black stove pipe or flex liner questions

[bama]

which would you use installing as a insert in a fireplace with flueliners? Chimney is a standard masonry with flue liners. The stove is a buck and it has a 8 inch outlet on stove. How long does the flex pipe last ? Which is best 304 or 316ti? Will black stove pipe be better or last longer? flue is 13x13. How and what do you need to get through damper in both cases? I had thought about using the block off plate and nothing else past it but the flue liners but not sure what is sufficent. I would like to do best option but worried about cost. And forgot to mention chimney is on outside of house. thanks for any info.

 

[Gooserider]

which would you use installing as a insert in a fireplace with flueliners? Chimney is a standard masonry with flue liners. The stove is a buck and it has a 8 inch outlet on stove. How long does the flex pipe last ? Which is best 304 or 316ti? Will black stove pipe be better or last longer? flue is 13x13. How and what do you need to get through damper in both cases? I had thought about using the block off plate and nothing else past it but the flue liners but not sure what is sufficent. I would like to do best option but worried about cost. And forgot to mention chimney is on outside of house. thanks for any info.

It is a MAJOR code violation to use black stovepipe anyplace where it can not be readily inspected - like in a chimney. DON'T DO THAT Black pipe is very subject to corrosion and has a short lifespan, it must be used ONLY where it can be watched and replaced when it gets to be unsafe.

You should use a stainless steel liner, preferably 316Ti, that is UL listed for the application. You should also insulate the liner especially given that you have an outside chimney, and put in a block off plate at the top and bottom. You could use flex liner, or you may want to consider rigid stainless, which is more expensive, but is often pre-insulated, and is easier to clean - it does require a straight chimney however. Some people also use a combination of rigid for most of the length, and flex for the bottom 5' or so in order to get through the damper and connect to the insert.

The trouble is that you have an 8" outlet stove, so unless you have a manual stating that it can be used w/ a 6" liner, you will have to go with 8" which is MUCH more expensive than 6" - enough so that many people replace the stove with one that can use a 6" liner. Especially if your Buck is one of the old Pre-EPA "smoke dragons" you might want to consider upgrading the stove to something more modern that can use a 6" liner, it won't cost much more, and you'll get more heat from less wood, pollute a lot less, and have less of a job cleaning the chimney.

The damper is something you need to deal with on an individual basis, as much depends on just what size it is, how it's installed, etc. Some people use a length of oval flex to go through the damper area, or "ovalize" their flex (this should only be done a small amount to avoid reducing the cross section area excessively) Many people go in with a sawzall or other tools and cut out the damper frame so that they can go through without interference, although this does mean that the fireplace can never again be used w/o an insert or stove installed (I don't know why anyone would want to, but this bothers some folks)

Gooserider