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wood burning stoves and chimneys


caroline
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I am putting in a wood burning stove, an old one - there is a chimney breast and an aluminium pipe already there, and it goes up through two floors to the chimney in the roof. A builder told me that I would need to have a double pipe now, that regulations have changed, and I read on the internet that this is a requirement if the pipe goes through a wooden floor (which it does) However as the pipe is already in a chimney breast, is it necessary to change the pipe. Does anyone have some experience with this, that you can help me with some advice ?

thank you

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Thank you for the advice, I dont know if it's a question of heat insulation as well, or just safety ? but I shall try to get it altered, I've got a single one, and I guess it's not that easy to remove, but there must be lots of people who have been in my situation - so others must have had to alter a single lining to a double one, and it can't be that that expensive ??

thanks again

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That's a big difference in cost - is the double insulated worth it do you think ? Maybe if the wood stove is for heating water and central heating, then it's more important than if it's for heating the house primarily ? So much to learn !
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I'm far from being an expert, but have done something similar in the UK.

As a rule of thumb, the hotter the flue gasses at roof level, the better the flue "draws", and therefore the more efficient the flue (*). The converse is that if the flue gasses cool down too much before reaching the chimney, they cease to rise, and you get a smoke filled room. In addition, a cold flue will build up tar deposits, which are difficult to clean, and are a major source of chimney fires, which can mean expensive remedial work.

It may be that your existing flue already provides sufficient insulation, and installing a single liner just to cope with leaks through loose joints may be adequate. However, if your builder is recommending a double insulated one, I would be inclined to believe him.

A double insulated flue will heat up much quicker, and remain hotter than an uninsulated version. My recommendation would be to swallow the cost, and do the job properly. Go for the insulated flue liner; you won't regret it, whereas you'll forever be cursing that fire which doesn't draw!

You should be able to drop an insulated liner inside the existing liner.

(*) Efficient as a flue, i.e to get rid of combustion gases. The question of how much warmth you want to provide to the birds is a seperate one, normally addressed by a flue restrictor in the appliance itself. You may also wish to consider heat recovery systems, which mechanically redistribute unused heat to other rooms. I have no experience of these.

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tonyv,

we installed a SUPRA wood burning stove last year with a single pipe of interconnecting tubes. The problem you outline has confirmed my thoughts also. From the very beginning we had tar dribbling down from the interconnection points. The wood we bought was "sec" however I suppose any gases given off from even the dryest wood can condense if they get cool enough. Our pipe is vertical and about 4m long. Enough for the temperature to diminish below boing point I suspect. Anyway having taken further advice it seems the double paroi is the solution most likely to solve this problem. If as you say it makes the flue temperature higher (which it should) and then the stove more efficient, it should pay for itself in the long term. Many thanks for your comments.  I will ask the chimney guy about mechanically redistributing some of the heat.

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One of the best and cheapest ways of circulating the heat that is trapped near the ceiling is to install a ceiling fan with a reverse switch . A friend told us about it and it works  better than one would expect, particularly if you have exposed beams that trap the warm air and even better you can pick them up at the brico for less than 50 euros!

W Rat

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I'm not sure what that is, but I'm talking about a bog standard ceiling fan with blades,à la aeroplane propellor, normally used to circulate the air in summer ,but has a reverse switch to push the warm air down in winter.

A "recuperateur de chaleur" sounds like it would be more than 50 euros!

W Rat

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