You’ll need a top-notch, long-lasting chimney liner if you want to keep your chimney in excellent condition for many years. It’s normal to know how long it will last, whether you currently have a liner or are hunting for one.
Flue liners of stainless steel typically last 15 to 20 years; however, less durable liners might only last five. A lifetime warranty is frequently offered with high-quality stainless steel chimney liners.
Why Do I Need Stainless Steel Chimney Liners?
Three essential purposes of chimney liners are as follows:
- Liners prevent heat transfer from the home to combustibles. Regarding a fireplace, you are undoubtedly under a lot of heat. So why play around? Ensure the chimney liner is in the descent form if you want to avoid fire dangers. Its main goal is to prevent house fires. According to tests using unlined chimneys, woodwork can catch fire in just three and a half hours.
- From the corrosive byproducts, liners shield the stonework. Several factors make flue gasses particularly harmful. They endanger your family’s health seriously and harm the brickwork in addition to you and your loved ones. If you’re not careful, deadly carbon monoxide can seep into residential spaces.
- Because of the gasses’ power, they can eat through mortar joints and brick, which is dangerous. As a result, the chimney’s complete structural integrity suffers long-term harm in addition to an augmentation of the fire and health risks.
- Modern gas furnaces and wood stoves will not operate correctly if the vent does not fit or behave as intended. The chimney creates a draft necessary to develop flammable air in the fireplace. Liners offer the ideal-size flue for maximum effectiveness. Inadequate liner sizing can result in excessive creosote buildup, which also adds to carbon monoxide.
When To Replace Your Stainless Steel Chimney Liner
Only by having it examined by a qualified chimney technician will you be able to determine the particular state of an existing chimney liner. In numerous scenarios, this person might suggest a new liner.
- A clay tile liner that already exists has damage. The possibility of dangerous gas entering the home or the chimney catching fire is increased by liner cracks that allow carbon monoxide and hot sparks to escape.
- Low flue temperatures and condensation issues. The lack of a chimney liner will result in condensation in the flue from low temperatures, which could corrode the chimney’s structure.
- A fireplace insert or conversion. You might need to install a new liner when you put in a new fireplace insert or change the fuel source in your existing fireplace. Whether or if this is required will be decided after consulting a specialist.
- Serious deterioration of an existing steel liner. Steel liners can rust, degrade, and deform with time, rendering them dangerous. As previously mentioned, cast-in-place and clay tile have longer lifespans than stainless steel liners.
Are Stainless Liners The Best Choice For Me?
Stainless is always the most fantastic choice regarding effectiveness, longevity, safety, and price. The venting performance will be maintained or enhanced with a stainless steel chimney liner that is appropriately sized for the stove, furnace, or fireplace (draft). Going to a Smooth Wall liner will also increase your airflow by up to 20% for gas appliances and up to 15% for oil-burning ones.
Most of the time, existing chimneys are upgraded and repaired using stainless chimney liners. These U.L. tested and listed liner systems are safe and long-lasting if installed and maintained correctly.
Applications involving gas, oil, or wood burning can use stainless steel. While fitting in a brick chimney, the liner guards the house against heat transfer to combustibles. Unlined chimneys in the NBS experiments allow heat to pass through the duct so quickly that nearby woodwork caught fire in about three hours.
What Are The Advantages of Relining My Chimney?
Installing a stainless flue liner gives you peace of mind since it better protects your family, home, and possessions against deadly carbon monoxide and probable chimney fires. By installing insulation, you have also improved protection and raised your property’s value, whether it is a burner, hot water tank, wood-burning insert or furnace, or even an established fireplace.
Many new buyers and realtors now want chimney inspections when properties are sold, and if you don’t have a liner, they will ask that it be put before they make the purchase. They will also be protected in case of a problem because our liner warranties are transferable.
- Security in the knowledge that sparks and gasses won’t enter your home.
- Improved efficiency through improved airflow and less creosote accumulation.
- A far more accessible and cost-effective option than rebuilding or repairing the chimney.
- You may anticipate the stainless steel liner to last a lifetime with little to no maintenance because it resists corrosion.
How Can A Chimney Become Damaged?
