Do I need a stainless steel liner for my chimney?

I got some answers about the SS vent from several different sources. Keystoker told me that 316SS is what is recommended. A sheet metal fab house I contacted said that 304SS will start to chip and pit in several years and you will start getting pinholes in it. They also said the 316SS will resist the corrosion from the coal boiler's exhaust. Several people, including Keystoker, told me that you can use Galvanized or stove pipe, but said you have to check it every year and may need to replace it after a year or two. I'm not up for the idea of replacing the vent pipe every year or two so I decided to go with the 316SS. There is a line of chimney liner called Flex King, made it Pennsylvania, that is 316SS. They sell kits or just the parts you want. There are also insulation kits they sell to go with the liners if needed. They were pretty helpful when I called with questions. The tech even went so far as to find me a 10' length of 4" diameter liner because I didn't need 20'. It saved me about $110.00 and the aggravation of storing excess material. No way I would throw away that much 316SS at that cost. This is just the way I decided to go, there are certainly different factors to consider and various opinions on this, but I don't want to add more work that necessary and I want to make sure my wife feels secure with this.
Mike

Just starting out, I put a used keystoker in my basement next to the furnace ( thanks matt ) and ran galv. 6" flue pipe up and over to the power vent.
A buddy has some left over flex stainless flue liner rated for coal. I know this is for inside a mason. chimney but could I use it for my flue inside the house.
It would come out of the furn. up approx. 5 ft. across the ceiling approx. 14 ft to the power vent.
Also what kind of flue temps should i expect?
Thank you.

The whole reason for chimney liners and the reason they are in the code books is house fire prevention. In a wood burning situation a chimney fire is fairly common occurrence. With a SS liner installed or class A chimney the inside of the chimney can get 1000 degrees or more with raging flames and (supposedly) not burn the house down. If it gets to the point that the the fire department is called they can close off the bottom of the chimney and seal off the air and the fire will go out. Now if you have a chimney fire in an unlined chimney it will suck air from all the loose mortar joints, cracks in the bricks, spaces between the terracotta tiles and the fire will be raging hot. Closing off the stove won't help as it is sucking air everywhere. The chimney fire can get out of control and burn your house down, costing the insurance companies big $$$$$$. With just 4" of brick between 1000+ degree flames and your old wooden wall or an attic full of flammable plastics your house will burn to the ground. Some people decide not to clean the chimney so they can have an "accidental fire" on purpose and collect some cash. It happens more than you might think. To prevent this, and also saving ignorant homeowners from themselves, from sketchy contractors, and saving the insurance companies money the powers that be came up with the stainless steel one piece liner solution and every chimney "expert" recommends them. So bottom line, if you burn wood get a class A chimney or line your terracotta flue with a one piece liner. If you burn only coal then use bricks.

My question is a slight variation on this thread. I have a Wood stove fireplace insert with SS liner up a 16' tall chimney. I'm thinking of swapping it out for a LL sidewinder. Can I use the SS liner as-is, or do I need to do something different? Thanks!

You can use the SS liner as is, but clean it out, or get it cleaned, so any accumulated creosote from the wood fires won't clog the chimney.

Greg L.

For 2+ months I was able to heat most of my 3,000+sf home on nut coal with my harmon magna-fire elite insert, and smile with glee as the propane truck passed my house.
Then, out of the blue she stopped working well. I had virtually no draft. Came to discover that low barametric pressure, humidity and wind direction was an issue.
I have a very large 30+ ft class A unlined chimney, that needed just the right enviornment to preform effectivley.
Just had an insulated stainless steel liner installed, along with a small terra cotta extension to the flue ( have three flues at the same height above the roof that were competing for draft ) and the harmon was humming last night with outside wind gusts up to 60mph.

Can now laugh at the propane truck again.