Chimney/flue life

[hearthstoneheat]

I was wondering how long I can expect my chimney/flue to last? It's a 15ft, 6" stainless, double wall pipe. Lets assume, no over firing and using seasoned wood- ideal conditions basically. I did a search here but couldn't find the answer.

 

[begreen]

A good long time. We pulled out a similar 22 yr old Metalbestos class A system. It was in very good shape and made the recipient very happy. So I would guess somewhere in the 20-30yr range? Ask me then. Our new flue went in 2006.

 

[CarbonNeutral]

And Be Green, I assume that's up where you are now with the more "moisture-rich" weather you have? If so, that really is good news.

 

[begreen]

Actually we have about the same average annual rainfall as NYC, just at a different time of the year. What we don't have is summer humidity which may have some bearing on aging. I would suspect living next to saltwater burning driftwood might be the worse case scenario.

 

[Peter B.]

I've got 20 years on my Pro-Jet 6" stainless Class A with no problems... but I've been asking myself the same question.

How much longer is it likely to be good for?

Any hearth industry types care to weigh in on this?

Thanks.

Peter B.

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[hearthstoneheat]

Thanks guys, good to know!

 

[summit]

any flue (whether it be stainless, refractory, tile) should be good for you for 20 yrs. I've seen alot of old 25+yr metalbstos chimneys in good shape that were installed in the 80's.. Chimney liners have been out there a long while, but the stainless and poured systems were not heavilly used (or required, for that matter) for a good many yrs. Older stove manuals will show the "porthole" method of installation: whereby you block off a fireplace opening w/ a sheet of steel (damper open, of course) and simply plug the pipe into a hole cut in the sheet of steel. No connector to the stove... I've seen this in current use in some older folks homes. It's scary, creosote all over the fireplace behing the sheet steel. But I digress... Point is the ss liner and poured systems have simply not been around in heavy use as long as prefab chimney systems, but I would expect life expectance around the same... especially if insulated (because at that point, its a metalbestos style chimney anyway).

 

[vvvv]

There are different types of SS.