Flex Liner

[Prosecond]

I have decided I need to buy a 7" flex liner. I have been reading for a couple of months trying to decide what product to use and I am suprised how many choices there are. I want to buy a "heavy" liner. I have seen some members frown on the "thinner" liners and say not to go cheap on something like this. I agree with this. I am amazed that some of the liners cost nearly twice as much of some others. Even the insulation varies greatly in price.

What would be your top pick for one of the best liners? I have my ideas but I would like to hear from others.

Are all 1/2" roll insulation created equal? Should I just buy the cheapest I can find?

Is the tape used with the roll insulation just normal hvac aluminum tape? some places want like $50 for a roll of tape. I can get the regular hvac suff for around $12.

I want good stuff I just don't want to over pay. I appreciate any feed back and recommendations that anyone would be willing to suggest.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Out of curiosity, why 7"? Most stoves are either 6 or 8". Is this for a furnace or boiler? My boiler exit is 7".

I went with a liner kit from Chimney Liner Depot. The kit came with everything I needed. The tape is just there to hold the insulation together until you get the wire net around it. It may stay on, but if it ever gets hot, the Al is going to melt before the steel mesh.

Matt

 

[Prosecond]

Thanks for the tip on the tape.

I guess I should have included some additional information. I have a 40' tall masonry chimney that is located inside my home. It is on an exterior wall but just inside and I did insulate between the wall and the masonry. I removed a 8x8 clay liner and wanted to install an 8" liner with insulation. I have a small area that I don't think I can get an 8" liner with a wrap of 1/2" insulation through. After some research I think I will be OK with the 7" liner due to the hight and the chimney being internal. My chimney is 4' above the roof line and the house is on top of a windy hill with no trees within 200 yards. I really want the insulation because I have wood thouching the masonry. If I were not to insulate I could get the 8" in but I would not have as much protection.

I am venting a Vermont Castings defiant wood stove.

 

[pen]

Does that defiant have an 8 inch exhaust?

pen

 

[Prosecond]

Yes, the Defiant has an 8" exhaust. The book says I can use an 8" or 6" flue. If it is vented with a 6" flue the book says not to burn the stove with the doors open like a fireplace. I have zero interest in burning with the doors open anyway. My biggest fear is back puffing.

 

[Prosecond]

I would really like to hear from other defiant owners who have their stove connected to something other than an 8" flue.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

A 40 foot internal chimney will draft like a sumb*tch.

Matt

 

[grrzoot]

you will have no problem with a 7" liner, properly insulated, on a defiant with a 40' chimney. I like armor flex heavy liner over other brands mainly because of price. I hope you do realize 40' or heavy liner will be around 320 lbs to haultup 40' and put it. There is danger of it getting out of control and crashing down, become hoplessly (without some chimney reconstruction) stuck.

 

[BrotherBart]

I would really like to hear from other defiant owners who have their stove connected to something other than an 8" flue.

Start a thread to that effect then. Not many Defiant owners are probably gonna look at a thread titled "Flex Liner".

 

[Prosecond]

I know it will be heavy. I was in a big hurry to get this thing installed about 3 months ago and then I found this place. I decided to slow down and make sure I am doing things the best way they can be done. I think I will install 20' at a time and connect it in the middle. Bingo, only a 20' liner to carry up on the roof. Problem will be holding the whole thing.

I have been trying to buy a short section of 8" liner via craigslist, ebay, and a wtb here with no luck. I wanted to run a section of 8" liner throught the chimney to make sure it would fit. Best I have been able to do without a short section of flex is take a 11" long piece of 8" rigid and run it from roof top to thimble without any problems. I do have three "windows" broken into the chimney from the removale of the clay liner where I will be able to help install the liner.

Thanks for letting me know it would weigh that much.

When I was breaking out the liner it was quite dusty but in about a minute the dust would be sucked up the chimney clearing my view. My draft seems to be great. I have a fireplace that is a pain to dump the ashes down. They keep blowing up when I try to sweep them down the ash dump.

 

[BrotherBart]

I think I will install 20' at a time and connect it in the middle. Bingo, only a 20' liner to carry up on the roof. Problem will be holding the whole thing.

Problem will be mating them up and doing the connection?

 

[grrzoot]

your going to need 4 people to do it, the best way is all in one piece

 

[Prosecond]

I origionally wanted to install it in one piece but some of the people I have called suggested 2 pieces. Maybe they don't sell liners 40' long. They all made it sound easy to install a coupling. It is hard to do huh? My first thoughts were one piece.

I think I want to use a Homesaver pro liner. Would this be acceptable or could you suggest a different liner?

 

[grrzoot]

I origionally wanted to install it in one piece but some of the people I have called suggested 2 pieces. Maybe they don't sell liners 40' long. They all made it sound easy to install a coupling. It is hard to do huh? My first thoughts were one piece.

I think I want to use a Homesaver pro liner. Would this be acceptable or could you suggest a different liner?

you can get it in any legth you want, the problem is dangling one 20 foot piece inside the chimney while you are holding on to another 20 foot piece and trying to screw them together. If you wanted to pm me i can give you a couple manufacturers. homesaver pro is excellent, if expensive.

