Fireproof material to plug terra cotta liner?

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ansehnlich1

Retired Hearth.com Member
Dec 5, 2006
1,601
Adams County, PA
Ok, I know I can get a wealth of information here. This is what I have. I'm running a Jotul Oslo on an outside chimney, and it's doing really well. The chimney is brick, 2 feet square. Up the center of the chimney runs an 8x8OD terra cotta liner. This leaves an air space around the liner inside the brick chase. The bottom liner is cut out to allow access for chimney cleaning. This can be accessed through the typical steel cleanout door which is set into the brick of the chimney. I'd like to seal the opening at the base of the terra cotta liner with something and see how/if this would improve performance of my stove. What would you suggest? It would have to be temporary because I'll need it for cleanout purposes.

Also, I was wondering, if I seal the steel cleanout door (which is quite tight already) would that do the trick? How much air do you think would/could be sucked into the terra cotta liner from the space within the brick chase?

Lastly, I'd like to say, this chimney/stove is on the main floor of our home. The chimney drafts fine. I first roll several pieces of paper, throw some splits of 2x4's on top, then load a few small splits of wood, then 2 rolled pieces of paper on top. Leaving side door open for only 2 minutes or so, it fires right up and burns well. I've been taking the Oslo to between 500 and 600 degrees then shutting air to near closed. I lose secondary burn if I close the air completely. I shut 'er down last night about 10 pm and had an easy bed of coals this morning at 5:30 to throw some wood on and she fired right up again. I am thinking if I stuff this terra cotta liner at the bottom it may improve my burn time but am unsure.

What say you? :)
 
Sealing the clean out is generally a good idea. The seal will break off when you need it to.

As far as closing off the cold air "sump" in the bottom of the chimney, this is something I have suggested to certain customers for decades - even some insulation (with the foil or paper ripped off) will do the job pretty well if shoved about 6 inches below where the flue enters. However, this suggestion is usually made to people who are looking to get more draft (they have underdraft)...

Heck, try it for a short time, you have little to lose, and it should become evident if it is helping.
 
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