Thinking of fitting a log burner after the ever increasing price of oil. I have posted before on this but have had some conflicting advice, some people have told me I'll require lining the chimeney all the way, others say a small length of liner into the existing red brick chimeney will be fine.
cost is the key factor in me doing this, so hoping I dont have to line the existing chimeney all the way, it was fine and in use until 6 years ago.
anyone have any definitive answer to this?
There are far too many factors individual to your building/chimney (condition/quality of masonry and mortar, good design & build, presence of timbers, thatch or other nearby fire risks) and your usage of it (quality of logs, hot fires, attention to chimney sweeping, eye open for potential problems) to give a definitive answer.
A liner has so many advantages (better warm up, better draw, less sooting, lessened risk/consequences of chimney fires) that I would consider skipping it a false economy. However needs must, if you really can't afford it - it'll work - but be vigilant to fire risks.
thanks, I'm just a bit perplexed as to why the need for liners these days, going back 10-15 years all houses round here were open fires, most burned logs too (everyone I know anyway) and not a mention of a chimeney liner, what is the difference of running a log burner compared to an open fire?
This is not the definitive answer but I had a wood burning stove. When I originally got quotes the company insisted that it needed lining all the way up. I think that is probably the correct answer as far as building regs go.
However, I got another company who were quite happy to fit me a stove with just a short length of flue into the existing chimney. It worked fine, though initially worried me that I might be corroding the chimney. Given that it had been originally designed for a coal fire I couldn't see it would do that much harm.
I had it for 15 years until we went smokeless, so I couldn't use that model any more. I would think if you got an approved appliance in a smokeless zone it would definitely need a proper lined chimney to perform correctly.
If you decide to go straight up the chimney, you need to work out how you will sweep it, so all the soot falls back into the flue or stove and doesn't lodge in some inaccessible spot.
Damn!! never thought of that!!! how the hell would I sweep the chimeney? as I take it I'd need to seal around the flue where it enters the chimeney with fire resistant board.
Ah well, save more and do it next year then!!
What you have is a removable panel in the short length of metal flue which you can stick a brush up. The bottom end of the chimney is built into a cone shape. Well that's the theory. I just had a flat plate but with another removable panel in it. You stick your hand in and push all the soot down the flue (avoiding depositing too much on your living room floor).
As you can see this is not a perfect solution.
Don't chimney cleaners use vacuum cleaners rather than brushes nowadays?
We had a chimney sweep who ran a brush up to loosen the soot and then sucked out what fell down with a vacuum cleaner. He used to use a terrible deodorant to supposedly mask the smell of soot in the house. It used to make it smell like a public lavatory for a day or so.
IIRC regulations will most likely insist that you fully line.
Unless the chimney is well lined already.
The flue temps are excessively high with wood stoves..Ive seen pipes go dull red..so you would be somewhat foolish to rely on old brickwork and mortar..
The economics of a woodburner depend critically on access to cheap sources of combustible wood. Do NOT expect that buying in wood will be cost effective.
Open fires draw in a lot of cool air to slow and cool the smoke: a stove does not.
The difference is the flue temps.They are VERY high, and velocities low, with a stove.
They normally tape a sheet with a tube in the middle over the opening through which to pass the rods of the brush. A vacuum tube is sometimes placed behind the sheet to take up the soot floating about in the air and is used to pickup that which collects in the fire place.
Soot is terrible stuff for getting everywhere, I wouldn't contemplate putting in a system that required the bottom of the flue to be open to the room for sweeping/cleaning. Sweep the chimney 10 mins, cleaning room rest of day...
We had a soot door fitted to the outside wall, just above the board. Our
100-year-old flue is unlined and hasn't been a problem.
is this the type of liner required?
yes and no. That is permitted for pre 1972? something like that - chimneys.
Its not the 'new fitment' type though, and I wouldn't recommend it.
You need double wall insulated stainless. About 1000 quid fitted by a prop if any chimney repointing is needed. Part cost about 600 quid.
I am a bit picky with fire safety. I don't like to mess around. Set too many chimneys on fire already.
Phone up BCO and ask. he may allow it.
This looks quite good, though when we went into it all those years ago they also wanted to fill the space in between the flue and the original chimney with vermiculite.
By the time the scaffolding has gone up and the extras added on =A31000 is not unusual.
Any case you're lucky. I started toying with having another wood stove in my new house. The stove would be about =A3800 but by the time they put us a flue in, and we've not got anything at present other than a precast flue for a gas fire, the bill was up to =A33600. No wood burning stove for us.
I'll do that, dont mind paying =A3200 odd for it!! house was built 1950, so no probs there!!
I think you may have this the wrong way round.
A modern wood burning stove is designed to throw most of the heat into the room and have a low flue temperature. It is much more efficient at heating the room.
That is why you often need a liner - because the low flue tempreature encourages condensation in the chimney and if the chimney is not already lined (e.g. with a ceramic liner) then moisture and tars can condense out and seep through the brickwork.
Open fires chuck a lot of heat up the chimney, and much less out into the room. They keep the chimney warm and there is much less condensation so you don't generally need a liner. The tars and moisture are carried out into the atmosphere.
If a metal flue from a wood burning stove is red hot then you are obviously losing a lot of heat up the chimney; this can be a good idea occasionally - giving the fire a good blast to clear out the flue - but it is not the best way to run a stove efficiently.
Get a qualified installer to check your chimney to see if you need a liner.
In the long run a liner will be a good investment.
HTH
Dave R
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