Liner a few inches too short

[RickBlaine]

Learned my lesson....I did not listen to the wise members here

Bottom line, I cut my ChimneyLinerDepot Flex King HD liner (very tough single wall, smooth to help with draft) a few inches too short. This was because I was going to install a much taller Drolet 1800 with a pedestal, but had to return it. The retail store would not offer a replacement at the sale price. So I went with my very close second choice- an Englander 13 (BONUS - My niece goes to college 2 miles from where Englander is headquartered, so I know the town!)

My few extra "safety" inches of liner for the Drolet is now no longer long enough for the Englander. I will have to order a 12" long stainless steel pipe to fit directly into the stove's top, then the appliance connector fitted into the top of this 12" steel pipe, then I can connect the Flex King HD to the appliance connector. This ensures the creosote will fall down as all the male connectors are on top.

The good news is that the 12" long stainless steel pipe is only about $25, and I can shorten that pipe by cutting the male end of it (!) to fit to length I need into the stove.

I suppose this pipe is single walled, stainless steel. Should I wrap some insulation around it?





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[bholler]

I don't see any need to wrap it it will be below the block off plate correct.

 

[BrotherBart]

I would do the addition up top. Not down at the stove. Add a piece of liner with a coupler. Don't get some convoluted mess down at the stove connection. Or use that SS pipe up top with a coupler.

 

[RickBlaine]

I would do the addition up top. Not down at the stove. Add a piece of liner with a coupler. Don't get some convoluted mess down at the stove connection. Or use that SS pipe up top with a coupler.

Thank you. Would that be a female to female, or a male to male coupler connector? I do have a couple of feet of extra liner Flex King HD liner remaining. I could join the two pieces of flex liner with your coupler suggestion. Would that be preferred over a Stainless Steel pipe?

I assume if it goes on top, it would have to be Class A chimney pipe. But if it goes on bottom, it could be ????

Want to make sure I don't wind up with something that will gather creosote.

 

[bholler]

Most companies make coupler for their liners it will be female to male and they should not really collect any creosote. Make sure you use rivets screws will back out over time. And yeah why wouldn't you use the flex liner if you have it. The only reason you would need class a was if you were extending it out the top of the chimney.

 

[RickBlaine]

I have insulation around the flex liner. Do the couplers account for that, or do I need to remove the insulation at the connection point?

To confirm, the female end will be facing upwards?

This will be right at the line of the block-off plate. Am wondering if it is better to use a coupler and another 8" of flex liner, or just get a rigid stainless steel pipe?

 

[bholler]

Well I would put the coupler at the top and yes you will need to strip off the insulation. And yes female up. Why buy a piece of rigid when you have the flex?

 

[1kzwoman]

What about a raised hearth. Don't know how much is a few, or cost considerations, but could be an option inside the bottom of fireplace or an adaptation of legs

 

[RickBlaine]

Well I would put the coupler at the top and yes you will need to strip off the insulation. And yes female up. Why buy a piece of rigid when you have the flex?

Thank you....I did price out the coupler and the pipe- each is about $30....

What about a raised hearth. Don't know how much is a few, or cost considerations, but could be an option inside the bottom of fireplace or an adaptation of legs

Thank you for the suggestion but the stove is in a fireplace already (please see picture).

 

[bholler]

Well you will probably need some type of coupler for the rigid pipe to unless you use it on the top and crimp it so It fits into the liner.

 

[1kzwoman]

Thank you....I did price out the coupler andabout $30....



Thank you for the suggestion but the stove is in a fireplace already (please see picture).

Yes I see that but two inches of block/brick could have an impact laid in bottom by mason and not collect ceosote as you feared. Might interfere with working clearances as far as setting stove however

 

[begreen]

I had that same thought if the distance is only 2" I would put down a layer of brick and set the stove on top of them. Of course murphy's law says it is 2.75" too short, right?

 

[chimneylinerjames]

Maybe you already have this figured out but......one thing that concerns me is the hearth. That is a very small hearth. Then there are wood floors. Do you have or plan on getting a hearth extension? Don't want your house to burn down.

 

[RickBlaine]

I had that same thought if the distance is only 2" I would put down a layer of brick and set the stove on top of them. Of course murphy's law says it is 2.75" too short, right?

@begreen: I thought about the various solutions and decided on purchasing a short straight stainless steel pipe to put into the stove. At the top of this stainless steel pipe I will connect the flexible liner. I looked at couplers, and using that to connect a small length of additional flexible liner I have laying around, but figured the cost would be the same (about $30)- and I assume, same result regardless if I made up the difference in height utilizing a straight pipe or with a coupler + additional flexible liner.

The building inspector will be here end of next week, I have to finish this project and make it legal and safe. I am embarrassed that I cut it too short. I thought I was getting ahead and doing things right, but ended up having to switch stoves (Englander 13 is 4.25 inches shorter that the Drolet 1800, AND the Englander 13 WITH legs is 2.25 inches shorter than an Englander with a pedestal).

I learned my lesson....install the stove THEN cut the liner.

Maybe you already have this figured out but......one thing that concerns me is the hearth. That is a very small hearth. Then there are wood floors. Do you have or plan on getting a hearth extension? Don't want your house to burn down.

Excellent point! I am in Chicago and wood burning stoves are very rare here. So rare that the building inspection team is using my house as a test case. Everyone in Chicago has a natural gas pipe hook up, so wood stoves are considered a novelty. Many homes here have old, inefficient fireplaces that lose heat every winter. So few people use their brick fireplaces because they have learned that it costs money to use, and all your warm house air goes right out the flue.

I suspect if my project is successful, you may see a push for homeowners to convert/add old fireplaces into small stoves (with liners!).

Back to your concern about the raised hearth:

The hearth is 12.5 inches above the wood floor. Last month, I did remove the old, cracked 20 inches of tile in front of the fireplace. My building inspector interpreted the Englander 13's requirements to be such that I do NOT have to raise a 16 inch hearth extension, but only to provide a non-combustible floor protection for 16 inches in front of the stove. I do have some tile and can do this project, or will ask if one of those removable (summertime) "ember protection" mats can be used.

 

[begreen]

A nice tiled front extension can look attractive, be practical and permanent. Rugs are not permanent so the tile is what I would do.

 

[RickBlaine]

@begreen: Thank you....I will probably tile it so that the 18 inches in front of the stove (even though the stove is 12.5 inches above) has protection and put a nice border around it. Am thinking I may extend the tile out sideways by an additional 24 inches just to place the next load of firewood and such.

The tile I have is 18 inches, so not cutting needed. Otherwise I would have just stuck with the 16 inch requirement. The tile and backing should wind up being about 7/8 of an inch in height.