Condensed flue gas moisture, which is acidic, is the primary cause of chimney disintegration. The chimney is under attack from the inside by this acidic liquid. Because of this, a duct may appear appealing from the outside, but the interior may tell a different tale. Your chimney might be harmed by years of regular use, heat and cold cycles, and seasonal weather conditions.
Every cubic foot of gas used produces twice as much water vapor, and condensation starts when the temperature of the gas in your flue falls below 120 degrees. All of the moisture from the water vapor condensation condenses inside your chimney. Acid rain soaks the flue tiles in many droplets.
Overabundant acidic moisture in the chimney is a complication of using a high-efficiency furnace. Compared to traditional furnaces, high-efficiency furnaces are more efficient at capturing heat from a certain quantity of fuel and losing less heat through the chimney.
Since the chimney receives less heat, more condensation develops since the flue temperature is frequently below 120 degrees. The flue rarely gets a chance to dry out due to the regular acidic rain. Terracotta flues and brickwork erode due to this acidic dampness.
Chimney fires are a different cause of chimney deterioration. Despite the intensity of sure chimney fires, a steadily burning chimney fire may occasionally go overlooked by the homeowner as the heat causes damage.
How Should I Cut The Stainless Liner?
The ideal response is being cautious. Please use caution because the liner tips will be very pointy. Put on gloves as protection. Although we have used a variety of instruments to cut these liners, an impact wrench with an abrasive wheel produces the best results quickly and neatly.
That is totally acceptable if you want to use a hacksaw, tin snips, Sawzall, or another tool. It won’t look pretty when you’re done, but the top plate and rain cap will hide it, so no one can see it.
What Does Stainless Steel Have To Offer?
You and your house will gain all of the following advantages from replacing your old chimney liner with a replacement stainless steel chimney liner, in addition to being a prudent decision:
Safety
Corrosive gasses can erode brickwork and mortar, chimney fires can shatter clay tiles, or even a changing base can damage chimney flue tiles. As a result, fissures will be left, which might let dangerous carbon monoxide and perhaps chimney fire sparks into the house, starting fires.
Suppose your chimney is unlined or its clay tile liner is more than a few decades old. In that case, there’s a good chance that some of the tiles are cracked or some of the mortar is missing, which might allow toxic fumes and smoke to enter your attic or home.
Your flue can be sealed off with a stainless steel chimney liner to keep heat and sparks from entering your home’s combustible materials. Additionally, it can cut down on smelly and smokey downdrafts.
Improved Performance
Installing a new heating appliance (stove or furnace) that will be discharged into your brick chimney necessitates using a stainless steel chimney liner for improved performance. As hotter gasses pull more readily than cooler gasses, it enhances chimney draft. Better combustion results in increased fuel efficiency.
Reduced Creosote
An estimated 15,000 home fires are caused annually by creosote fires. An excessive creosote buildup could signify that your flue is too small. Due to the combustion gasses being kept hotter out of the chimney, an insulated liner also permits less creosote buildup inside the vent.
Affordable
For a relatively cheap investment, a stainless steel chimney liner can increase the safety of your property. These liners are a more cost-effective option than the majority of conventional chimney liners. They are less expensive than fixing or replacing the clay flue tiles you currently have.
Stainless steel liners are less costly to install initially and less difficult to install than clay tile liners. Additionally, the spherical shape of this sort of liner makes cleaning it simpler. There are no sharp edges to trap creosote buildup, allowing quicker, more efficient cleaning.
Lifetime Warranty
Stainless steel resists corrosion, so you can anticipate this liner lasting a lifetime, almost trouble-free. Additionally, your stonework will last longer and require fewer repairs thanks to the complete seal that has been put to the liner, which keeps unpleasant emissions away from it.
Rounding Up
Your home and chimney are the main targets of the liner’s protection. In reality, it shields your house from heat transfer to combustible items. In addition, they safeguard your chimney. They provide brickwork around the chimney with an additional layer of defense from corrosive byproducts that could otherwise damage it.
The ability to generate the ideal flue size for maximum efficiency is another crucial feature of chimney liners. The correct draft is ensured by appropriately sized liners, which prevent creosote buildup and carbon monoxide.