What I suspect is a liner nightmare

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nhgirl

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Jan 20, 2009
17
NH
Hi,

I've been around the pellet sections of the forum, and am doing my best to switch to the wood sections, which is why I'm coming here with a knotty problem...

I own an old house with some odd features; the first thing I did upon buying the place was line the chimneys, all of which had major creosote-bleeding problems. The catch: I wasn't around for the work; my then-significant other was, and his eye for detail was not what we'll call impressive. Upon my arrival, I discovered that the kitchen chimney had been lined with a 4-inch flexible stainless liner--because 1) the mason said he couldn't fit a 6, and 2) the husband wanted a pellet stove there anyway.

Fast forward several years and both husband and pellet stove are out. I want wood, but I'm trying to figure out how on earth I can get a wood stove hooked up in this 4-inch liner wreck of an old brick chimney. Is it possible to run an old (read: not air-tight) stove into this liner and still have it draw? Is the temperature rating likely to be different? I know no one can give me a green light here or a guarantee that my schemes are going to pan out, but I've spent most of the afternoon disconnecting the pellet piece of junk and trying to sort out the liner situation, and I'm at a loss. If I need to reline how is that done? Is a 5-inch liner possible? Is the worst case scenario a smoky kitchen stove? Or a melted chimney liner/fire? Help!
 
What are the dimensions on the masonry chimney that the 4" liner is in? Is it lined with clay tiles?
 
No clay tiles, and it's approximately 8"x8". Given the rest of the house, I'm sure the inside of the chimney is irregular.
 
Pull the 4" out and install 6"
If the inside is fairly straight, you can reline with 6" double wall insulated rigid.
It will have to be insulated either way due to the fact there is no clay tiles which would have to be in good shape.
 
Yeah trying to burn the old stove into a 4" pipe ain't gonna work. With a 8X8 running a six inch insulated liner down it shouldn't be the hardest job in the work even if slightly offset.
 
A 6" liner with wrap insulation should come to something like 7.25". You should be fine to remove the old 4" and install the new liner. Then again, depending on the stove you get, you could always buy a little room and run 5.5" insulated.
 
If you can find a little old stove with a 5" collar, I'd certainly give it a shot. Might be hard to get 5"-4" reducer but a sheetmetal shop can help with that. You will not be able to run anything substantial into it though....
 
You can use a 5.5" liner as a 6" sleeve will fit over the 5.5" liner. We run large stove on the 5.5" uninsulated with great success and had to make to 45% turns in the existing clay liner.
 
I'm sure you're all right--such a bummer, though. This liner is all of 5 years old, and I'm guessing I'll be another $1,000 in if I have to reline... But I do have a lovely old cook stove with a 6-inch outlet that really ought to be in this spot. It's a totally straight chimney (aside from the small obstructions that I assume put the first mason off), 30 feet high. Oh well; guess I'd better get an estimate. Thanks.
 
Yeah, that's my fear. It's a really hot burner (the fellow I got it from was getting rid of it because it was overheating his little cabin), but I'm sure it's the least efficient stove on the planet. I'll call around to get quotes from chimney folks today; guess I just have to bite the bullet.
 
Make sure anyone quoting you a liner is going to insulate it. If they give you a price for a liner installed without insulation, send them packing. Any good dealer or sweep should know that with no clay tiles the insulation is a MUST. Best option would be the simpson duraliner rigid pipe which has built in insulation. Give you a smaller OD in the end which makes getting it down easier. Downside is the price is higher.
 
jtp10181 said:
Any good dealer or sweep should know that with no clay tiles the insulation is a MUST. Best option would be the simpson duraliner rigid pipe which has built in insulation. Give you a smaller OD in the end which makes getting it down easier. Downside is the price is higher.
That's what I was thinking as well. A 5.5" liner would also do the trick if things are really tight.
 
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