Clydesdale - Flex SS Liner Question

[Jlmoney]

Hello All!

My husband and I have been using our Clydesdale wood Insert (purchased new Apr 11) to cut down on our oil costs. Everything was going great. Maintains the 2400 sf house built in the 1840s in mid 60s and is a BEAUTIFUL stove.

It suddenly started back drafting into the house yesterday. We have had no issues, burn it 24/7, except to clean out ash ~once/week. We have burnt a mix of ash, maple, oak, and cherry. Some of the bigger logs admittedly could have used another year of seasoning. We have used just under 3 cords of wood. Big hot fire every morning, as recommended in Owners Manual.

We had a chimney service come and they found the cap plugged severely with creosote and a sizable amount of it at the top of the chimney. This company stated that the wrong liner was used for our application. We have a flexible liner, insulated top to bottom. It was installed by a sub from the place we bought our stove. This company (different, the ones that came to service today) said that is not the correct liner for this application and that we should have a heavier gauged liner. They showed me their product, but I don't know the gauge of what we have or their proposed product.

My question is - is it reasonable that after less than 4 months of burning we would have this level of problem? Also - is the flexible SS chimney liner really a no-no for us? Any thoughts and perspective would be greatly appreciated.

 

[DAKSY]

Burning wet wood will clog a screened cap within a couple of months,
so I would suggest that you learn from your experience & have your
2012-13 stash cut, split & stacked by the middle of May. As far as your
liner goes, check with your installer & find out where he got it & who the
manufacturer is. Let us know & we can then tell you whether or not the
people who told you it was wrong are simply blowing smoke up your pant
leg...

 

[Jlmoney]

We did have the wood all split/stacked by early summer, but your advice for even earlier is helpful. I know that around here "seasoned" can be subjective. We unfortunately don't have the property to cut our own so we buy "seasoned" wood and are at the will of delivery companies. Someday....

I did get the specs for the liner that we have. Our chimney is 24 feet and 13 x 13 internal opening for perspective. We have a flexible .006" 316 stainless steel liner from BDM.

The chimney cleaners did say that the liner protruded up into the cap about 2 inches, which could have cut down on the venting ability.

Thoughts?

 

[DAKSY]

We did have the wood all split/stacked by early summer, but your advice for even earlier is helpful. I know that around here "seasoned" can be subjective. We unfortunately don't have the property to cut our own so we buy "seasoned" wood and are at the will of delivery companies. Someday....


As long as you're at the mercy of a firewood vendor,
a moisture meter cab be your best friend. That way
there is no doubt about "seasoning"...


I did get the specs for the liner that we have. Our
chimney is 24 feet and 13 x 13 internal opening for perspective.
We have a flexible .006" 316 stainless steel liner from BDM.

.006" 316 SS is a standard chiney liner. Nothing wrong
with it. IMHO, your chimney sweep was lookin to make a little
money from an unsuspecting homeowner, & I personally would
not hesitate to say that to his face...

The chimney cleaners did say that the liner protruded up into the cap about 2 inches, which could have cut down on the venting ability.

It may have been a contributing factor, but it was your wood that caused
the build up. I try to keep the liner FLUSH with the top plate collar...

Thoughts?

There you have em!

 

[mellow]

Do you have a thermometer on your insert? What temps are you burning at?

 

[Eaglecraft]

We did have the wood all split/stacked by early summer, but your advice for even earlier is helpful. I know that around here "seasoned" can be subjective. We unfortunately don't have the property to cut our own so we buy "seasoned" wood and are at the will of delivery companies. Someday....

I did get the specs for the liner that we have. Our chimney is 24 feet and 13 x 13 internal opening for perspective. We have a flexible .006" 316 stainless steel liner from BDM.

The chimney cleaners did say that the liner protruded up into the cap about 2 inches, which could have cut down on the venting ability.

Thoughts?

Jlmoney:

Bob gave you good advice. The .006 inch liner from BDM, (see the web site: http://www.dalsinmfg.com/flexibleliner.html,) is the standard thickness. See specs below from their web site. It is UL Listed. You can actually check this out by researching the UL site.

I suggest you ask your sweep what exactly is wrong with the liner. For the moment, assume his mistake was a honest one. However, if your stove installer knowingly placed a liner that was unsuitable for burning wood, he could be subject to a criminal complaint. It would really be a crazy thing for an installer to do. What is the diameter of your new liner? Maybe that's what he is talking about. It should be 6 inches in diameter.

LIGHT FLEXIBLE LINER - STAINLESS STEEL
Type 316L (.006 Thickness)

"Dalsin Line"® light flexible liner is listed for chimney relining and is suitable for wood, pellet, gas, oil, and coal applications. This liner is manufactured using .006" thick type 316L stainless steel and backed by a limited lifetime warranty. All components are made from Type 316L stainless steel and are designed for quick and easy installation.

FEATURES

UL listed to UL 1777

Limited lifetime warranty - must have a rain cap and be swept annually by a certified sweep.

Light flex is corrugated 316L stainless steel

Larger sizes are available. Call for quote.

Custom ovalizing available - $1.75 per foot for light flex

Fittings for oval flex carry a 50% cost premium over round fittings.

ORDERING

Kits available in 25' and 35' lengths

6" x 25' and under kits ship via UPS ground

7" x 25' kits and up ship via freight truck

Kits with substitutions will require additional processing time.

 

[Angelo C]

We did have the wood all split/stacked by early summer, but your advice for even earlier is helpful. I know that around here "seasoned" can be subjective. We unfortunately don't have the property to cut our own so we buy "seasoned" wood and are at the will of delivery companies. Someday....

I did get the specs for the liner that we have. Our chimney is 24 feet and 13 x 13 internal opening for perspective. We have a flexible .006" 316 stainless steel liner from BDM.

The chimney cleaners did say that the liner protruded up into the cap about 2 inches, which could have cut down on the venting ability.

Thoughts?

Lots of firewood dealers would love to sell you "green" wood in the late winter/early spring. I say the only way you know if its "seasoned" is if YOU season it Off the ground, in an air bound area and time will season. Nothing wrong with buying wood two years in advance.

 

[aussiedog3]

I would also say you have wet wood, I had the exact same problem.
I have Flex SS liner non insulated.
My first year burning I did not have enough wood to burn all winter, but my wood was bone dry.
My second year burning I had my liner nearly plugged up completely. I had the sweep come out that installed everything.
The top 2-3 feet of my liner was the worst, really choked off, I couldn't get a good fire going, I was getting no draft through the opening that was left.
They said my wood was not dry enough and I needed to burn alot hotter, they suggested 550-650degrees as much as I could.
I would suggest the same to you, burn plenty hot, and don't bother burning if you don't have dry wood.
Get as much wood cut, split and stacked that you can. I even scrounged as much pine as I could when I first started and I'm so thankful that I did.
I've burned that pine all winter, while letting my good hardwoods get another year off seasoning.
I figure I'm about 4 years ahead now and thankful for learning the hard way.
Best of luck. You will get it.

 

[Locust Post]

I have to agree with Bob. It is the wood not the liner. You could clog that screen in a month easy with less than desirable wood. You state you had your wood early summer but did you stack it in single rows for air drying ?