Chimney liners as protecting from creosote fires

[Larry Caldwell]

Burn hot with the. Proper air fuel ratio. No creosote forms.

True that. As long as you keep the fire above 600 degrees F., the creosote burns up. You need dry wood. Water boiling out of wet wood carries creosote into the chimney, where it condenses with the water. I bought a chimney brush and sweep my own chimney. If I burn dry wood, it really doesn't need it more than once a year, and not really then.

 

[Egon]

Pine & spruce burned with proper combustion air are just fine.

 

[CH4Ohio]

As several others have said, installing the liner is really not difficult. Terminating it at the bottom , above the firebox, or connecting to a boot at a fireplace insert, can be tricky and either way you have to decide what you're going to do about the damper.

The liner eliminates the dangerous chinks and cracks and gaps in the mortar of the clay flue-liners and fire-bricks that even the best chimney eventually has. A chimney fire in a traditional masonry chimney subjects wood framing and other building components to extreme heat and direct flame via these defects in the masonry flue.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I have lived with two clay lined chimneys, one I built myself and the one I have been living with here for the last 27 years. There are no cracks in the liner. I clean and inspect it myself. It's 50 years old and still immaculate. The mason who built it knew what he was doing.

 

[CH4Ohio]

I have lived with two clay lined chimneys, one I built myself and the one I have been living with here for the last 27 years. There are no cracks in the liner. I clean and inspect it myself. It's 50 years old and still immaculate. The mason who built it knew what he was doing.

Sounds like your excellent maintenance has paid off!

I've been told by a couple chimney sweeps that most damage they see is actually caused by chimney fires. They said that most chimneys they see have had chimney fires in the past, and the owners probably didn't even know it at the time. That intense heat is what causes most of the damage and causes the tiles to crack and mortar to fail. After that, it's only a matter of time until things get worse and then a subsequent fire(s) leads to a structure fire.

Made perfect sense and explained why a perfectly built chimney could fail due to lack of inspection / cleaning / maintenance.

 

[FTG-05]

A bunch of good info on the Sweep's Library site; too bad he retired in 2019. Fortunately, Hearth.com agreed to host his wood stove article library.

Sweep's Library - Why do I need a stainless steel chimney liner?

When and how to reline a wood stove chimney with stainless steel

hearth.com

Sweep's Library - Wood Stove Chimney Flue Oversizing

Can a chimney flue be too big for a wood stove?

hearth.com

Sweep's Library - Wood Stove Chimney Flue Oversizing

Can a chimney flue be too big for a wood stove?

hearth.com

Sweep's Library - Lining Your Wood Stove Flue

I'm installing a wood stove. Do I need to line the chimney?

hearth.com

 

[beowulf]

A bunch of good info on the Sweep's Library site; too bad he retired in 2019. Fortunately, Hearth.com agreed to host his wood stove article library.

Sweep's Library - Why do I need a stainless steel chimney liner?

When and how to reline a wood stove chimney with stainless steel

hearth.com

Sweep's Library - Wood Stove Chimney Flue Oversizing

Can a chimney flue be too big for a wood stove?

hearth.com

Sweep's Library - Wood Stove Chimney Flue Oversizing

Can a chimney flue be too big for a wood stove?

hearth.com

Sweep's Library - Lining Your Wood Stove Flue

I'm installing a wood stove. Do I need to line the chimney?

hearth.com

Thanks FTG - I will check these out.

 

[RalphVa]

We have a wood burning fireplace and burn our fair share of wood in the colder months. We have a traditional brick fireplace and chimney but use an insert (tight closing glass faced door and blower) which sits inside of and is sealed in the fireplace 'box'. It vents up the chimney. I understand that creosote can build up in these old chimneys and can catch on fire. For those reasons I am considering installing a chimney liner. They sell kits, and there are some decent youtube videos to make it possibly a DIY project. I will also check locally (now that it is off season for fireplaces) to see who installs these and the cost.

Anyway, has anyone installed a chimney liner - DIY or otherwise - and if so, what issues do I need to be concerned about. One issue I am wondering about is a work-around of an open damper since that prevents a straight line drop-in and hook up. Also, some liners are insulated and some apparently not.

Thanks for any input.

I know there are "chimney sweeps", e.g. people to clean chimneys, but I really doubt you're going to get any creosote in a fireplace. We had a Franklin stove (very leaky) in our little house in Vermont. NEVER EVER got any creosote in the chimney.

In comparison, we had a very air tight stove in the basement of the NJ house and got about 1 inch of creosote from around the inner circumference of the metal chimney every year.