Chimney liner concerns on our setup?

[RJ in PA]

Good evening,

I was curious as to everyone's thoughts on the following situation:

We currently have a ~30 foot cinderblock + 8"x12.5" tile chimney (in interior of the home), built in the 1980s.
It has quite good draft, causing strong burns on our old kodiak wood stove insert.

Several years ago, a local stove specialist instialled what I believe to be a 6x9" or 4x9" oval corrugated flex steel 316ti liner from the top (with a raincap) to the stove. He had to push and pull it down pretty hard several times
In order to fit this liner in the chimney which has two bends, he chipped away and broke up parts of the old tile ( although not much). I think the chimney is in good shape otherwise.

Should I be concerned about the safety of this?
I do not think we will be able to insulate the pipe due to several reasons, or be able to fit in a insulated flex liner as well into the bendy narrow chimney.

I understand the code says that 2 inches of clearance around the chimney is required, but this is not possible for us in a older farmhouse.

Do people think this would be a safe setup? Would it be better or a good practice for me to just work along with this setup and clean out our chimney every 1-2 weeks during the burning months? I probably will clean from the bottom-up due to the roof steepness and height of our old farmhouse.

Or should I go the more laborious and expensive route of taking out the new liner, and trying to fit a insulated flex liner down the chimney?? I have a hard time imagining this being possible.

Thank you for your help and advice, I appreciate it!

 

[stoveliker]

I just note that the proposed solution (frequent cleaning) doesn't mitigate the problem of having combustibles within the 2" clearance distance around the chimney.

Pyrolysis happens slowly, and may not be seen until wood combusts suddenly because its ignition temperature has decreased enough.

 

[Ryan_C]

The bigger question is whether the liner is properly sized, continuous, and in good condition. If it's drafting well and you're not having creosote problems, cleaning every week or two shouldn't be necessary unless you're burning marginal wood.

As for insulation, it's definitely preferred, but if an insulated liner simply won't fit, I'd talk to a certified chimney sweep before tearing everything apart. There are plenty of older chimneys out there with uninsulated stainless liners that have operated safely for years, but I'd want someone to verify that your particular installation meets the liner listing and is appropriate for your chimney rather than assuming more frequent cleaning makes up for it.

 

[bholler]

Where are you in central pa?