Pipe connection to chimney

[muncybob]

Wood Gun strongly suggests SS pipe be used not only in the chimney but also for connection from the boiler to the chimney...I would imagine due to condensation? I plan to call WG with this question but also want opinions from the forum members that have experience in this area. In my searching I see that there is not only SS double wall pipe(very $$!) but there is double wall pipe that is SS inside and galvanzied or aluminized outside. The latter is considerably cheaper and I wonder if this type would not be suffient since the inner pipe is SS? Thoughts?

 

[Gooserider]

IMHO black steel connector pipe is a "consumable" item - it will rust out and need to be replaced on a regular basis... This is especially true of the lighter weight "snap seam" stuff. Stainless should last the life of the install, and then some, so I figure it's a better investment. I'm not aware of any stainless double-wall connector pipe, but could be missing something.

I think you may be looking at CLASS A chimney pipe in your description - I know that they make that with both stainless and galvanized exterior. If it is chimney pipe that you are looking at, the recomendation I've generally seen is that you can mix the two types as long as you stay with the same brand and series, so it works well to go with the lower cost galvanized going up through the house, where there is no weather exposure and it doesn't show, then transition to the better looking and weather resistant stainless for the part that sticks out of the roof...

They do make a single wall stainless connector pipe, very nice though it does cost 2-3X the cheaper black stuff... I would tend to use that for my connection between the boiler and chimney, though I might be convinced to look at wrapping it in some sort of insulation blanket (Something that should NEVER be done w/ black pipe!). The other option might be to use Class A all the way to the boiler, but this can be a challenge since you can't really cut it, which makes it hard to get a good fit.

Gooserider

 

[pybyr]

a word of caution here-- 'Stainless' does not mean corrosion- proof- merely corrosion-resistant -- it's just a material that is less likely to corrode, or to corrode under a narrower range of circumstances (and the particular circumstances may vary between different alloys of stainless steel).

Not that stainless is bad- just that it can lead to a false sense of security if you think that it's truly everlasting or invincible

Now if only someone would come up with affordable Titanium flue pipe... (even that would corrode, but only if you got it up to temperatures that would be a problem unto themselves regardless of the corrosion factors)...

 

[Gooserider]

a word of caution here-- 'Stainless' does not mean corrosion- proof- merely corrosion-resistant -- it's just a material that is less likely to corrode, or to corrode under a narrower range of circumstances (and the particular circumstances may vary between different alloys of stainless steel).

Not that stainless is bad- just that it can lead to a false sense of security if you think that it's truly everlasting or invincible

Now if only someone would come up with affordable Titanium flue pipe... (even that would corrode, but only if you got it up to temperatures that would be a problem unto themselves regardless of the corrosion factors)...

Technically true, but in my limited experience the varieties of stainless that they use for wood stove chimneys seems to be very durable under the conditions of wood burning useage. Perhaps not eternal, but definitely better than the black steel stuff... Just as one example, the liner in our living room chimney is at least 15 years old, and evidence strongly suggests that it is around 30 (the age of the house, and the stove that was originally installed there) - still solid w/ no signs of corrosion. The black steel "T" that connected the stove to the liner was a completely different question...

Gooserider