Warning!! This is a long post. Didn’t know where else to put this thread, so feel free to move it if need be. Mainly because of one forum member I decided to have a chimney inspection done and on Monday that was completed. I knew I had one clay liner cracked above the thimble but wanted to see the condition of the others. The conversation was immediately opened by the technician saying to me that his boss requires him to recommend a Stainless Steel chimney liner whenever he pulls up to a house with a clay liner. Now some of you would agree with that and I don’t have a problem with it either to an extent. On the other hand it’s an easy way to maintain job security as well. Either way...whatever. On with the inspection. The inspection cost was $289. He explained the reasons for the liner and I listened. When he was finished he opened up the stove, which I had already cleaned, and he looked at me a little confused. That’s when I told him I had bought a wood/coal stove to be able to burn either fuel based solely on the price for the season, but that I had burned wood the first year I lived here, and coal the second year we lived here because my wood supply was still seasoning. I explained to him I prefer to season my wood for 3 years. He was happy about that. He went up and inspected the chimney and I assumed he also swept it, then took pictures. When he came down he informed me that I had three cracked liners above the thimble. By the way, he informed me he was doing a level one inspection and I gave the go ahead to do whatever was needed if he needed to go to a level two inspection. Before he showed me any pictures (remember I assumed he had swept the chimney) he immediately started grilling me about the type of coal and the stove. He said in 9 years being with this company this was his first exposure to any type of stove/chimney that had coal burned in it. Keep in mind this company that came out was the second company I had called. I had initially called a company with the area’s only certified Master Sweep, and they turned me down when I told them I burn coal, but planned to burn some wood as well after any chimney repairs. I had called these folks because I figured a CSIA certified Master Sweep should maybe know a little more about coal burning appliances and chimney’s. That company has been in business for nearly 50 years and didn’t want the job because he said coal chimneys were too dirty. I heard him tell his receptionist this. Luckily for me the company he said might do it did come. Thankfully, because I was beginning to think I would not find anyone to clean the chimney. For nearly two hours I was grilled by the technician about my first year of burning wood and that stove along with the wood/coal stove, the type of coal I was burning, the start up procedures, etc. I showed him receipts for the bags of coal, my seasoning wood supply, as well as pictures of my stove at start up using wood then with coal burning, as well as pictures of the IR gun temps on the stove in various locations and on the pipe and a picture of my hand resting in the stove pipe while the stove was running 299F. I am not writing this to brag, but to explain about my chimney inspection experience. I didn’t just keep talking about the coal burning but he kept asking me questions for two hours. I enjoyed the conversation simply because the technician was genuinely interested. When he finished asking questions, I asked him how dirty the chimney was when he swept it and asked him how much for the inspection. He said there was no charge. What??? The estimate was for $289 how could there be no charge? He said he did not even have to sweep it because it was so clean. All he did was run the camera down the gullet and I offered to even pay for that, but he declined because he said he didn’t do anything but take up my time asking me questions. LOL! We both laughed. Real nice guy, he was. He showed me the pictures of my cracked liners and based on only needing one hot wood fire to get the coal burning, which burns cool ... as my pictures proved to him ... he felt confident my chimney would be fine for this winter and he would give me some estimates for repairs for whenever I was ready to do the repairs. He had talked to his boss over the phone and they decided I would be better served not putting any liner inside the chimney and to leave the clay liner in tact. They determined I would be fine with the current liner so long as I didn’t try and burn a lot of wood. I actually only plan to use enough wood to start the coal...he understood this...and understood that at some point after repairs are made I will resume some wood burning. He and his boss apparently felt comfortable with my working knowledge of things. I specifically asked him about clearance to combustibles that some people keep mentioning as a concern, which is why I called a sweep to begin with, and he said I was fine. We talked about reclining with 7” round clay liners, me doing the work, or them doing a slip cast repair on the existing 8”x8” clay liner with Heatshield product ... which is made local to me. This is a super-duty refractory product