I installed a stainless liner in my clay chimney flue when I put in a new wood furnace. I have been getting terrible draft.
I have tried everything to improve it, but nothing has worked. Then it dawned on me that it is probably being caused by the fact that I ignorantly removed the cap at the bottom of the liner, and now it is pulling air from around and below the liner. I removed it so that I could brush the liner from the original clean-out at the bottom of the chimney, as I had before lining the chimney. I also thought that, by sealing the clean-out door well and surrounding the top of the chimney around the liner with a stainless top plate, any draft leaks would be eliminated. Apparently, that is not true.
I tried to jam a piece of aluminum sheeting through the thimble into the bottom of the stainless flue (the flue ends just under the thimble), but it was very hard to do and might fall out. To avoid dismantling the tee and pulling the liner out to put a permanent cap on the bottom, which may be impossible to do, I thought of filling the 3 or 4 feet of open flue from the bottom of the chimney to the bottom of the liner with sand. I assume that the sand would seal the bottom of the liner pretty well. Then I could just clean the chimney through the thimble.
Any thoughts?
I have tried everything to improve it, but nothing has worked. Then it dawned on me that it is probably being caused by the fact that I ignorantly removed the cap at the bottom of the liner, and now it is pulling air from around and below the liner. I removed it so that I could brush the liner from the original clean-out at the bottom of the chimney, as I had before lining the chimney. I also thought that, by sealing the clean-out door well and surrounding the top of the chimney around the liner with a stainless top plate, any draft leaks would be eliminated. Apparently, that is not true.
I tried to jam a piece of aluminum sheeting through the thimble into the bottom of the stainless flue (the flue ends just under the thimble), but it was very hard to do and might fall out. To avoid dismantling the tee and pulling the liner out to put a permanent cap on the bottom, which may be impossible to do, I thought of filling the 3 or 4 feet of open flue from the bottom of the chimney to the bottom of the liner with sand. I assume that the sand would seal the bottom of the liner pretty well. Then I could just clean the chimney through the thimble.
Any thoughts?
