| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| moggins |
WoodburnerI'm still seriously considering this even though DH has balked at the 1200 quid they wanted to charge us for lining the chimney. Trouble is I am wondering if they had a vested interest in selling us something we probably would not need. The people who swept my chimney (I have this done about every 2 years even though we have never used the fireplace) were also the ones who quoted for the chimney lining and they sell the woodburners too.How do I honestly find out if my chimney needs lining or not? |
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| sean |
I think that it's a building regs/insurance requirement. Someone on here's OH installs woodburners/lines chimneys but I can't remember who, which isn't very helpful. Hopefully this will jog someone's memory. | ||||
| wellington womble |
I'm sure we bought out woodburner flue off the net, for considerably cheaper than we could get it locally, but then yo'll still have to pay for someone to fit it, I guess (we had builders in anyway)
I'll also ask him about the flue. Because ours isn't in a chimney we had to have a double lined, insulated (or somesuch) one, not just a metal tube. In a chimney, I don't think you need it, as the insulation is the chimney. Sorry - that's not really very helpful, is it? I'll ask himself. |
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| moggins |
Thanks, any help would be appreciated. A wood burner would really cut down our fuel costs, I'm trying to keep the heating down to a minimum but this bl**dy arthritis means the colder I get the less I can do and the woodburner would be in the room next to the kitchen which is the coldest room in the house. | ||||
| judith |
You almost certainly will need a liner, but £1200 sounds very expensive to me. You should only need a single liner - we aren't talking twin-wall here. I would get another quote. | ||||
| Andy B |
http://www.clearviewstoves.com/index.htm
There's some info on here, £1200 to fit a lining does sound a bit expensive, ours was nearer £800 and that was a very tall chimney on a three story victorian end terrace. But it was 7 years ago so !!! But i would get it done it, makes a difference to how the stove works and you wouldn't want a fire in your chimney. It also helps insulate the bricks from drying out which could over time ruin the mortar in the chimney. |
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| moongoddess |
My understanding is that a liner will not *prevent* a chimney fire at all. It simply means that a fire is easier to contain and control. Tar, resin and soot will still build up inside a liner, but if you have a fire with a liner you should be able to shut the woodburner right down and starve the fire of oxygen.
Andy B, can you elaborate on how having a flue effects the way a woodburner works please? Namaste mg x |
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| Jenna |
Try www.stoveaccesories.co.uk - think you will need the double skinned, and also the next grade up from 316 (think it's 904 or something, heavier duty) for solid fuel cos the temperatures go so high. We will be doing ours as a DIY job but we are only single storey with very simple chimneys - need to narrow the 'aperture' for a burner as the full size chimney won't give proper 'suck'. You need to put a building regs application in to show that your installation will comply with current regs, don't know how much of a DIYer you are but if you're not sure you could always buy the ingredients and get a man to do the fitting? | ||||
| moggins |
Well I've rung three people to come out and give me a quote. I've also found a website where they sell all the stuff you need and the prices seem really good.
I don't suppose it's possible to do this job yourself though? |
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| moggins |
Sorry Jenna I was posting at the same time as you. Our house is 3 stories high and I can't see DH wanting to get on the roof. There is a possibility I could find someone to fit it. I don't know the sizes we'll need or any accessories though. I really would prefer to buy the bits myself and get it fitted as I would know I'm not being ripped off for bits I don't need.