made for repairs...good to 2900F. He said with the Heatshield product that he saw no need to downsize my chimney liner even if I switched to a wood stove with a 6” outlet. I thought that comment was strange, but apparently that product has some super insulating properties. He also told me that with the use of that product even if there were clearance concerns before the repair, which there isn’t, that the product being applied would even negate any clearance issues. I can’t verify that, but that is what he told me. On top of all that he took pictures of my flue liner for my oil furnace and will be giving me estimates for that as well. It is spalling badly and really is in worse shape than my stove chimney. They are also giving me estimates to remove the block above the roof and match it with brick to my other chimney. He said there was only a light film of fly ash from the coal burning and sweeping it wasn’t necessary because it was so clean. He actually just wiped it with his fingers was all and got a little dirt on them. Now, there was some creosote from a 4 hour burn with wet wood, that I explained to him that happened, but when I seen what it did to the inside of my old wood stove I never burned anything else that winter and that we used the furnace the rest of winter. The following year I had used some cre-away powder and swept it myself, the next winter then I only burned the coal. Apparently the result of all that was a nice clean chimney. Obviously, their inspection will be tacked on to any work they might do for me, so nothing is free. The good news is, they give me the go ahead to use my chimney for at least a couple more winters if needed. Obviously, come spring I will have repairs made, but I can save up for it in the meantime.
Now that I explained all that I’m going to offer some comments if my own to what transpired. Since a CSIA certified master sweep did not want the job, admittedly didn’t even really know whom else to recommend that had knowledge of coal burning ...didn’t even know the difference between dirty bituminous and clean anthracite coal ... remember this is also a stove I plan to burn some wood in when chimney repairs are made ... and since the company that took the job and was kind enough to come out and perform an inspection for me ... even though I think that is why there was no charge ... and the reason I have no paper work yet for the inspection. I hope I can get a receipt for the inspection detailing what transpired when they give me the estimates. That does sort of puts me in a quandary. Makes me wonder how many more with wood/coal stoves, or even just folks burning coal across the country, specifically East and south of me, how many have trouble getting sweeps to do the work, let alone sweeps with knowledge of anthracite coal. Understandably, not many are burning coal in Ohio/Indiana though there are some. As it turns out, my research to find a sweep with knowledge or experience was zero...nada! This company did recommend me staying with a clay liner for coal burning though, and that has been confirmed by my own research ... 316Ti is recommended some, and some have good luck with it, but my research has seen many pictures with those liners prematurely failing because of acids in the fly ash ... some failing in as little as 5 to 10 years. Who wants to pay for numerous liners when a clay liner can withstand those acids, when cleaned yearly, for decades. The sweep did confirm that for me and recommended I stick with clay. Another thing that perplexed me was their recommendation of the Heatshield and sticking with the same size chimney even if I later went to a wood stove. That went against everything I’ve read on forums. That is keep the 8”x8” liner and Heatshield even if I went to a modern stove with a 6” outlet. We discussed it obviously isn’t optimal, but good enough to work. This saves me a lot of money and gives me the ability to be flexible with changing stoves so I can find the right sized stove for my home, which has been a concern for me. My wood stoves are too big, so is the wood/coal stove, but by burning the coal for now I can really idle it down and maintain house temps easily. Once I get the chimney repaired I may go ahead and even decide to correctly size a stove to my home. As it is now, my two wood stoves drive me out of the house. The idea was to try and buy used stoves to match the stove to the house before dropping $3000-$4000 plus dollars on a useless stove, and use the money I saved to first fix the engine ... the chimney. Once repaired, I have no issue dropping a lot of money on a move new WoodStock wood stove. I bought two used stoves to try for less than $1000 that would have cost me $4500-$6500 just to try the two stoves...not to mention using the old third stove that was in the home and is giant. I refuse to throw money away in new stoves just to learn they are too big. Admittedly, I still suspect of the inspection based on some things I’ve read from others who are in the field that are in these forums. Bigger concern for me is deciding who is right and who to trust. Objective comments welcomed and encouraged.
