Chimney Liner Advice

Thank you all for the indirect advice as I have been lurking for the past year and have learned a ton. I have recently purchased a Yukon Eagle Super Jack 125k BTU Add on furnace to off set my propane bill. It is sitting in my garage as of now waiting for the install in the basement.

My 13"x13" clay lined external chimney was cleaned and inspected and is good to go as of this morning. After everything that I have learned, I want to sqeeze the most performance out of the furnace and was quoted about $2300 for a 35' 316 SS chimney liner installed with insulation kit and easy clean cap and long T snout. This included $500 labor.

I have 2 questions;

1. I am very capable of following directions and mechanically inclined, how hard is it to install a flexible liner as I can get a great price on materials through Yukon Jack.

2. Will the chimney as it stands be a negative to the performance of my furnace (meaning, can I wait until next year to line the chimney)?

Thank You,

Jesse

What size is your furnace exhaust? With a 13x13 chimney it should be very easy installing a 6 or 8" liner by yourself. I'd save the labor cost and try yourself, it aint brain surgery.

The exhaust is 7" and Yukon approves + or - 1".

You will want to line that chimney for sure. Its too big for the furnace and it will suffer performance with an oversized cool chimney. Lining the chimney won't be a problem. Sounds like a straight shot down. You would roll out your liner, insulate it and connect your base tee to the liner. Feed it down then connect your snout to the base of the liner. I installed a rigid liner, but i'm sure the flex is easier. Your existing liner is over 3x's the size of the furnace flue. As it stands with your current chimney. With a height of 35' your gasses will cool to the point of condensation on an exterior chimney with a flue that large. You will also lose draft when the fire is burning low because of the gasses expanding. Do you have dry wood ready? Where are you located in ohio?

http://www.chimneylinerdepot.com/store/867/category/7-inch-Flex-King-Tee-Kit.html

Thanks for the quick replies.

I am in Akron. I have been planning for this since I have got my first $800 propane bill last november. Earlier this spring, I had a load of logs delivered that I cut and split and have been accumulating "seasoned" firewood all summer. I even found an older couple that had a cord of cherry and oak that they have had for a few years on CL. Total, I have about 5 cords on hand to start off with.

Sounds like your on your way. Having that chimney lined now will save you alot of trouble later. Follow the clearances of the furnace and the ductwork very important. Was that bill for a month? We heat with pro-pain and last year we burned under 100 gallons which was for cooking, the clothes dryer and the furnace. We have a large old home that would probably run around 400 a month to heat.

I've done two liners in two years. It aint rocket science, but it ain't that easy either. I'm not saying its not worth trying it for $500, because it is but professionals earn their money. My last liner was 5" insulated 25' long with two tees, one for a clean-out and one for the boiler. I thought it was straight down but it wasn't. I thought there would be enough room but there wasn't. Oh well, an hour with the Hilti and there was too much room! I ended up making a large opening near the snout to ease my troubles. re-bricked it and mortared it all back. Major improvement in draft speed over the original 8x8 clay lined flue

The only scary part for me was having to get on top of the chimney and stuff a 25' silver worm into a hole while it wriggled and squirmed about. I'm guessing because yours is an exterior job you will have the same issue. You can blow a hole in the bottom and snake it to the top or whatever but I ended up climbing up there and shoving it down by myself. I'm used to heights and I have a fall arrest harness so more than likely I wouldn't die.

Good luck!

Yeah that was for 1 month. We spent about 3k total to heat last season. Granted, it was our first winter in this house, add a newborn, a two year old and a wife that likes it warm and you know the routine.

The only thing that I am worried about is being able to secure the snout to the tee through the 2 ft wall.

I just put in a snout that totaled 32" long. You can do it, just get a long screwdriver to work with. It sounds like you either have a large home, or a home thats not insulated, or both. If you haven't, get up in the attic and look for air leaks, then in the basement. Insulation will help greatly and is eligible for the tax credits. Sealing those air leaks and insulating will not only help with comfort, but you will burn less wood. When I installed our liner, I built a platform to work off of around the chimney. I don't know your setup, but for me it worked well with the chimney at waist height.

I think my snout will need to be about 28" to make it through the rock foundation. We have a house that was built in 1867 with an addition in 1995. Square footage above the basement is roughly 3200 sq. ft. The basement is insulated pretty well but there is only so much that could have been done. I think that the zoning is a little funky as it is zoned old house new house with 2 furnaces and I cannot just heat the upstairs or downstairs. It doesnt help that I have been a victim of this economy and we are home all day.

I really liked the caddy but with the square footage I was worried that it wouldnt be able to keep up. The max caddy is not eligible for tax credits and was out of our price range.

Well, 13x13 flues are the easiest to line for me. The liners go down pretty easily without catching, though it can be like "wrestling a big silver worm". A 35 footer is pretty long. You might want some help with you.

Thats a large home. Sounds tricky on the ducting. If there are 2 seperate furnaces, hopefully you can get heat through most of the home. The Max Caddy does qualify for the credit, but is pricey. This winter will be much better with the furnace.

OK, I have decided on the FLex King 35' Liner with an insulation kit. The furnace exhaust is 7". I can drop or increase by 1" per Yukon for the chimney. Would a 6" liner vent better than a 7" or 8". I would like to stay 6 or 8" for stove pipe selection as well as future stoves or appliances.

I'd wait until next year

If the company says 6" is okay thats what I would use. Going with a 7" probably wouldn't be an issue for the future other than a reducer. From just about everyone I have read about their yukon furnaces, when they idle they tend to run pretty low on the flue temps. Because of that I would for sure get a liner. Running low temps on a large exterior chimney will give nothing but problems and fill a chimney in no time.

I would stick with 7". if you decide to change out appliances later down the road you will probably be able to vent just about anything with a 7" liner and tall 35' chimney.

bigger chimney has better natural draft & can install barometric damper if too much. if draft is inadequate, which i doubt, u live with smoke when u open the door at the wrong time. vvv

Do you use something like a fish tape and pull the liner in if the chimney size allows it.

I used to think a bigger chimney is better, but its the opposite. Obviously you go too small then you won't get enough draft. Go too large and those gasses have to expand and with a 35' chimney they will cool quite a bit. That in return will slow the gasses and lower draft. I verified that this winter with a manometer during various weather and burns.

how tall is your chimney?

Our chimney is 32' tall and our original liner was smaller than the OP's. From Yukon they require a .03" draft for the furnace. Only able to lowered by the use of a Barometric Damper. A Baro will lower the flue gasses that much more and cause more of an issue for draft. An insulated liner will be one of only ways to avoid temperatures that will likely condense on the walls of the chimney. I sucked gallons of water out of the base of our chimney last year. I never want to go through that again.

http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/57801/