Stovepipe in a chimney suggestions

[Plowboy74]

Hi, I have a question. I have a brick chimney with a clay liner. No smoke shelf just a hole cut into the bricks with the stove pipe entering the clay liner. The house I bought last year and pulled the pipe. Clay liner is cracked at entrance into chimney at the stove pipe.

The chimney liner is to small to install rigid or flex liner. I talked to a company out of state that said bust the liner out of the chimney and install a stove pipe. Will it be safe to remove the liner and use single wall pipe? Think insulated will be to big for opening. Could insulation be wrapped on it like the type made to go on flex liner? I have found a T that you install and put together from inside house. Has anyone installed pipe in a chimney like this before or ran into these types of issues? The chimney is on a outside wall. Thanks for any info.

[NELSELGNE]

The house that I lived in from 1972-1982, burned down in 1983, from a chimney fire.
So, I had a sheet metal shop make a stainless steel stove pipe and lowered it into my chimney.
I poured vermiculite around the pipe and installed a chimney cap.
It is still in use 30 years later.

[MichaelZ]

Probably not a problem until you have a chimney fire.

I wouldn't do it.

[JoePa]

Is there a way you can repair the crack with refractory cement - putting in a liner as suggested sounds like a good alternative -

[tinknal]

The crack itself shouldn't be a problem by itself as long as the system itself is sound. The first question I would ask you is how efficient is your stove? Have you burned a season? If so did creosote accumulate and if so where? Did creosote accumulate along the whole flue, or just in a small area? Adding a steel liner could either exacerbate an existing problem or relieve a potential problem depending upon circumstances. The type and condition of wood you burn can also have an effect. Creosote condenses when the smoke cools to 240 degrees. If the smoke is above 240 degrees when it leaves the flue then it will never be a problem. Likewise if the smoke is below 240 degrees when it enters the flue it will also never be a problem.

In a very efficient system the smoke will often cool to 240 degrees at the same spot all the time and can actually clog the chimney at that point. In a less efficient system the creosote may line the entire flue, or at least large portions of it. In an inefficient system there may be no creosote buildup at all.

My recommendation would be to patch the system and keep a close eye on it. It is easy to look at the inside of a chimney. Just use a mirror to look up the flue during daylight hours. If you have a cleanout at the bottom of the chimney look there, if not look where the stove pipe enters. A thin layer of tar-like materiel is not a problem, the problematic materiel is bulky and crunchy and filled with air pockets. I cleaned chimneys for many years. Some of them needed to be cleaned 3 times a year. Some never needed to be cleaned. Each system is different. You need to learn how your system works.

[JoePa]

If you know someone that has one of those underwater cameras that guys use for fishing - you can examine the whole chimmey by lowering the camera down from the top and viewing the picture on a screen that comes with the camera - I think you should be able to fix any cracks - and like suggested - keep an eye on it during the heating season - good luck - I've been buring wood for around 35 years - it sounds like I have pretty much a similar outside chimmey - what happens with mine - during the summer all the creosote falls off the sides of the chimmey and piles up down by the cleanout at the bottom of the chimmey - the pipe from the stoves enters the chimmey about 3 ft above the cleanout -

[Plowboy74]

Thanks, Tinknal, I used the stove as a insert in my previous house. It is a buck stove that can be used either way. The chimney was like a standard fireplace. It built creosote in the throat area. Thick tar looking, and the flue liner was oversized. It didn't build much in clay liner.

Since I moved I have not burned because of the liner crack. The inside of clay liner is 6.5 by 6.5. And it has a 8 inch stove pipe going into it. So something isn't right anyhow. The buck stove I have is a catalyst model. I always wanted to put a flex liner on it in the old house. I figured a stainless steel rigid pipe would be better than a flex now. I just want to not have to worry about it when I burn it. My local chimney supply didn't want to bust the tile out. The place I called out of state acted like it was a common thing told me off a attachment for a drill to make it easier to bust out. But thanks again for any info.

[Plowboy74]

Thanks all for all the info.

[ET1 SS]

Stove-pipe is our chimney.

Some well drillers carry an inspection camera that they can lower down into wells to inspect the casing. That would work to inspect a liner.

[tinknal]

Originally Posted by Plowboy74

Thanks, Tinknal, I used the stove as a insert in my previous house. It is a buck stove that can be used either way. The chimney was like a standard fireplace. It built creosote in the throat area. Thick tar looking, and the flue liner was oversized. It didn't build much in clay liner.

Since I moved I have not burned because of the liner crack. The inside of clay liner is 6.5 by 6.5. And it has a 8 inch stove pipe going into it. So something isn't right anyhow. The buck stove I have is a catalyst model. I always wanted to put a flex liner on it in the old house. I figured a stainless steel rigid pipe would be better than a flex now. I just want to not have to worry about it when I burn it. My local chimney supply didn't want to bust the tile out. The place I called out of state acted like it was a common thing told me off a attachment for a drill to make it easier to bust out. But thanks again for any info.

6.5 inches is a danged small flue. Putting a round pipe inside it would even make it smaller. I would patch it the best you can, open every thing up once a day as much as you can and burn hot for 30 minutes, and keep an eye on it.

[JoePa]

I have a clay liner in my chimmey - the inside dimensions are roughly 7 inches by 7 inches square - when I built the chimmey I read that you should make the liner opening close to the same size as the stove pipe coming from the stove - so if you have a 6 inch stove pipe coming out of the stove - a 7 X 7 liner is the way to go - now if for some reason I had to put a stainless steel liner in my chimmey - I believe a 6 inch pipe would be ok -

[Plowboy74]

Thanks

[Plowboy74]

Thanks, my stove uses a 8 inch pipe. That's why I thought about busting the liner out. I found a local company I think I will call next week and see what their options are.

[JoePa]

Plowboy - I wouldn't bust out the clay liner just yet - put a 6 inch stove pipe liner in the chimmey and see how the stove operates - if your satisfied you can always put a stainless steel pipe into the chimmey at a later date - ideally the liner in the chimmey should be the same size as the pipe coming out of the stove but a smaller liner may work ok - a lot depends on the draft that you have coming out of the stove which is based on the air going into the stove - you may find that a 6 inch chimmey liner works ok - busting out the clay liner in your chimmey can cause damage to the chimmey - I'd be careful about going that route -

[greenstar]

From personal experience....call a certified chimney sweep. It will cost up front, but it will save you a headache or worse down the road. They can tell you all your options, what works and what wont.

[Plowboy74]

Thanks that may be a thought if I can find a good one in area.. I may just be stuck with central heat again this year. Thanks for all the replies.