New Wood Stove - Always new Chimney/Liner?

[littlalex]

Going to install a new wood burner - Replacing a '77 Reliant that would need a rebuild, burns to much wood and is too much stove for our about 900-1000 ft. vacation home turned year round with add on room.

I know this has been covered somewhere, I'm sure more than once, but my searches are not finding the info...a lot of related but not my direct question...apologies all around.

Simply, does one always have to replace the chimney/flue when dropping in a new stove? This stove and chimney have been here for a long time, but exactly how long we don't know. We've been here 4.5 yrs.

I'm about to call a certified sweep to answer my question but if it's a moot point there's no point in spending the money as we can't afford a new stove (the easy cheap part) and a new chimney setup.

Thanks in advance and again apologies for another recurring thread.

Peace,
Littlalex

 

[leeave96]

Chimney/liner does not have to be replaced with a new stove - however, have it checked for cracks, etc and replace or repair if necessary.

Good luck,
Bill

 

[littlalex]

Thanks for the response Bill.

Littlalex

 

[BrotherBart]

Somebody that knows needs to inspect that chimney. We can't see it from here.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

It's not clear from your post what kind of chimney you have but it should at least be swept and inspected at the same time. If it's a masonry chimney without a liner you should run a liner up it, especially if it doesn't have Terra Cotta flue tiles inside it.

 

[Wood Duck]

Lots of people install new stoves with old chinmeys/liners. As long as the chimney/liner is in good condition it should be fine I think. You're on the right track getting it inspected and cleaned - the peace of mind will be worth the cost. Before the inspection I think you should do your own inspection. You might not be able to identify subtle problems, but if there is something obvious or questionable it woul be a good learning experience for you to ponder it a while then ask the chimney sweep's opinion. Also it would be good for you to see the buildup (if any) and hear the sweep's opinion on it. I think we should all be able to learn what a clean chimney, a slightly sooty but OK chimney, and a 'needs cleaning immediately' chimney look like. I need lots more experience at this myself.

 

[Fsappo]

I would consult with the stove shop your planning on buying the new stove from. They may be a little more objective than a chimney sweep who stands to gain little unless they sell you some chimney work. Make sure the stove shop sends someone who is NFI Certified for the inspection.

 

[littlalex]

Duh, the stove I mentioned replacing is actually a vigilant, not a reliant! - just for the record

Hey, I'm old - Littlalex

 

[littlalex]

Kind Folks - I'm inclined to go the other way other than using a stove shop for the inspection...I'm thinking they're going to want to sell me a stove but I'm going to buy an nc-13 at the cheapest price I can find, whether online or at a big box store.

That makes me inclined to go the route of the sweep. BTW does CSIA certification for a sweep have any meaning?

Thanks again for the info/opinions.

Littlalex

 

[begreen]

A CSIA certified chimney sweep would be a good place to start. Here is a link to find some in your area:
http://www.csia.org/default.aspx?tabid=174

 

[cmonSTART]

CSIA certified means a ton!

 

[BrotherBart]

Yeah a certified sweep is good to go. I won't go back and look up the picture right now but a forum member posted a pic of the section of their chimney in the attic that they had used for years. When the guy pulled it out to replace it you would not believe what a disaster was waiting to happen. Or why it hadn't already happened.

OK. I found it.

 

[littlalex]

Dear Folks - I certainly don't know anyone here yet, but I feel the need to share something personal.

While I've been asking my questions I've been fighting the intense urge to inject some gallows humor into the proceedings, what with me planning my wood burning future while I've been sitting by the phone waiting to hear the results of a bunch of medical tests because it was strongly suspected that I had kidney cancer of an advanced nature.

Well diggety damn, I get the call and it turns out I have no cancer at all!

And even better, to return to topic, we had a fairly large T-Storm here in Hewitt NJ a little while later and a neighbors' (an absent owner who's been trying to sell his house) 100 ft Ash gets knocked down into our yard (broke off about 8' from the ground and didn't touch the fence) and didn't damage a single thing!

I'm an atheist, but still, from now on I'm going to refer to it as "the miracle of the tree", the universe telling me, "and here's a head start on next years wood."

Ain't life grand?!

Littlalex

 

[raybonz]

Dear Folks - I certainly don't know anyone here yet, but I feel the need to share something personal.

While I've been asking my questions I've been fighting the intense urge to inject some gallows humor into the proceedings, what with me planning my wood burning future while I've been sitting by the phone waiting to hear the results of a bunch of medical tests because it was strongly suspected that I had kidney cancer of an advanced nature.

Well diggety damn, I get the call and it turns out I have no cancer at all!

And even better, to return to topic, we had a fairly large T-Storm here in Hewitt NJ a little while later and a neighbors' (an absent owner who's been trying to sell his house) 100 ft Ash gets knocked down into our yard (broke off about 8' from the ground and didn't touch the fence) and didn't damage a single thing!

I'm an atheist, but still, from now on I'm going to refer to it as "the miracle of the tree", the universe telling me, "and here's a head start on next years wood."

Ain't life grand?!

Littlalex

First off welcome to the forum Alex! Second I'm glad you got good news from the doctor! Third it's time to start living and get this wood stove thing done! This is the slow time of year here with a few diehards who check in from time to time.. Feel free to ask any and all questions.. If you haven't done it start getting wood as all modern stoves need dry wood to run properly and save you lots of agravation and headaches..

Good Luck!

Ray