Stainless Steel Liner or Thermocrete.

Seeing how i'm logged in here's go. Finally got my coal stove. Called highly recommended chimney sweep for my area (NH seacoast). Told them I was putting a coal stove in basement and need a thimble installed and a patch job where the kithcen stove use to tie in. House now has electric stove. Informed them that the chimney does have clay liners that look ok. Immediately they said I need a ss liner. Told them that I was burning coal and not wood, and I would prefer the thermocrete stuff. They said they only do that with fireplaces. I told them I didn't want to be replacing the ss in five years. They said lifetime warranty. There coming over to look Thursday, any suggestions, opinions?

Ask them specifically why you need a SS liner.

Unless there is some kind of structural issue with the clay there is no reason for SS liner and it is certainly going to outlast the liner. If the clay is in good shape you don't either liner. I don't know how they can offer a lifetime warranty on SS becsue it will rot out.

Thanks. I think just like everthing else today its liabilty. All I really want is a thimble installed and a hole patched, but if the house burns down they're afraid i'll come after them. I know my limits and don't feel comfortable trying to do it myself. I'll see what they say.

DePippo79 wrote:Informed them that the chimney does have clay liners that look ok. Immediately they said I need a ss liner.

Hahaha... Been thru that. I thought I needed a SS liner when I started burning too. Boy was I wrong. I'm glad I didn't waste any money on that Turns out my chimney was in better condition than I expected. I only rebuilt the top two layers that had deteriorated from wet propane exhaust. As you probably have read, Fly ash combines with moisture to form sulfuric acid which doesn't get along very well with metal. I realize that the pic below is of normal 22 gauge black stove pipe but this happened in only a few months after my first year burning coal

Yeah, I took a cell phone video of the flue I want to use and other than the piece of plywood someone used to cover the kitchen stove pipe hole it doesn't look that bad. From the attic floor up there's some cracks in the liners ( freeze/thaw cycle), but that should be easy to fix, just repoint from the attic floor up. Any laws saying they can't install a thimble into a chimney "they" think is unsafe. Any masons out there that want a side job. If theres a legitimate problem fine, I just don't want to be taken for a sucker. Especially how I have my own video.

If you believe anything, believe that these guys do NOT have your best interest in mind. I'm trying to be polite, but this is ridiculous. Let me know who they are, because they certainly have no knowledge of coal burning appliances, or can't read or get advice from others who have decades of experience. I say no to both SS or Thermocrete. No need.

PLEASE make sure the current chimney is what you think it is, and that the clay liner is OK for service. Fly ash is not flammable, however you don't want any CO2 leaking out either.

Look over your chimney, and get another opinion or two before the clowns show up.

Einstein said: The difference between Genius and Idiocy is............................ that Genius has a limit..........
It sounds like theses guys are extending the opposite spectrum....and at your expense.

Thanks for coming to the forum with your questions. We don't have any vested interest in opinions, just experience and facts.

The plywood over the kitchen thimble does make the hair on my neck stand up, but that is going to be a non issue soon.

Safety is no accident.

Selling fear and liners = Easy Money

McGiever wrote: Selling fear and liners = Easy Money

Good call partner. Coal fires generally are safer than wood fires. They usually run a much lower flue temp and also no chimney fires with coal. But, I'm pretty sure the SS chimney liner salesman isn't gonna tell you that

Okay guys one more question before I turn in for the night. Seeing how the flue was already lined at some point it is pretty much impossible to inspect the brick and morter without opening up the walls right? Only visible sections are in the basement and attic. Although once I open up the wall to fix the hole I'll be able to see what that section looks like. Could use some repointing from the attic floor up, but still not as bad as another members chimney with creosote oozing from the morter joints. Unused flue looks alot better than the flue with oil burner attached to it, liners all crooked (I know, but spending money on oil doesn't leave much left over). Never had the CO detectors go off. Only been in the house a year. Could I tell a company I want a thimble installed and hole patched or will everyone run because there's no way of knowing the real condition of the flue. Thanks for the help. Can't wait till this is over. Reason I'm afraid of doing the work myself is that I read that if you don't cut the hole for the thimble right you could end up destroying the clay liner. I just don't know enough about masonry. If anyone wants to watch my phone video in the Hampton, NH area I'll by coffee or beer. Oh well good night.

DePippo79 wrote:They said lifetime warranty.

That normally does not include labor. Also see if there are any special requirements like a record of yearly cleanings. Ask around and see if you can find an independent mason to take care of your thimble and patch work.

Can you post some pictures and/or the phone video?

So, you already have a existing hole but it is not at the desired location/height and needs to be sealed/patched shut.
Then, you are needing a new hole cut in with a thimble installed at the proper height. Is this the scope of what needs done?

As was already mentioned, find a masonry guy (bricklayer) who does side jobs...ask around... you'll find someone .

Yes old hole sealed new one cut. I'll see if I can figure out how to load pictures. Another member sent me a message waiting for. him to call. At work now.

Here's one I have to figure how to get the rest so I don't keep creating a new post.

Here's another one.