Chimney options

This weekend I bought a used harman Mark III. I have a pellet stove now and enough pellets for the year so I don't really need to get this hooked up until next year. What options do I have for a chimney? I have a brick chimney on one end of the house but that is for my forced hot air oil furnace, and I would really like to have the stove on the other end of the house. I was planning on putting a metal chimney from the basement up thru a closet thus making the closet half the size. I did more measuring today and found out there is a floor joist right where the pipe would go which means there is probably a rafter in the way also. I would like to go thru the wall with a metal chimney but the ground level is too high as the tee/cleanout would be sitting directly on the ground. Do I have any other options other then putting a brick chimney up. I would like to have a brick chimney but I don't think I even want to know how much one of those would cost.

By the way I have a brick cape cod with unfinished attic.

cowentz wrote:I don't really need to get this hooked up until next year.

I would like to have a brick chimney but I don't think I even want to know how much one of those would cost.

You have almost a year to put up a chimney, the metal one may cost you more if you use that time wisely.
Check out used brick (we got some from "Mad Dog" Taborsky's cellblock when they tore down the old Wethersfield Prison), jobsite leftovers you name it. Masons have been know to build a chimney for a case of beer.

Check out concrete chimney block, they are very reasonable. Use the clay liner and the chimney goes up very fast. Much cheaper than a SS chimney, and will last almost forever.

Greg L

Well I think I figured out what I am going to do. I just need to save money. I am going to go the chimney block route, but instead of clay liner I am going to put a steel liner this way I don't have to worry about it if I want to burn wood. I looked around and I did find this product called Brick Block. It is chimney block designed and stained to look exactly like brick. They are around $15 each depending on size.

must you have the clay liner?
my parents house had a coal furnace until 1971. house was built in the 30's.....when i was a baby it backed up (heat exchanger rotted thru) so my dad installed an oil furnace (oil was cheaper than coal in 1971.....mom is a coal phobic now she worries about me burning coal)
anyway there is no liner in the block chimney.....i was thinking of some block chimneys here, but the clay drives the cost up.....this buying tin pipe every year for the outside sucks.

cowentz wrote: I am going to go the chimney block route, but instead of clay liner I am going to put a steel liner this way I don't have to worry about it if I want to burn wood.

Why would you use steel? It won't last very long with coal. S/S would work but why spend twice the money for something that won't last nearly as long?

Why would you worry about a tile flue with wood for a fuel?

lincolnmania wrote:must you have the clay liner?

The simple answer is no, you don't need it with coal, but things arn't that simple anymore. A sound chimney on coal does not need a liner. It is however, required in the building code and the Fire Marshall and insurance company want to see it or you have a serious problem. No permit/insurance without it. You need the clay tile.

not a problem here lol.....these yahoos dont know *censored* up here

use round clay tile liner, w/ male/female, self- aligning ends; this is the best liner you can get for wood, coal, or anything. stainless liners are not cheap and with coal, won't last as long either.

Berlin wrote:use round clay tile liner, w/ male/female, self- aligning ends; this is the best liner you can get for wood, coal, or anything. stainless liners are not cheap and with coal, won't last as long either.

How long would be a reasonable expectation of life for a stainless liner on a stoker?

lincolnmania wrote:not a problem here lol.....these yahoos dont know *censored* up here

You may be right about the yahoos but if you have homeowners insurance and you house burns down the insurance adjuster will certainly know and make an appropriate adjustment to your claim. Now if your self insured that's a different story. Do as you wish, it's your life.

av8r wrote:

Berlin wrote:use round clay tile liner, w/ male/female, self- aligning ends; this is the best liner you can get for wood, coal, or anything. stainless liners are not cheap and with coal, won't last as long either.

How long would be a reasonable expectation of life for a stainless liner on a stoker?

Our SS insulated chimney has been in for 15 years and the inside wall still looks fine. The screen on the cap is gone, but everything else is sound.

titleist1 wrote:

av8r wrote:

Berlin wrote:use round clay tile liner, w/ male/female, self- aligning ends; this is the best liner you can get for wood, coal, or anything. stainless liners are not cheap and with coal, won't last as long either.

How long would be a reasonable expectation of life for a stainless liner on a stoker?

Our SS insulated chimney has been in for 15 years and the inside wall still looks fine. The screen on the cap is gone, but everything else is sound.

Thanks! Good info. I appreciate it. Mine isn't insulated, but I doubt that adds to the longevity.

Sorry I ment stainless steel, not normal steel. I was going to use the s.s. liner because of burning wood in the warmer months when its not cold enough to lite and keep a coal fire going. I have always heard it is bad to burn wood in a clay flue. Cresote can get in the joints and cause a fire? Most people I know around here have lined their clay flues with s.s.

cowentz wrote:I have always heard it is bad to burn wood in a clay flue. Cresote can get in the joints and cause a fire? Most people I know around here have lined their clay flues with s.s.

I think that is true. I saw a brick chimney that was stained brown on the OUTSIDE from creasote. The creasote migrated through the clay liner, bricks, and mortar. He had to get some type of acid wash I think to clean it up. (as best as it could be)

cowentz wrote:Well I think I figured out what I am going to do. I just need to save money. I am going to go the chimney block route, but instead of clay liner I am going to put a steel liner this way I don't have to worry about it if I want to burn wood. I looked around and I did find this product called Brick Block. It is chimney block designed and stained to look exactly like brick. They are around $15 each depending on size.

Chimney block is an economical way to go but one caveat. I have seen these blocks deteriorate over time. Someone told me this is because they were painted. After hearing this I started to notice this appeared to be true. All of the deteriorated chimneys had been painted so the anecdotal evidence suggests there is something to this. If the color of masonry block does not appeal to you maybe try the Brick Block. Just my 2 1/2 cents worth...