can install it. You can find installation instructions online. Make sure it will fit first though. Shop around online and at dealers. you will find big price differences on liners.
Do not take shortcuts with this project and you should have a much safer and better draft system.
Good luck

 

[CrappieKeith]

On liners...they should be 2100 degree rated...(legal) and if you can not provide 2" of clearance...they need to be insulated...either by a blanket or it should be built into the product like Duraliner by Duravent.

 

[logbutcher]

Crappie knows his stuff--line the flue. Selkirk Metalbestos is also a good brand: simple and secure to install, but pricey and worth the $$$. Look into the chimney lining companies around; it may be around the same cost as Selkirk. Don't forget the cap.

Your masonry flue is uninsulated and probably too large for the stove. Older masonry cracks over the years--not safe. Masonry flues will cool the gases creating your creosote problem.

Many here will recommend one very hot fire each day, usually mornings, to "burn off" the night's accumulation of unburnt particulates. Then dry wood, smaller splits, and waiting for the load to coal before damping the primary air. After awhile it all becomes S.O.P. ; you'll receive no gold stars on your forehead, just good heat.

Forgot: the flues are brushed each Spring. Because of an unusually warm fall and early winter this year, one of the flues had a clogged cap from too many too cool and damped fires in the non-cat. She made me climb the 9/12 roof on snow to clean the cap. Woe.

 

[CrappieKeith]

Although I can discount DuraVent products I can't the other not that they are not good....like LB mentioned...Selkirk is a top brand...so is Hart & Cooley.

What's key is that they are 2100 degree rated and insulated if needed which is mandated if clearances can not be achieved.

 

[Felman]

Check the top tile for cracks. If not cracked, chimney may be ok. If hesitant, hire a pro to drop a camera & inspect the whole chimney.

 

[Sturgeonslayer]

awesome guys (and gals if there were any) All really good advice, Not sure why, But this fire really spooked me, Ive had chimney fires before but this one seemed different...as I said before Ive been burning my whole life Ive even tried talking the wife into pellets and she wants nothing to do with it. She, and I must say I like the security of a wood fire, We lose power often where we live and if need be we can cook on the monster. My only issue now is liner size, I have a 8" ooutlet and can only fit 6" through my flu, I dont want to bust out brick so I have to do some fab work to neck 8 down to 6, not to big a deal just more work.

 

[CrappieKeith]

I had to chisel out my thimble too...my labor is cheap.I sleep well knowing I have a safe liner and my furnace works better.

 

[kentuckydiesel]

I am in a very similar situation...120yr old house, old brick chimney.

When I got ready to install my wood stove I was very concerned about the mortar in the old chimney, so I fabricated a 20ga rigid liner and cap out of 304 stainless. (20ga is about 1.5 times thicker than standard chimney liners...it should be around as long as I am.) 20ga stainless is also rigid enough that I was able to extend the liner 3-4 feet out of the original chimney to achieve ideal chimney height.
My stove is recommended for use with an 8" chimney, but due to the size of the thimble hole in the chimney and the size of the flue, I ended up building my liner 7.5" in diameter. It goes 8" out of the stove, reduced to 6" at the thimble (just long enough to make it through the bricks), then into the 7.5" liner.

Works great, strong draft, and the chimney doesn't even get hot!

-Phillip