I have a vigilant Vermont Castings that is vented directly out of the back (8" chimney pipe) into the wall, and 90 degree bend up a masonry chimney with an 8x12(7x11 interior measurement) clay liner. The chimney is relatively new. It seems that most modern stoves that I would consider require a 6" flue and that it should be insulated, which from what I read pushes the outer diameter of the pipe over 7.25". Does anyone have any experience lining a masonry chimney like mine? I am assuming it is possible. Thanks
I just put a new 6" ss liner in my masonry chimney this summer. It was previously lined with an 8x8 clay liner. I wrapped the liner with the insulation blanket. To get it to fit I had to knock the clay liner out. I simply made a tool for it that attached to a corded drill and used chimney brush extension rods. Here is a pic of the tool I made. It's a simple drill bit extension with a nut welded on to it that fit the cleaning rods. The other tool was a piece of 3/8" steel that I got from a local welding shop I used to work at. I welded a bolt on to it that fit the rods. It's very crude but worked surprisingly well.
You will need to break out the clay tiles for the liner and insulation. By removing the clay tiles it should give you about 2" more in clearance If you want to Rent a system like this, Rockford Chimney Supply rents them.
Awesome! thank you guys. I never knew such a tool existed but it makes sense. Is the tool as easy to use as it sounds? any chance of damaging the surrounding chimney?
I've read some things that say you have to be careful to not beat up the masonry. I didn't have any problems but I avoided hitting the bricks as much as possible. Be sure to knock out the clay from the top and work down. I've heard if you go bottom up you're chimney can collapse and I dont think you want that. When I did mine, I would knock out 1 or 2 tiles then go down to the bottom and clean the chunks out. It's a lot of up and down but if you dont keep it cleaned up at the bottom it can pile up and get jammed in there.
It gets pretty dark looking down into the chimney, the clay tiles are usually 2' in length. So you kinda have to "feel your way down" or get a bright light so you can see where you are.
Thanks guys. Thats kind of what I was thinking. go slow, one tile at a time and keep things "in control" just trying to factor in if this is worth it, or to bite the bullet and go oval. I am getting a price on this kit Stainless Steel Oval Kit with insulation.
So if you left the tiles in place leaving a 7" x 11" opening For a 6" stove - An oval liner 5.0" x 8.15" with insulation 25' - $1,149.97 If you remove the clay tiles leaving you a 8" x 12" opening For a Round 6" Liner 25' with insulation 7.25" to 7.75" OD - $469.98, some places you can get a 10% discount off this That seems like a big Bullet to bite.
I have a chimney with pretty much the same measurements. This is what I did which may be something to look into. Instead of going with the 6” liner and 1/2” blanket insulation I went 5.5” liner and 1/4” insulation. I really didn’t feel like knocking the clay out and I have no obstructions near my chimney so I took a chance on the smaller liner. It has worked great so far, still have really good draft and chimney looks good when I clean it out. It’s one way to go.
