5.5 liner question

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MikeP

Member
Hearth Supporter
Mar 15, 2006
92
Northern NY
To anyone who has done a 5.5" liner with a T at the bottom, what size is the connector pipe that comes out of the T? Is it a standard pipe size (6"?) to connect to your stove pipe, or do you need some type of adapter?

Also does anyone see me having an issue getting a 5.5" with the wrapped insulation down a tile lined, straight chimney about 20'? I'm sure insulated 6" wont go, and just wanted to make sure the 5.5" will fit before I order.
 
what is the size of the tile?
 
The tee snouts are six inch. But be sure and verify with the vendor. The problem you will have with insulation is that you are going to have to shove the liner down the flue with the tee turned sideways to get it down and then turn the liner to mate up the tee with the crock because most of the tees have a lip on them for the snout to mate up to. Turning it with the insulation on it will be a bear.

What brand of liner are you looking at?
 
5.5" liner will probably be close to 6" on the outside and add and inch for wrapped insulation. I don't think there is a 100% way to know without ordering it and trying it. Tiles could have mortar squeezed out of the joints etc. causing interface issues. I'm dealing with the same thing right now and think I'll be pouring the insulation.
 
rdust said:
5.5" liner will probably be close to 6" on the outside and add and inch for wrapped insulation. I don't think there is a 100% way to know without ordering it and trying it. Tiles could have mortar squeezed out of the joints etc. causing interface issues. I'm dealing with the same thing right now and think I'll be pouring the insulation.

Yeah. I had to give up on the tee in my basement flue and just turned the liner 90 degrees into the crock. Try as I may I could not get that tee down that flue. Since I was not going to be able to reach up to uncap it anyway it worked out better. To clean it I just drop a rope and pull the brush all the way through.
 
BrotherBart said:
The tee snouts are six inch. But be sure and verify with the vendor. The problem you will have with insulation is that you are going to have to shove the liner down the flue with the tee turned sideways to get it down and then turn the liner to mate up the tee with the crock because most of the tees have a lip on them for the snout to mate up to. Turning it with the insulation on it will be a bear.

What brand of liner are you looking at?

Was looking at the flex king from e-bay, seem to have good feedback there, and on here from my searches.

As far as the wrap vs. the pour in, the chimney is touching framing in the basement, and probably other spots, and there is no way I could be sure that the liner is evenly spaced enough for the pour in after insulation.
 
BrotherBart said:
rdust said:
5.5" liner will probably be close to 6" on the outside and add and inch for wrapped insulation. I don't think there is a 100% way to know without ordering it and trying it. Tiles could have mortar squeezed out of the joints etc. causing interface issues. I'm dealing with the same thing right now and think I'll be pouring the insulation.

Yeah. I had to give up on the tee in my basement flue and just turned the liner 90 degrees into the crock. Try as I may I could not get that tee down that flue. Since I was not going to be able to reach up to uncap it anyway it worked out better. To clean it I just drop a rope and pull the brush all the way through.

BrotherBart, was this a square 8" (really 7x7 or so) tile or the rectangular type like I have, 7x11 inside dimension??
 
Both flues are 7x11 ID.
 
Thanks for the input guys.

New question, anyone ever use the Duravent Duraliner rigid liner? Thinking now of using that instead of the flex. It measures 6 5/8" outside dia. and its metal outside skin wont snag on things going down the chimney. Its a little more expensive, but if it installs easier I think it will be worth it.
 
Everything I hear says the Duraliner is great stuff. Go for it.
 
I have the rigid oval Duraliner installed into a 7" x 11" tile flue. I believe I used 11' of rigid with 5' of flex through the damper to the stove. I pre-assembled the flex to the 1st 4' of rigid.
Put the top support clamp on & lowered that down with a rope thru the middle as a backup control. That was an adventure trying to do it by myself while balancing on top of my chimney. Had to give a shout to my neighbor to come up on the ladder & guide the bottom while I struggled to balance the top. When that was lowered down with the clamp holding it, then I riveted in the 3' section, lowered that & then the final 4' section. Used the rope to easily guide the flex thru the damper.

Biggest problem I had was trying to line up to the 30* round to oval adapter on top of my Englander 13. I was doing this by myself & it was a b%^&h;to get it right as I had to keep going outside to loosen the clamp to lift or lower the pipe to the right height. Finally got smart & used a hydraulic car jack with a 6 x 6 on it. That allowed me to line up just about perfectly. Back outside to lock the clamp on to hold that height. Pulled the jack out & then slid the stove in place into my existing masonry fireplace.

Oh yeah, had another problem. That was trying to slide the Duraliner insulation sleeve up over the flex & then tighten the clamps on it while reaching up thru the slot where the damper used to be. It was also almost impossible to slide the insulation up over the edge of the flex. The batting kept snagging. Finally got smart. Cut the bottom off a gallon antifreeze bottle & secured that over the liner edge. Then the sleeve went right on.

Al
 
what is the OD typically for tees for 5.5-inch flex pipe? I am thinking I might not be able to get the tee down to my basement thimble. It will have to travel down 6" x 6" square flue tiles.

If the tee doesn't work, can flex pipe turn 90 degrees without getting compromised?
 
outside diameter on a 5.5 pipe is 5 7/8 you need to add 3/8 to any flex pipe to get o.d. The flex corrugations are 3/16 of an inch tall.

zanp said:
what is the OD typically for tees for 5.5-inch flex pipe? I am thinking I might not be able to get the tee down to my basement thimble. It will have to travel down 6" x 6" square flue tiles.

If the tee doesn't work, can flex pipe turn 90 degrees without getting compromised?
 
also, make sure you get a base tee that is a two piece with a removable snout. Take the snout off before the install, run it down the chimney and add the snout back on at the bottom.

zanp said:
what is the OD typically for tees for 5.5-inch flex pipe? I am thinking I might not be able to get the tee down to my basement thimble. It will have to travel down 6" x 6" square flue tiles.

If the tee doesn't work, can flex pipe turn 90 degrees without getting compromised?
 
zanp said:
what is the OD typically for tees for 5.5-inch flex pipe? I am thinking I might not be able to get the tee down to my basement thimble. It will have to travel down 6" x 6" square flue tiles.

If the tee doesn't work, can flex pipe turn 90 degrees without getting compromised?
That's going to be one tight fit, better hope the joints are all perfect! You might want to lube her up before sliding it in! :cheese:

In all seriousness, you should consider breaking the existing tiles out and then doing a pour in or flex liner. Insulation would be mandatory.
 
Actually, it is 6.5" x 6.5" so I should have a little more room to work with. My main problem is that is takes about a 22.5 degree turn halfway down to get around the main floor fireplace. I don't think a rigid tee bottom will be able to make this turn. Do they make a short tee that I could connect to the flex pipe at the bottom of my thimble connection (existing 8" ID thimble in basement). In other words, I would not connect the tee to the flex pipe until i got the flex pipe down the flue.
 
Ya gotta get the tee in there somehow. And if you did working just through the thimble would be a bear. If you have a cleanout door below the thimble you could lower the liner all the way down and attach the tee then pull it back up. That offset will make pulling it back up a little hairy but getting the liner down past it in the first place will be too. If it is an eight inch diameter crock you might end up doing what I did and that is gently turning the liner right into the thimble and skipping the tee.
 
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