Flexible Stainless Steel Liner

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Bubster

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I was just wondering if anyone has experience with these liners.I know rigid liner is always preferred, but with a price up to $60/ft or more not including installation ,the flexible liner looks a lot better. My existing chimney is brick with 7x11 terra cotta (sp) liner in decent condition. I mostly want a bit of peace of mind with a steel liner.If there is a certain brand or minimum thickness anyone recommends I would like to hear your thoughts. I also do plan to get some advice from a professional chimney sweep before I do anything, but real world experience to me is priceless.
 
samhop

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if the flu tiles are in good shape you don't need a liner.
i put a flex SS liner in over 10 years ago after some flu tiles broke and we were getting smoke through some of the brick joints. central 3 flue chimney is over 60 years and the brick below the roof was old used brick. cant remember what make the liner is and its the heavy version. we heat only with wood as in NO other source of heat in the house and the liner has worked great. it took 3 guys a day to install 2 to drop it down and one inside to do the bend at the end which was hard to do in a 12 x12 flue with 8" flex liner.
fwi
 
Bubster

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if the flu tiles are in good shape you don't need a liner.
i put a flex SS liner in over 10 years ago after some flu tiles broke and we were getting smoke through some of the brick joints. central 3 flue chimney is over 60 years and the brick below the roof was old used brick. cant remember what make the liner is and its the heavy version. we heat only with wood as in NO other source of heat in the house and the liner has worked great. it took 3 guys a day to install 2 to drop it down and one inside to do the bend at the end which was hard to do in a 12 x12 flue with 8" flex liner.
fwi
I have some small cracks in the liner near the top of the chimney,and they get a little worse each year.
 
Bubster

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Are you running a wood stove of just an old fireplace?
With a wood stove you'll probable draft better and stay cleaner because the liner will get hotter and burn off creosote better. If you've got an old fireplace, a liner could mess up the dynamics.
Hot Blast wood furnace in my basement.With my cold air return system and dry wood,I might get about 2 coffee cans full of creosote each winter.I would like to burn some green wood overnight,which is one reason I am thinking about getting a liner.
 
Mad Professor
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I installed a woodstove in my existing traditional fireplace. I got a complete system stove to chimney cap from Rockford
https://www.rockfordchimneysupply.com

The liner was a custom flexible so I would not have to hack the fireplace to run the flue, just remove the damper. The fireplace has a smokebox then a tile lined flue to the outlet. Flue was too big for stove to draft properly. The liner was sized to the stove with a t-connector with a cleanout. Also insulated the liner. Draft is great and almost no buildup of crap in the flue.

Rockford has, or will make what you need. Delivery was free. All UL listed, 316 stainless,
lifetime transferable warranty.


woodstove.jpgw:stove connector T cleanout 3.jpgchimney cap.jpg
 
Bubster

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I installed a woodstove in my existing traditional fireplace. I got a complete system stove to chimney cap from Rockford
https://www.rockfordchimneysupply.com

The liner was a custom flexible so I would not have to hack the fireplace to run the flue, just remove the damper. The fireplace has a smokebox then a tile lined flue to the outlet. Flue was too big for stove to draft properly. The liner was sized to the stove with a t-connector with a cleanout. Also insulated the liner. Draft is great and almost no buildup of crap in the flue.

Rockford has, or will make what you need. Delivery was free. All UL listed, 316 stainless,
lifetime transferable warranty.


View attachment 1013882View attachment 1013883View attachment 1013884
Is insulating the liner an added safety measure or for simply holding heat and keeping the liner hotter?Nice job by the way.
 
moresnow

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Is insulating the liner an added safety measure or for simply holding heat and keeping the liner hotter?Nice job by the way.
Insulating the liner is a performance enhancer for certain. Keeping the exhaust hotter to the termination reduces creo buildup as well as lets the system draft better. Easier cold starts. Reduced smoke rollout etc.
Many/Most old masonry chimneys don't have the clearance to combustibles that code defines. Some do. For that reason alone a great many flex liners get installed with insulation. Safety and performance. Good combo.
Do some research on required clearance to combustibles for masonry chimneys. Might find it rather interesting. Good luck.
 
Bubster

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Insulating the liner is a performance enhancer for certain. Keeping the exhaust hotter to the termination reduces creo buildup as well as lets the system draft better. Easier cold starts. Reduced smoke rollout etc.
Many/Most old masonry chimneys don't have the clearance to combustibles that code defines. Some do. For that reason alone a great many flex liners get installed with insulation. Safety and performance. Good combo.
Do some research on required clearance to combustibles for masonry chimneys. Might find it rather interesting. Good luck.
Thanks for the info.
 
