Entering my second year with a liner

[MJFlores]

Hi all, I'm entering my second year with a stainless insulated liner, and my Woodstock Fire view. I bought my FV new and burned with it for 12 years, in a regular brick and tile chimney but at the begining of last years burning season I had the tiles broken out of the chimney and a stainless insulated liner put down in. I have to say, what a difference it made. Better draft, the stove heats up quicker, and no more bad thoughts and worry about potential problems. To keep my lifetime warranty on the liner I have to have it inspected every year. I figure, fine...I'll let them clean and inspect it so there's no problems with an insurance claim should the worst happen. They were just out last week...the guys went up on the roof, came back down and said "that's one of the cleanest flu's we've ever seen". We cant even sweep it because there's nothing to sweep...so you're saving 100 bucks today! They inspected the whole length first inside, and then from the roof with lights and a camera. Sweet!! I even remember burning some wood toward the end of last year that wasn't perfectly seasoned (it hissed for a bit when it got going). I'm thrilled with that liner, and have always been very fond of my Fire view. If you're thinking of getting a liner installed, do it! The peace of mind is worth it alone, and the added performance is a huge bonus.

 

[firefighterjake]

Huzzah for you!

Was talking to a co-worker the other day . . . who also has a sweep business on the side. He said he often talks to home owners about burning seasoned wood, burning at the right temps, etc. and as a result he has said he has actually ended up with less money as some chimneys he no longer has to sweep as often and in some cases he has just done an inspection without the cleaning charge.

On the other hand he said he has also lost a few customers over the years when he has had to tell a home owner that they either have to change the way they burn or find a new sweep. He said one customer would call him 2-3 times each winter to have him unplug his chimney. Guy claimed that the new liner was the reason for the problem . . . except that the Sweep said the reason he started working for the guy was because his old clay liner was broke when a chimney fire caused that chimney to fail. Some folks never learn.

 

[begreen]

Congratulations. It sounds like you have the winning ingredients there: a good clean burning stove connected to a proper flue, good dry wood, and good stove operation. Well done!

 

[Squisher]

Nice. I just installed a liner last weekend and hope to have the same experience you have. So far so good. I changed stoves when I did it so can't really compare to my old chimney. But as yourself the peace of mind of having a new liner is worth it to me.