Digit":31k99q1v said:
Finally getting around to the installation. Now before anybody starts about the regs, I've spoken to two local installers and they ran!
It seems that my chimney was constructed by a left handed, one legged, Afghani jelly juggler!
So it's down to me!
The clay fire back is set back 5 inches, (125 mm) and the throat is restricted by a clay bar at the front that is angled at 45 degrees. This means that I will have to cut part of that away and/or the part of the back that slopes forward.
Beyond that there is no problem with space for a SS flue liner.
One installer proposed that a SS straight 90 degree flue pipe would reach in far enough if extended.
This worried me and I checked with a supplier and they agreed a 'no no' on the basis that fire starting could be difficult, proposing instead two 45 degree fittings, which at least makes sense.
Now, finally to my problem.
Flue liner suspended from cowl on top of the stack, no problem. What about the bottom where I convert from liner to SS or SE flue pipe? How do Support that lot?
Help!
Roy.
Roy - I sympathise with what you are trying to do. We had a log burner installed about 5 years ago which had a rolled steel flue coming off the top of the burner. This enters the chimney through a steel "register plate", above which there is a 8" clay lined flue. All seemd fine initially. Then we had some logs which were just slightly damp. The log burner is so efficient that the temperature of the gases that leave the burner are quite cool, and this leads to condensation in the chimney, which is in effect, neat creosote!. This ran down the chimney and onto the register plate, and then dripped out around the edges on to the newly made fireplace. The smell was nauseous!
The answer was to install a SS liner. I got a quote from the local retailer which came to over £1,000. I asked whether this could be a DIY job and they said fine, so long as I didn't mind getting up on the roof. They would have to install scaffolding which is where the cost came in - so having been carefully briefed, I came home with a liner coiled up on the roof rack, plus some fittings and a bag of vermiculite, which came to about £160.
First thing I did was to drop a rope down the chimney to get an accurate idea of the length of liner required. This left a short piece about 2 ft long. I attached a wire cradle to each end, and then tied a rope to each end as well. I dropped one end of the rope down the chimney, and SWMBO pulled on it to ensure the short length of SS liner would go down the chimney and past a bend withouth jamming. I held on to the other end of the rope on the roof so that I could pull it back again if it got stuck. No problems - it fed down fine.
So next I made a wire cradle and attached it to the end of the full length flue. Again I dropped the attached rope down the chimney, and whilst SWMBO pulled on the rope, I fed 28 ft of liner over my shoulder and down the chimney. I had taken the register plate off, and had been supplied with a male/female adaptor. The rolled steel flue from the burner goes through the register plate. The male end of the adaptor fits into the rolled steel flue, and the flexible SS liner fits in to the female end of the adaptor. The adaptor just rests on the upper side of the register plate and this supports the bottom of the liner. There is a fitting that attaches to the top of the liner that rests on the top of the chimney pot so that the flue is suspended. It just remained to pour vermiculite down the gap between the liner and the clay flue to both insulate the liner and to hold the liner firmly in place so that it doesn't move about when it is being cleaned. Finally, the gap between the liner and the chimney pot is haunched with mortar and a cover put on it to prevent downdrafts and also to prevent birds nesting in the chimney.
The cure to our problem was instantaneous. The insulated SS liner heats far more quickly than the clay liner ever did making it draw far more quickly after lighting. Any condensation runs down the SS liner, and into the top of the burner rather than on to the register plate and dripping out around the edges, so it has no way to escape in to the room, so no smells. I was also advised to fit a multi fuel grate and to burn at least a little coal based fuel (phurnacite, taybright etc) as this burns much hotter than wood in the early stages and helps keep the chimney from building up tar deposits.
HTH. Give it a go - it's not rocket science. Just choose a day when the roof is dry and there is NO WIND. You don't want to be hanging on to a long unweildy flue in a howling gale.