StihlsawuserMS361

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I have a flexible liner which I installed 25 plus years ago, due to the fact that my catalytic stove ate away the tile mortar joints. Went from a rectangle (6 x 12, not sure on size ) to a 6 inch round. Works well for me.
I was told it's made out of Inconel (?) , which was told that is the same material used in jet engines.
As others stated , draft is better, pretty easy to clean, even with the lazy "S" at the bottom.
Hope this helps....
 
Bubster

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I have a flexible liner which I installed 25 plus years ago, due to the fact that my catalytic stove ate away the tile mortar joints. Went from a rectangle (6 x 12, not sure on size ) to a 6 inch round. Works well for me.
I was told it's made out of Inconel (?) , which was told that is the same material used in jet engines.
As others stated , draft is better, pretty easy to clean, even with the lazy "S" at the bottom.
Hope this helps....
Thanks for the help.My chimney is going on 60 years old and I am getting a little leary.
 

JRM

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I have a flexible liner which I installed 25 plus years ago, due to the fact that my catalytic stove ate away the tile mortar joints. Went from a rectangle (6 x 12, not sure on size ) to a 6 inch round. Works well for me.
I was told it's made out of Inconel (?) , which was told that is the same material used in jet engines.
As others stated , draft is better, pretty easy to clean, even with the lazy "S" at the bottom.
Hope this helps....
Inconel, holy cow! That is some serious high dollar stuff. I've heard of titanium alloys used in chimney piping but inconel is a first.

About 15 years ago we did a job at a chemical plant. Details are a little fuzzy, but the job was 400-500 feet of 16" sch 80 inconel 600 - all welded. The material alone for the job was north of 1 million. That probably included (code) rod, hangers, steel for brackets, ubolts insulation, etc. I can't imagine what it would cost today.
 
Mad Professor
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Inconel, holy cow! That is some serious high dollar stuff. I've heard of titanium alloys used in chimney piping but inconel is a first.

About 15 years ago we did a job at a chemical plant. Details are a little fuzzy, but the job was 400-500 feet of 16" sch 80 inconel 600 - all welded. The material alone for the job was north of 1 million. That probably included (code) rod, hangers, steel for brackets, ubolts insulation, etc. I can't imagine what it would cost today.

The other high end stuff is Hasteloy.
 
Greenie

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We had a 8'x8' brick chimney with 3 tile - lined flues. A huge mass to get hot enough for safe, efficient combustion. We had a stainless steel liner connected to a fireplace insert in 2003 and used the insert as a primary heat source. Draft issues were resolved and the liner kept temperatures hot enough to prevent creosote buildups - an annual cleaning produced very little material - maybe a small pail full for 5 cords of wood burned.
 
sean donato

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You better get installed prices. I ended up going with a triple walled stainless over a liner.
$2k for the liner and poured insulation. $3k ish for masonry relining. They made no guarantee if the exterior block would be damaged or not.
$5k to get this ceramic filter and liner. That would "fix" the existing Terra cotta liner.
The triple wall stainless was $1500.00 and some change till it was all said and done. I will admit it looks a bit odd, not being a traditional design.
 
Bubster

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You better get installed prices. I ended up going with a triple walled stainless over a liner.
$2k for the liner and poured insulation. $3k ish for masonry relining. They made no guarantee if the exterior block would be damaged or not.
$5k to get this ceramic filter and liner. That would "fix" the existing Terra cotta liner.
The triple wall stainless was $1500.00 and some change till it was all said and done. I will admit it looks a bit odd, not being a traditional design.
I take it you "moved" your chimney then. I have considered doing the same. I will get someone to give me an estimate on the whole shebang. Thanks for the info. Luckily I only have about 30 feet.
 
Bubster

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We had a 8'x8' brick chimney with 3 tile - lined flues. A huge mass to get hot enough for safe, efficient combustion. We had a stainless steel liner connected to a fireplace insert in 2003 and used the insert as a primary heat source. Draft issues were resolved and the liner kept temperatures hot enough to prevent creosote buildups - an annual cleaning produced very little material - maybe a small pail full for 5 cords of wood burned.
I burn maybe 8 cords a year and try to only burn very seasoned locust and cherry and some ash. I have good draw with my furnace, but keep the draft slightly open all the time. Thanks for the input.
 
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