I've found the 904 liner, it costs 44.41 per metre, is that a good price? On the site though it seems to infer that you would only need 316 if you are just burning wood? |
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| Jenna |
being a 'belt and braces' type of bird, I'm going with the 904 because I'm not sure what else I'll be burning, and I'd worry that the 316 would burn through and have to be replaced - but to be honest, I don't know if the 316 would be OK, hopefully someone with more clue will happen by and let us know! The size will depend on the flue diameter of your burner, and there are a few sites that will give you chapter and verse on everything you need to install the thing, but can't remember them off the top of me head. | ||||
| moggins |
Right, I'm off on a DIY chimney lining info hunt 
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| wellington womble |
Just wonder about the fuel bill too - our annual wood purchase is higher than our annual gas bill, but then I live in the south east, where no one grows anything, and live in a terraced houuse, which is very cheap to heat. It's worth it, though, and I wouldn't want to live in a house without one (the only trouble is the rest of the house gets neglected, because I am always in the room with the woodburner in it!) | ||||
| moggins |
That's the main reason I want one. I can get free wood by the bootload. and it would really reduce my fuel bills. Why I really want it is that my kitchen is freezing in winter and I never want to be in there but the woodburner would go in the huge fireplace in the dining room and feed the heat through to the kitchen. I have a huge radiator in the kitchen but there is a cupboard in front of it so I have to keep the radiator turned off. | ||||
| Jonnyboy |
It'll work, our woodburner puts out around 2.5kw to the room and the rest (12 ish) to the central heating, we have a combined family room kitchen and both radiators are turned off. |
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| Jenna |
www.hotline-chimneys.co.uk (think the chimneys part is plural, if it don't work try without the 's') can do 904 for around £30/m, not found any cheaper than that. For a simple DIY method/advice, have a look in the big Collins DIY book if you have it - it'll at least give you an idea of whether you might be able to have a go! | ||||
| Andy B |
It should make the draw more efficient, make sure the smoke goes up the chimney. It depends a lot on the chimney though. Ours had three branches off it into other rooms where their was no longer a fire place. So their was the possibility of smoke finding its way into other rooms which a liner would prevent. It also helps to prevent the build up of tars, which could start a fire, because the extra contained heat gets them out of the chimney. You will still have to get it swept, but not as often. |
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| Alchemist |
We put in a wood-burning stove recently and had the chimney lined at the same time. The main reason for it was that the existing chimney was too open and draw would have been insufficient. Modern stoves are something like 3x the efficiency of an open fire and as a result the exhaust gases don't heat the chimney as well, so as in our case, where the draw was a bit iffy even with the open fire, you'd get very poor draw indeed, as well as all sorts of nasties condensing on the chimney walls. Our lining is a flexible stainless tube (can't remember grade, but suspect it's 316 and single-wall) dropped into the chimney and then the space left in the chimney was filled with vermiculite, providing extra insulation. Draw through the stove is now very good. | ||||
| Stacey |
Isn't the best way to prevent build ups of tar making sure the wood is seasoned ( I don't mean with salt and pepper but has been 'weathered') ?
It's in our tenancy agreement that we're not allowed to use green wood for that very reason. |
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| Jonnyboy |
All this liner talk has got me a bit worried. Our builder knew that we were installing a woodburner and from watching the build they poured a concrete head and fitted what looked like a ceramic liner which went all the way up to the chiney top, they then built the chimney brickwork around it.
Does this sound right? |
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| sean |
Probably. Mostly people are talking about retro-fitting a liner in an existing chimney, so you use a flexible steel pipe. I reckon that's what it is anyway. Or you're doomed, of course. | ||||
| Blue Peter |
I think that you mean that it's moisture content is low - 'seasoned' is the correct term, but I don't think that 'weathered' is. A lower moisture content means that there is less water (in the wood) to heat when the log is burned, so that it burns at a higher temperature, which means that the combustion is more complete (so less tars are deposited), Peter |
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| Jonnyboy |
That's what I was thinking, but as nobody has mentioned ceramics I was half expecting to be doomed, |
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| Jenna |
would have loved a ceramic liner - no chance of that burning through, hehehe! Would have to make a bunch of holes into the chimney to fit the 'bits' together - too much faff in a retro fit situation. | ||||
| Alchemist |
Yup. We were given all sorts of dire warnings about using properly seasoned wood when our stove was installed. A web-site I found when I was looking at getting the stove originally says the following:
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| oldhibberd |
Pretty sure Chimney will HAVE to be double lined for any Solid fuel.
As I understand it a metal liner will burn/rot through in 10-15 years, depends how well seasoned the wood is, and whether or not you burn coal. The alternative is a Pummice liner (Isokern) not much more expensive to buy, just more difficult/expensive to install. But that should last 40+ years. You can also get a lining, where they shove an inflatable sausage down the Chimney then pour this heat proof concrete (Thermocrete) .down to form a flue. |
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| Alchemist |
Yeah, the steel ones don't last forever, sadly. I think ours has a 20-yr warranty, but it just hangs from a bracket at the top, so you can just drain out the vermiculite from the dead-space and pull the liner out through the chimney-pot if you need to. I think I looked at the pumice-type liners about the time we were doing ours. Very good, but a fiddle to fit | ||||
| moggins |
That Thermocrete stuff sounds great
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