need chimney advice

[Suzy]

We have had our Ashley wood-burning heater directly vented/piped into the brick chimney of our 60's era house, with single wall pipe stuck up the inside of the chimney because I don't trust the brick.

The heater sits on the raised brick and there is brick behind it...

When we lived in our previous house in the 1980's we had a cement/fire tile underneath the heater and directly behind it and had three-wall pipe that went through the roof and I could detach the pipe behind the heater and clean out the three wall pipe from beneath by putting a box underneath it and using brushes to clean out any creosote build up...

I am thinking that I might ought to save and get three-wall pipe and put it through the ceiling and roof here and move the heater to the corner and away from the fireplace and just close the fireplace off....

which do you think would be safer??? I know that old chimneys can loose mortar between the bricks and I don't have enough money to get a comp[lete chimney liner for the brick chimney...

I had a chimney sweep say he didn't trust the bricks about 10 years ago and that's why I put the single wall pipe up the chimney....

We will be heating almost 100% with wood again (and it will be my job to bring in the wood and keep the heater going) since husband had his heart attacks last year....

We've heated with wood for about 30 years....what do you guys think...I want to be as safe as possible.

[Suzy]

Oh---and the single-wall pipe goes all the way past the top of the chimney and has a little tin type hat thingie on it to keep rain out.

[Boris859]

my dad just had the liner knocked out of his chimney and had that insulated pipe installed in it,complete with a topper,think it cost around 500$,sounds like alot of money,but filling your house with smoke or risking a fire sure isn;t any better,anyway just my 2 cents.

[Suzy]

anybody else?????

[WRTN]

I used a Fisher Granda Ma Bear and a Fisher fire place insert in our last house for almost 15 years. Had a few chimney fires when I let too much creosote build up. Not too much of a problem if you burn the stove hot with good seasoned dry wood like oak or hickory. The single wall pipe should be sufficient for a chimney. Our current place we use a US Stove 1600. It is vented through the ceiling and roof with a triple wall stove pipe kit. They are MUCH easier to keep clean and maintain. IF they are installed correctly, they are a fine. You can imagine the obvious consequences if not.

If you are uneasy about using the chimney even with a single wall pipe, the through the ceiling triple wall pipes work well and have been around for a long time. You still need to inspect them at least annually and keep a close eye on them through the season.

[Westcliffe01]

The single wall does not last forever. Some say it may need replacing every 2-5 yrs. The grade of material is not comparable to either a proper flex liner, or class A double wall pipe, both of which are stainless. It is like the exhaust system on cars. Not so long ago you needed to replace the exhaust system every 2-3 years. Now they hold up 8-10 years since the industry switched over to stainless steel. Just be careful if you put in an aftermarket muffler, since it may not be stainless.

There is a good chance that the system will leak cold air if you do not have a block off plate. It will also run cooler, resulting in more creosote buildup. If you do have a chimney fire, the single wall cannot contain the heat since it will melt.

In the past, many people got away with these practices for years, some through luck and some because they could afford to hire an experienced chimney sweep who kept things clean and knew where to draw the line. Today there are very few sweeps and none would touch a non code compliant system because of the risk of liability if someone was killed in a fire after the fact.

[CarolAnn]

Suzy -
Make sure you don't burn any green wood - that'll also add to the creosote buildup. I used to have a single wall pipe for the first 6 or 7 feet, where it went into a "top hat" fitting and then into a lined flue on the 2nd floor. I replaced it every 4-5 years, and the elbow more often than that.

Somehow I got the (stupid) idea that I could whack the stove pipe with the poker to bring down the creosote, then use the poker's bent end to scrape the stuff back into the firebox. One bitter cold night I returned home after being gone for several days, stoked up a good fire, whacked the pipe and knocked it clean off the fitting. I was cold, tired, and standing in a house quickly filling up with smoke - and I had just wrecked my stove pipe.

There's only one solution to this: get the big old canning kettle I used for ashes and fish the burning logs out, run for the door and throw them out in the snow. Open all the windows and doors and turn on fans and then call Mom to see if I can come there for the night.

So . . . I'd say - look over your system for the weakest parts and have replacements ready (unless you're just like me - then YOU're the weakest part and you STILL need replacements ready!) ;D ;D ;D

[crafty2002]

If you have a fireplace that was built in the 60's I don't think you need to worry about it at all.
That chimney is going to have flue liners inside the brick and it was built to have a fire right in it. The gases you put out are much lower temps than they would be with a fire in the box itself. I would only have a the pipe go into the chimney and cememnted around it instead of going to the top with the pipe.....
That is just a waste of money.
With a stove you control the air flow and with a fireplace if you get it to going too hot there isn't any air control. That's where the chiney fires come from 99% of the time.
I'd bet you have nothing at all to worry about. I would rather have that than a pipe thru the roof any day. That is what I don't trust and I have built a few chimney"s from the foundaition up.
A steel pipe just don't get it for me.
Dennis

[flatwater]

When dealing with fire always error on the safe side. I guess I'm not to hot on the idea of a single wall pipe going up your chimney. Double or triple stainless would be much better. and like was said before seal the top to keep the hot air from leaking past your pipe at the top.
flatwater

[fnfredux]

Suzy, I used to clean my stovepipe from the inside too, only I'd put the brush inside a heavy duty plastic bag, poke the handle end out opposite the open end, duct tape the open end over the stove pipe after I removed it from the stove. Then I'd add the extensions to the brush. The plastic bag really saves getting soot creosote in the house and it's all done up to throw out when you're finished.
I would chck that pipe on a yearly basis as the action of the mortar on the outside plus dampness and the creosote on the inside might cause problems.

[musicman]

Thanks for the plastic bag idea! I'd never heard of that one.