 

[BrotherBart]

I think the answer to this one is to feed it in from the bottom with a hand winch up top. One person feeds liner in the bottom while the other one gently winches it up. There are winches made just for that or you can make one with a boat trailer winch.

Best in this case is get pros to install the thing.

 

[Intheswamp]

As for getting a solid 40' piece of flex pipe, there *may* be an issue with shipping, I've seen notes with some vendors that pipes over "X" many feet will be shipped in two pieces. I'm pretty sure that UPS will not take a package that big, but a regular freight line will.

Ed

 

[jerseykat1]

I think the answer to this one is to feed it in from the bottom with a hand winch up top. One person feeds liner in the bottom while the other one gently winches it up. There are winches made just for that or you can make one with a boat trailer winch.

Best in this case is get pros to install the thing.

This IMO seems like the safest method of installation. You do realize that your going to have some SERIOUS draft. You should install a damper in there somewhere. Good luck finding a one piece 40' liner. I think the 8" might be better if you can fit it, only because the larger diameter should slow the draft down a bit.

 

[Prosecond]

I had a friend suggest getting one of the crane trucks used in construction to set roof trusses to lower the liner in the chimney. It might be worth the $200 cost for the ease and safety factor.

The first 30' of the liner should go without any problem. It is the last 10' where I have tight clearances. I have broken out some block in that area to remove the clay liner and should help with the new liner install.

I did have a chimney sweep look at it and his price was over 5k. I prefer to do things myself and decided this is a project I want to do. I can't imagine many homeowners are willing to get on their roof and remove 40' of clay liner. I felt if I could do this I should be able to install the new liner.

I certainly do appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and advice.

 

[grrzoot]

if you buy the armor flex from olympia it comes rolled up, like a big doughnut. no problem with shippers, just get a lift gate

 

[BrotherBart]

if you buy the armor flex from olympia it comes rolled up, like a big doughnut. no problem with shippers, just get a lift gate

Well first Olympia ain't gonna sell to a consumer lately but just through dealers, and second I have never seen anybody ship a liner over 25' in one piece.

Realizing I can be wrong. Happens every day according to posters here. :smirk: Always willing to learn.

 

[grrzoot]

if you buy the armor flex from olympia it comes rolled up, like a big doughnut. no problem with shippers, just get a lift gate

Well first Olympia ain't gonna sell to a consumer lately but just through dealers, and second I have never seen anybody ship a liner over 25' in one piece.

Realizing I can be wrong. Happens every day according to posters here. :smirk: Always willing to learn.

well i can sell liner, i am a businessowner, but i wasn't going to go there. There are also some places online that have access to thier product and will sell direct, you just have to call the right people and make sure to check prices not to get gouged, that heavy duty liner isnt cheap, plus insulation wrap. I would fill with thermix. Especiallay if you are going to get a coupler, and crane plus 40' roof plus 200 lbs of liner = big danger. THen you have to couple the liner and wrap that section, i mean you wont be able to pull wire mesh on the roof around the liner, it cant just be insulated. The insulation will rip off on entry especially if you have clearance issues. If you use therm mix the liner install will go much easier and you can pour in two stages, one from the hole you mentioned and one from the top.

 

[Prosecond]

The wrap insulation is quite expensive. I do not have the required 1" clearance from my framing to the masonry. It was my understanding that I needed the 1/2" insulation wrap to meet code. Is this correct or can I use the perlite insulation? I don't have any code enforcement where I am but I do want to follow code if possible. If I use the wrap I planned on putting the insulation on with the metal protection on the ground and then lift with the crane. If it is a 40' one piece liner I will only have to guide the liner down the chimney and then install the top plate and cap.

 

[grrzoot]

withthe wrap you only need 1/2" insulation on all sides, with the poured you need 1" it depends on the room you have available.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

you can get HSpro 7" up to 60' lenghts tractor trailer
pretty light stuff.

why use so much flex? why not use almost all ridgid? 10-15$ a foot vs 15-20$ for the flex...
plus it is alot more durable

 

[Prosecond]

you can get HSpro 7" up to 60' lenghts tractor trailer
pretty light stuff.

why use so much flex? why not use almost all ridgid? 10-15$ a foot vs 15-20$ for the flex...
plus it is alot more durable

Actually this was the first plan I came up with. I only need 8' of flex and then the rest could be rigid. Simpson Duravent says you can connect their flex directly to their rigid. The problem was the flex only came in 5' lengths. I see many advantages to using the rigid. I like the heat fab rigid with the insulation blankets or maybe the per-lite insulation. I also didn't like the 10 year warranty from Simpson.

I talked to a sweep and he suggested flex only and so did others here. I thought maybe I was being crazy to think rigid and flex. It would be nice to carry 8' of flex up onto the roof and a couple sections of rigid. Not to mention all the advantages of the rigid.

What rigid can I buy for only $10 a foot? Can it be connected to flex with something like an appliance connector? I just don't want to use something that is jerry-built.