Opinion on chimney flue inspection

[jeremyF]

I just had our flues inspected and the inspector said he saw large cracks in one of them. This flue has not been used by us, but we would like to add a wood stove to it. Personally, I can't really make out cracks in the images. Can a better trained eye give me another opinion?

We were told the narrowest dimension of the flue is 6.5" and with minor deviations in the flue, a 6" liner wouldn't feed down from the top. Therefore, the only solution is to remove the current flue. Removal and install of stainless comes with a $7k price tag. Hoping there's another option because I can't spend that much.

 

[begreen]

An insulated ovalized flue liner is also an option. Or, if the liner is a straight shot down, a pre-insulated, oval system like DuraLiner.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

I don’t see know if it’s cracks or just something throwing the light a bit in the pics but there may be things I can’t see or images not taken. Either way, I would go with an insulated stainless liner.