Chimney Liner Problems - HCL Formation and SS

[begreen]

Agreed. A proper 6" clay liner in a block chimney may be a reasonable solution for this case.

 

[Grisu]

A clay liner sounds like a good idea but I would still be looking to improve the fuel. If a liner corrodes within a few years the stove may also age prematurely which will be even more costly down the road plus a potential safety issue. Have you thought about drying your wood in a solar kiln? http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WoodDrying/wood_kiln.htm There it will be protected from the salt and the wood can later be moved in a protected place like a shed. Or switch to compressed wood logs (Envi-blocks, Bio-Bricks etc.). Someone posted recently a price here for less than $200 for self-pickup for a ton for these: http://www.homefirelogs.com/ Maybe they are not too far from your place?

 

[begreen]

Homefires plant is up in Ferndale, north of Bellingham. They are a great fuel. If interested, see if your local hardware or lumber yard would stock them. I got our local store to stock them and they sell quite well.

 

[Fsappo]

If you go the clay liner route, they do make round clay tiles. Not sure how much you want to throw at this, but a properly sized round time will vent better than a square or rectangle. At least, someone told me about that and the science seemed sound.

 

[dug320]

It has been awhile. After extensive discussion with metallurgists who specialize in HCL corrosion and looking at the costs we decided to try a pellet stove with a 3" 316L liner. It is our hope that by storing the pellets in sealed containers we can limit the salt exposure and by adjusting the blower to run longer in the cool down it should reduce the chance of HCL precipitation If, in three years there is minimal corrosion on the liner the experiment will be deemed a success. If not, back to the drawing board.

I dropped a camera down the liner after a few weeks of usage and it looks brand new.