Stove advice: VC intrepid for opportunistic burning?

[EdwardK]

Me again !
Thanks for all the advice over the years...
Last winter I got oak and other hardwood offcuts from my brother at the saw mill. Much much better burning type and time. Had some pretty big chunks and they seemed to stay in most of the night and give out alot more heat and burn cleaner.

Now I'm trying to stock pile some oak chunks for next winter and be alot more selective about what I burn. I really think that this is the answer.
Still need some pine sticks for getting it going.
Also I've been burning it with all the controls mostly open for about 40 minutes or so to get everything up to temperature then burning oak half open for an hour or so before starting to tighten it up and it seems to hit a nice equilibrium.

I sweep it every year at about this time of year (or earlier) and this year when I came to take the stove out I noticed that the clay flue liner in the chimney was cracked....

I think this might have been either because I had a stub up into the clay from the metal plate. THis stub was tight and on the inside of the clay and might have expanded and cracked it. Or I rocked the stove getting it out and cracked the clay.
Anyway it leaks now ! Don't seem to be having too much luck...

I've been off to get a new section of clay liner (12" length with 7" ID) and was planning on taking some bricks out of the chimney above the granite lintel, chipping out the concrete, chipping out the first liner. THen replacing the old clay liner with a new one and making a small 3" or 4" steel collar that goes on the OUTSIDE of the clay liner. Probably with a transition to a smaller diameter steel pipe stub.
THis will then sit below the concrete level (will have to repour the concrete) and provide me with a steel stub sticking down an inch or so.

THen I can have a steel plate made up with a rebate into which this stub will stick down into. THen a longer stub on the plate sticking down to act as a slip collar for the main stove flue.

I'm also going to change the stove flue so that it is a T-shape rather than direct vertical into the top of the stove.
I've noticed a fair amount of corrosion in the back of the stove and I think that a T-shape will address this.

Any thoughts ?
Here are some images....

Thanks,
Ed

 

[EdwardK]

A friend has just been round and said to just put the new flue liner in and then repour the concrete flush with the bottom of it but make a better job of it this time and ensure that the concrete is smooth and level all the way across.

Then just bolt a steel stove flue pipe with a flate plate at one end to the concrete. He thought that a straightforward butt join between the concrete and the plate would be fine. Maybe add a bit of fireprrof material as a gasket between the plate and the concrete before tightening it up.
He said to not bother with stubs sticking up and down.

What is more usual ?

I thought that my method would mean that any condensate would have to remain inside the flue.

I think that his method is easier but I am worried that I might get leaks at the back of the flue as there isn't much space back there.

Any thoughts ?
Ed

 

[Gooserider]

Not really sure I follow your descriptions of either the problem or the proposed solutions, though it sounds like you are doing just the right thing on the wood stockpiling...

Photos would help, but it appears that you did do something wrong when posting them, and all I see is a list of file names, not the photos that you wanted to be there... Please try again to post your pictures, and hopefully this time it will work... (Not sure what went wrong, so I can't suggest a fix)

Gooserider