Best way to fix flue problem?

[CTVR6]

New here. First of all thanks to everyone and all the great info on the site. It's been a lifesaver. I have been lurking around here for about a year, ever since the wife and I bought a house whose only source of heat is electric radiant. If the previous owners hadn't installed a wood stove I don't think we would have bought it. I struggled a lot at times both at starting fires quickly and getting long burns but I'm getting better at it. I've definitely caught the bug and have been scrounging wood and c/s/s it like a madman. I had no idea that all that hard work could be so much fun (plus a great excuse to buy a real chainsaw)!

The stove is a free standing Regency F2400 that we had inspected and the chimney cleaned as soon as we moved in last winter. They found a lot of build up in the flue but told us the stove looked good. We were able to rely on it as our only source of heat in our cape. While I was poking around it the other day, getting it ready for this season, and I found some quarter-size holes in the flue just before it enters the masonry chimney. I can't tell if it has a separate flue liner or just relies on the one built into the chimney. While I am going to be calling around to some of the local places in central CT tomorrow, can anyone tell me what the best way to fix this is? I want to make sure it gets done right. Don't like taking chances with the family.

Stove:

Holes in flue:

Thanks Again!

Eric

 

[HotCoals]

Good thing you caught that!
If you have the money get a professional out there before you light another match.
There are people here that can tell you how to make everything safe. They need to know whats in the chimney though to figure out how much you need to replace.
Don't even try to patch that pipe!

 

[pen]

The question is, what does that black pipe hook into? If anything?

Do you know if there is a liner above that block off plate all the way to the top of the chimney? Or does the black pipe from the stove just terminate in that plate put in the chimney?

If there is no liner there, and that pipe is just dumping things above the block off plate, that makes for an area that is very tough to clean well and also is a situation where you'll have reduced draft and reduced stove performance.

If there's no liner, then I'd be putting on in.

Can you shine a light into those holes in the pipe and look to see if it's just a big square space up there or that pipe connects into a liner?

Good on you for spotting that now! Welcome to the site and keep us posted!

pen

 

[CTVR6]

Update: So we had a guy come out and look at the flue. I was at work, but from what my mother-in-law tells me that pipe from the top of the stove only went a few feet up into the chimney. Also, the corrosion was in a single band a few inches wide around the pipe. He said the chimney cap was in good shape but that moisture probably got in

Anyway, he wants to run a "seamless weld" SS liner all the way up which sounds good to me from what I've read on the site. Should I be looking for something that is smooth-walled? The pictures I see on the web look similar to the ribbed (insert joke here) pipe that you might use for a dryer vent. Will these ribs cause more creosote to build up? Or should I not worry about creosote as long as I am burning properly seasoned wood at the right temps? Is the double walled/single wall stuff only for stoves that vent through a wall? What about an insulated metal flue? Class A?

Thanks for your help guys.

 

[pen]

Liner of any type will be fine as it sounds just that pipe is bad, but the chimney is in good order. If the chimney were shot or deteriorated, it would be a different story. Mine is "ribbed" and I love it, no accumulation issues.

If the chimney is on an exterior wall, and doesn't run completely on the inside of the structure to daylight, and the tiles are large enough to accommodate, I'd probably put an insulation wrap on that liner. Also, I'd make sure that a block off plate (like what you have now around that rotten pipe) is reinstalled.

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

Run stainless 6" from the very top to the stove and you will be one happy camper. It won't be cheap but it will be safe, efficient and your fires will burn much better. I wouldn't use it until the repairs are made.

 

[CTVR6]

Definitely not touching the stove until it is repaired this Friday. Enjoying my electric heat in the meantime $$$$. The chimney does run on the exterior of the house. Is the disk in this picture the block off plate?

 

[pen]

That disk looks like it is used to seal up against the block off plate which has the hole in it for the pipe. Looks like it's in good shape and has a large enough hole to fit the new liner through.

Should be a minimal issue by the way it is setup.

I bet your stove is going to act like a whole new beast with a full liner,,,, in a good way

Keep us posted.