Chimney to be lined or not for wood burning stove

tee-bee_2

Hi all,

We're looking to have a multi wood burning stove to be installed in our property.

We got 3 different HETA quotes to see if the chimney is suitable or not..

Out of the 2 engineers, they recommend our chimney to be lined one with a 5" diameter which is suitable only for a 5kw stove and the other a 6" diameter which can fit a 8kw stove.

We then got another engineer who thinks our chimney does not require any lining at all! which then brings down the cost of the install tremendously..

Our property is a 3 bed semi-D.. any ideas? We would like a 8kw Clearview Vision 500 installed in our property.

Just unsure as to whether the other 2 HETA engineers are trying to charge us.. with regards to costs, the lining will be an additional GBP 600++

Thanks

w50nky

Hi, below are my views on fitting a stove etc. Other members will be along to help I am sure.

Lining a chimney is not always required as it depends on your existing flue condition and suitabilty (although lining does have some advantages).
The best way to assess the condition would be to ask a sweep to look at it and sweep it whilst there ( this will be needed anyway). A proper smoke test should be done to check for leaks through the brickwork. This will involve your sweep going onto the roof and sealing the flue at the top prior to lighting a smoke pellet at the bottom. Not just lighting a pellet in the grate or blowing cigarette smoke up and checking to se it appears at the top!

If you decided to line then smoke testing will not be required. Good quality liner is around £50 per meter.

I would not consider a liner less than 6 inch diameter regardless of which stove you decide on. You will get a better draw from your liner for longer as any depsits slowly reduce the cross section area of your liner,

The cost difference is small anyway. The installer may prefer to fit a smallet diameter as it will be easier to install.

I would recommend that you size your stove correctly as a stove is best run fairly hard to ensure a good clean/efficient burn that will reduce deposits in your flue/liner.
If it is to big for your room then it is often unbearable to sit in unless your slumber the stove which is to be avoided. If your property is open plan then this will not apply.


Good Luck

tee-bee_2

w50nky wrote: »

If you decided to line then smoke testing will not be required. Good quality liner is around £50 per meter.

I would not consider a liner less than 6 inch diameter regardless of which stove you decide on. You will get a better draw from your liner for longer as any depsits slowly reduce the cross section area of your liner,

Thanks for your reply.. so I suppose it's probably worth having the chimney lined then.. we've been provided the following:

"Line chimney with 316 stainless steel flexible liner 150mm diameter"

That'll make it 6".. any idea of that would suffice ?

Thanks

abwsco

We were lucky enough not to need a liner. We were quoted an extra £900 if we did.

tee-bee_2

abwsco wrote: »

We were lucky enough not to need a liner. We were quoted an extra £900 if we did.

Did you get a chimney sweep to verify that?

abwsco

tee-bee wrote: »

Did you get a chimney sweep to verify that?

No, the HETAS installers did a sealed smoke test for us before they installed the woodburner. They also didn't charge for this it was part of their service. They would have charged if we decided not to go ahead though.

smcqis

Get it lined, will help draw too

w50nky

tee-bee wrote: »

Thanks for your reply.. so I suppose it's probably worth having the chimney lined then.. we've been provided the following:

"Line chimney with 316 stainless steel flexible liner 150mm diameter"

That'll make it 6".. any idea of that would suffice ?

Thanks

If you are going to line your flue use 904 grade liner as this will withstand smokeless fuel being burnt (if you so choose) better than 316 grade stainless. The cost is only a few pounds more per meter and fitting is just the same. The greatest cost of stoves can be installation so fitting quality parts should give a longer service like IMHO.

muckybutt

Go for the 904 grade, far better quality as has been said than a 316 grade and will withstand higher temps when using solid fuels.

tee-bee_2

Thanks all.. will talk to the installer.

Say, can anyone recommend a trustworthy HETAs engineer in Berkshire?

Ta

hethmar

As per wonky and muckybutt. One further thing, are they going to insulate the liner? The 8kw stove will also require an air vent.

Look on the HETAS website for engineers but even better, ask people who have had their stoves installed for recommendations.