Newbie - Chimney liner question

[thehesbomb]

We have a Breckwell P23I which we are trying to have installed. Chimney spans 3 stories, probably around 25-30 feet, in a straight shot, center of the house with clay. House was built in 1950, chimney is well maintained and clean. How necessary is a liner? We are being quoted close to $600 for liner cost alone and trying to decide whether safety warrants it. Any advice (gentle or not) is much appreciated.

 

[BJN644]

If the liner is not cracked it should be good. They still build chimneys today using clay tile. Have it inspected by somone with a down the flue camera for better piece of mind.

 

[jbrown56]

If the flue tiles are in good shape and no larger than 8"x8", you should be okay. If the flue is larger, you should install a liner. Does the stove have a 6" exaust port? If it does, your stove is made to exaust into a 6" chimney. If your chimney is located on the outside of your house, you should also insulate the liner. My chimney is straight down and I installed a rigid liner. I my opinion, it's a much better product than the flex liner. It's a little more money, but worth it.

Jim

 

[BrotherBart]

Since that Breckwell is a pellet stove I would say that it seriously needs a 4" liner in that chimney to maintain draft in case of a power failure or stove component failure. Pellet stoves are notorious for smoking up the house during a power failure. That clay flue will not get hot enough to establish and maintain a proper draft with the relatively cool exhaust of a pellet stove but a 4" liner will.

I am going to move this thread over the The Pellet Mill and Corn Crib room for better exposure to pellet stove users for recommendations.

 

[imacman]

If your stove has a 3" outlet, I think you definately should install a liner. They are not that expensive if you go to someplace like eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Dia-x-25-S-S-Chimney-Liner-Kit-Oil-Gas-Pellet_W0QQitemZ120324746585QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item120324746585&_trkparms=72:570|39:1|66:2|65:12|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

[thehesbomb]

Yes I actually found one on Ebay which we could afford and I am waiting to hear from our installer. Given the length of our chimney I am thinking we will opt for a flex liner, both for price and ease of installation. Any big downside to flex that people have experienced?

 

[BrotherBart]

You should follow Breckwell's manual instructions and use 4" for a chimney height greater than 15 feet.

 

[imacman]

You should follow Breckwell's manual instructions and use 4" for a chimney height greater than 15 feet.

I agree

 

[thehesbomb]

Breckwell's manual doesn't specify flex OR rigid. We'd already planned to flute it out to 4" liner. I guess we will go with the flex if there's no compelling reason to do otherwise. Thank you all for the advice - it's been truly appreciated!

 

[Xena]

My chimney is 15 ft so it's not as tall as yours
but I used 3" rigid pellet vent from the stove
into a 4" Cleanout T, then Flex up the chimney
to the cap kit secured with concrete anchoring
screws on the top.
You are probably doing something very similar.