Crushed Flue Liner

[iamtheskier]

Hello all,

First post here. 4 years ago I had a Regency CI2600 installed by a local shop. Turns out it had to be replaced due to a warranty issue. Since the warranty is parts only, I decided to undertake this myself.

I found 3 issues with the installation.

1) The chimney liner was crushed to get it to pass the throat, way more than I think necessary. Is this a problem? Is there any way I can bend it back?

2) No liner insulation.

3) No block off plate.

I'm considering to get some rockwool for the bottom of the liner and fashion a block off plate as has been very nicely outlined on the forum, but what do you guys think about the first two?

 

[bholler]

That really is a horrible install. I personally would not use that liner.

 

[iamtheskier]

That really is a horrible install. I personally would not use that liner.

Thanks for the reply. In your opinion would this installation be considered acceptable by any professional? Do you think I should go back to the company and complain?

 

[David.Ervin]

Even taking a sawzall to the damper (hey, you're never gonna use it again) would be better than that crimped up mess. I know some guys who DIYd installations nicer than that, I can't imagine a professional would be proud to have their name anywhere near what you've got.

Is the flue system by chance double wall that you wouldn't see the insulation from the outside?

 

[bholler]

Thanks for the reply. In your opinion would this installation be considered acceptable by any professional? Do you think I should go back to the company and complain?

Not acceptable by my standards at all. The way they ovalized it was very bad. It is kinked all over the place. And it looks like they just used black pipe instead ofa proper adapter

 

[iamtheskier]

Any tips on getting the old liner out? That thing is stuck pretty good...

 

[bholler]

Any tips on getting the old liner out? That thing is stuck pretty good...

Grab it with visegrips and pull if it is really tight it may unravel which is a pain and very sharp but it will come out.

 

[iamtheskier]

The adventure continues...

So I figured out WHY the crushed the liner.

It turns out that originally the house had these enormous arch fireplaces (like 5ft high).

When the house was renovated in the 80's, long before my stewardship, they made it a more traditional firebox, but they left the old smoke shelf/throat in place.....

It's about 4ft above the new throat and REALLY tight....

I would like to fix this, but I have no idea how to cut that out. Any help is much appreciated.

 

[bholler]

The adventure continues...

So I figured out WHY the crushed the liner.

It turns out that originally the house had these enormous arch fireplaces (like 5ft high).

When the house was renovated in the 80's, long before my stewardship, they made it a more traditional firebox, but they left the old smoke shelf/throat in place.....

It's about 4ft above the new throat and REALLY tight....

I would like to fix this, but I have no idea how to cut that out.View attachment 231123 Any help is much appreciated.

I would take out what ever is needed to get in there and open up that upper dsmper area. The chimney was also clearly not cleaned properly and there really is no way to without getting up to the old smoke shelf. This really was a very bad install in many ways

 

[David.Ervin]

This is the point I'd get mad at it, and go ham with a sawzall on the lower damper and an angle grinder on that smoke shelf until I had a reasonable opening to drop a liner through.

 

[missedbass]

Is that local shop still in business? If so show him the picture and see if he can make it right.

 

[iamtheskier]

Ok, so we cut out a portion of the lower damper and smoke shelf (enough so my wife could climb up into the chimney and cut out a section of the upper damper.



The old liner came right out.

I have a question about the new liner.
The shop in question gave me a 5.5in flex liner.
How can I connect this to the stove?
The ID of the stove outlet is 6 inches.
Can I just insert the 5.5 inch liner, screw it and seal it off with chimney cement?

 

[bholler]

Ok, so we cut out a portion of the lower damper and smoke shelf (enough so my wife could climb up into the chimney and cut out a section of the upper damper.

View attachment 231221

The old liner came right out.

I have a question about the new liner.
The shop in question gave me a 5.5in flex liner.
How can I connect this to the stove?
The ID of the stove outlet is 6 inches.
Can I just insert the 5.5 inch liner, screw it and seal it off with chimney cement?

Nice job. And no you need the proper appliance adapter to mount to the stove. How tall is your chimney overall?

 

[iamtheskier]

Thank you.

The chimney is about 15ft shy from the top of the stove to the top of the chimney.

If I can't find the liner insulation is it ok to pack the chimney with rockwool instead?

 

[iamtheskier]

Can you send me a link to the kind of adapter you speak of?

Thank you for all of the help!

Oh and the smoke shelves were FILTHY. Piles of soot, leaves, acorns. I guess it was a chimney fire waiting to happen.

 

[Ashful]

Good job on getting that cleaned out and cut. You’d do well to make sure it’s as clean as practically possible, both for safety and summertime odor.

The insulation is bought as a kit that contains a foil-backed blanket that you can trim to a width equal to the circumference of your liner (about a foot and a half wide), foil tape and/or spray adhesive, and a wire sock or free wire to wrap the blanket with. Something like this:

https://www.rockfordchimneysupply.c...tion/chimney-liner-insulation-blanket-kit.php

If your throat is too tight for a blanket, then there are pour-in options, but I always prefer the blanket, and bholler will admonish you to keep the liner centered in a pour.

https://www.rockfordchimneysupply.c...sulation/chimney-insulation-mix-everguard.php

The most common appliance adaptor type is this, but I don’t see 5.5 x 6 listed as available size, in that particular model. Look around.

https://www.rockfordchimneysupply.com/chimney-liner-vertical-appliance-connector.php

 

[begreen]

Yes, nicely done and your wife deserves a nice night out. She is a keeper.

 

[joshuaboston]

i did not see an isulated liner... which should be used.

make sure that you use an insulated liner, and do a block off plate right above the lintel.

But it looks AMAZING, I wish I had your skills, I am way to afraid of doing an install.

 

[iamtheskier]

So we are finally done. The block off plate ended up being a little bit of a battle, but we insulated the flue liner, got it down the chimney, stuffed the chimney with rockwool, installed the block off plate and got the stove in.

On a related note, I have a nearly full bag of R23 Rockwool and 10ft of chimney liner insulation free for the taking. I'm in Huntington, NY. I'll hold onto it if someone calls dibs, otherwise it's in the trash on Monday night.





View attachment 231335

 

[Ashful]

Nice. Is she burning tonight? Got both stoves going on full loads of oak, here.

 

[David.Ervin]

This install went from ghetto to gorgeous in a big hurry. Nice work!

 

[iamtheskier]

Thanks guys!

Didn't go too crazy with the fire yet, doing the burn in process, so I've been doing 2 medium fires per day, letting them die out, stove cool off, clean off the white film procedure. Hoping to get it cranking in the next couple days. It's definitely cold enough!

 

[Mr.K]

Looks great! Just out of curiousity, which local shop did the original install?

 

[bholler]

Great job its really nice to see diyer that went the extra mile to do a truley professional quality job

 

[Catan]

Do you know which company did the install? I am in Long island and have been looking for companies in the area too.