Ceramic Chimney Liner ?

[olsonla]

I have a wood burning stove in our basement, and my X told me last year that we could not use the stove because the ceramic liner was cracked. Of course he never bother to attempt to get if fixed. My nieghbor thought i could get steel liner and put in there. Then some friends mentioned that i didn't want a steel liner in there, cuz the creosolt will build up faster. They also said that it should be fine with the crack just to make sure to clean the chimney with a Chimney brush or with a special log to clean the chimney.... does anybody else have any other recomendations?

West Central WI aka God's Country

[wolfwalkerpa]

Fire your nieghbor.... Bad advice..My brother used a flue with a cracked liner until the creosote that ran between the liner and the flue blocks caught fire. Burned the side of his house out.Some local fire company's check your flue for free. Lots of locals use metal pipe liners. Must work ok...Best advice is get it checked by a pro.

[Cheribelle]

We lined ours with steel. the first time, it wasn't high enough, creasote dripped down between the liner and the old chimney, and eventually caught fire. Luckily, I saw the first sparks fly and we got it under control right away. After that, DIY hubby found out a little more, did it right, no problems since. So.... DIY is fine, but do the homework, First! Be safe!

[Ross]

It is possible to replace a clay liner with a new clay liner. It's gonna cost you though. The steel liner will need some care when cleaning because they're pretty thin, but they are a cheap effective fix to a broken clay liner.

[indypartridge]

Your friends gave you bad advice.

We had a bad smell last winter and had the fire department come over and check the chimney with their heat sensors. It showed a couple of hot spots, which a subsequent chimney inspection revealed were cracks in the ceramic liner. The heat that escapes thru the cracks can heat the brick or stone surrounding the liner so hot that nearby wood framing can easily catch fire.

As Ross noted, replacing the ceramic liner would have been very expensive. We had a metal liner put in.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Once you get your liner in I would clean it with a brush instead of those cleaning logs. The logs are expensive from what I recall and you never really know if they are working. A brush and rod setup is less than $50, lasts a long time and if you are running your stove correctly (very dry wood, hot fire, strong draft) and not burning pine, it should only need cleaning 1-2 times a year. But check it often at first to ensure that something is not causing creosote to build up too fast. I have had three stoves and they have all required different cleaning intervals.

[olsonla]

I think i will look into getting the steel liner then- before the snow flies! Thanks HT!

[Farmerwilly2]

There is one other option used. They lower a large inflatable bladder down the chimney and then fill between it and the old clay liner with a high temp grout/mortar. Once it has set they can deflate and remove the bladder. Never priced it so I can't say how it compares to stainless liners.

[Ross]

Shop carefully as a kit they are pretty cheap. $200-400 average. I buy them all the time wholesale but retail isn't very different. Instalation can be a nightmare or dead easy.

[tinknal]

It really does depend. I used to clean chimneys and each situation was unique. It depends upon how bad the cracks are ( sometimes the crack is just in the finish), How tall the chimney is, where the crack is, what kind of stove or fireplace, what kind of wood is being burned, etc. I had chimneys that I inspected every year and they never had any creosote, and chimneys that needed to be cleaned 3 times a year.

Neat trick if you can pull it off, but try to find an honest expert to give you an opinion.

[.netDude]

If you opt for the ss liner, make sure you insulate it (I think some code is 2x for cracked tiles). If the chimney has burned with the flues cracked, there can be creosote in the cracks. If the ss liner contacts the creosote and gets hot enough, you can get a chimney fire on the outside of the liner. There are other good reasons to insulate also based on if it's an exterior chimney, or an interior that is very tall.

[BethW]

Originally Posted by Farmerwilly2

There is one other option used. They lower a large inflatable bladder down the chimney and then fill between it and the old clay liner with a high temp grout/mortar. Once it has set they can deflate and remove the bladder. Never priced it so I can't say how it compares to stainless liners.

Yep. Going this route also increases the structural integrity of the chimney. It's very expensive, though. If we can ever save up the money, we'll be relining our antique chimneys this way.

[francismilker]

Are you all referring to simply putting a single wall stove pipe inside your clay liner for the steel liner?

[.netDude]

Originally Posted by francismilker

Are you all referring to simply putting a single wall stove pipe inside your clay liner for the steel liner?

My response was regarding a stainless steel flexible liner, not single wall stove pipe inside the clay liner.