I am having a Wood Stove Insert (Regency I2400) installed in my home. I live in New Jersey and the people that I am talking (some dealers and installers) are saying that I do not need to insulate the stainless steel liner because it is not as cold here as other parts of the country. My chimney goes through my garage which gets cold in the winter. I have a Ranch home and Chimney Height is about 17'. Would love to get some suggestions. Also the liner that I am getting is a Flexible Stainless Steel 316Ti. Is that sufficient or should I go with a thicker liner? Some say 316 is fine others say go with a 304. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
Should I have my Chimney Liner Insulated?
- Thread starter psulion
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my dealer told me I didnt need to insulate...after much delima and research here, I decided to. I dont know it if was needed, but my thought was it couldnt hurt. My chimney is 27' if it were 17, I would have insulated without question, with the thoughts of improving draft.
If you have the room in your existing flue, you should insulate it now. Also, from what I understand, 316ti is a better choice than 304.
I believe that the 316 and 304 is in reference to the "kind" of stainless used. Meaning the composition of the stainless steel.
Not knowing your weather in that neighborhood, its hard to make a call, but other than cost what is the downside to insulating??? None.
Not knowing your weather in that neighborhood, its hard to make a call, but other than cost what is the downside to insulating??? None.
When I cleaned my 6" flex-liner after 2 years of burning, the only area that had any creosote build up, was the last 8" of uninsulated pipe sticking above the top plate. It was thick with black crusty flakes. The rest of the chimney didn't really need swept at all. Your experience may vary.
I jsut pulled mine appart and insulated in an interior chimney. Mine was heating the masonary, then the attic, and causing ice damning. I insulated mine and will be leaving PA tomorrow to go back to WI. I will let you know if the performance is better. I have a 14 or 15 foot chimney and never had a problem...my guess is that is will be more of a plus the colder it gets! If I had to do it all over again I would have gone insulated from day 1 with a block off plate and not had to go thru the hassle of disassembly and reassembly 2 years later. Spend the extra money and ease the worrying. The difference is like 1 month of a gas or oil bill and if you scrounge your wood you will save many times that
Good luck!
Good luck!
Psulion - insulate your liner. It will help keep the creosote from existing in the first place (when combined with good burning technoque - lots of info on that around here too), and it will keep the heat in the liner where it belongs. Unless you are certain that your masonry flue has the code required airspace clearances to combustibles, then code will require a zero/zero clearance install of the liner. (zero clearance from liner to brick inside/zero clearance to wood outside brick).
In Canada, code differs from oil to wood (oil=no need for external airspace around the chimney / wood = 1 inch on external flue and 2 inch on internal flue). Most chimneys are built to the oil specs, and when we sub the oil out for wood, the code requirements aren't met anymore.
Why am I so blunt on the issue - just had mine installed and WETT certified guy didn't insulate. Spoke to WETT Nova Scotia, and he passed on the numbers I have reiterated above. While the exact clearances may differ by region and product used the principle is the same - insulation reduces clearances and adds a saftey margin. In the end, WETT NS agrees, my guy has to insulate the liner in order to meet the standards that code and WETT requires.
And if that isn't enough, the National Fireplace Institute and the Chimney Saftey Institute of America made it #5 of their 6 Best practices for liner installs. Check out the link in my signature for the pamphlet - maybe give it to your installer - Maybe we all should print it and give it to our installers.
Hope that helps. You can read my other insulate liner rant here https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/24269/ and here https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/23980/#257300
In Canada, code differs from oil to wood (oil=no need for external airspace around the chimney / wood = 1 inch on external flue and 2 inch on internal flue). Most chimneys are built to the oil specs, and when we sub the oil out for wood, the code requirements aren't met anymore.
Why am I so blunt on the issue - just had mine installed and WETT certified guy didn't insulate. Spoke to WETT Nova Scotia, and he passed on the numbers I have reiterated above. While the exact clearances may differ by region and product used the principle is the same - insulation reduces clearances and adds a saftey margin. In the end, WETT NS agrees, my guy has to insulate the liner in order to meet the standards that code and WETT requires.
And if that isn't enough, the National Fireplace Institute and the Chimney Saftey Institute of America made it #5 of their 6 Best practices for liner installs. Check out the link in my signature for the pamphlet - maybe give it to your installer - Maybe we all should print it and give it to our installers.
Hope that helps. You can read my other insulate liner rant here https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/24269/ and here https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/23980/#257300
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