Locking Bands or Screws - SS Chimney???

The locking bands would be my preference. My thinking is the less penetrations of the pipe the better to prevent moisture from getting into it.

3 screws per joint on the inside, locking bands on the outside. Our Metalbestos pipe went through several earthquakes that way without a hitch.

Man alive. I may have bad winters and complain about those but thank god we only ever have tremors around here and they aren't worth complaining about, and even then maybe once every 20 years. As much as I know the influence of these in almost every corner of the US as a possibility I have honestly never considered their consequence on a wood stove's flue. Thank you for the reminder.

pen

In Western, VA. Locking bands.

pen said:

Man alive. I may have bad winters and complain about those but thank god we only ever have tremors around here and they aren't worth complaining about, and even then maybe once every 20 years. As much as I know the influence of these in almost every corner of the US as a possibility I have honestly never considered their consequence on a wood stove's flue. Thank you for the reminder.

pen

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Earthquakes are a heckuva a lot rougher on brick chimneys than on metal flues. After the last big one, the top of ours had rotated 45 deg. from the base entering the roof. Our neighbor's wasn't so lucky. The metal flue wasn't affected at all, though the stove waltzed over about an inch.

Yes, personally I think it should be a code requirement in earthquake prone regions. Just like in mobile homes.

If the Earth moves the last thing I am looking at is the chimney. Now that connector pipe inside the house is a whole nother question.

The last earthquake happened in February, but this was while we were on the pellet stove. There was still a 6" liner up the flue from the old wood insert and that is what stopped the chimney top from toppling. But I agree, if there is another one I don't want to be worrying about the stove pipe or the stove getting ideas of walking away.

Funny story about that 2001 quake. I was seated in my office on a conference call to Seattle. When it started my first instinct was to grab my new (and expensive) LCD monitor to prevent it from falling. I told the folks on the line that we were having an earthquake and they paused, then laughed a little. About 15 seconds later it hit them and all I heard was them scrambling to get under a desk or out of the building. Then the lines went dead.