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Hi again,
Back to the ICF home. I’m installing a Nuaire fp in the basement as an alternate heat source for the hydronic and ground source system. The smallest Nuaire itself supposedly will totally heat 2000 sq ft. It’s very efficient but I guess burns fairly hot.
Do you have any info on triple wall steel pipes vs the clay? I know the material expense is much more but the labor less, but what about long term reliability? I’ve had local masons tell me they would never use steel and others say that’s all they use now.
Thanks for helping me go up with this house. Just wait till I get to my stucco questions!
Linda
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I'd be inclined to think those masons don't like steel because they can't charge you enough in labor to install it. Triple-wall stainless will outlast the house.
Back in my days as a fireman in Western NC, we responded to a house fire on a bitter winter day. The clay stove pipe, after many years of heat/cool cycles, cracked in the attic and the house caught fire. By the time we got the fire out, about 1/4 of the house was trashed. It would have been physically impossible for that to have happened with a triple-wall steel pipe.
Another note from experience: we used to run a kitchen woodstove so hot it would actually glow red. At the same time, you could comfortably rest your hand on the outer layer of the triple-wall pipe.
*Linda,I used to work for a company called Solid Flu. We removed Clay liners which have a life of about 50 years. We pour a cement mixure round a intertube type form and that became your flue. The material used volcanic rock to disperse heat. We had a sheet of it that was about 1/4 inche thick. You could place it in your hand and hit it with a torch and not feel anything. I have replaced many wooden chimneys with masonry structures and without exception, when I pulled the wooden structure down it you could see where the heat had built up and begun to burn the wood and the insulation. Metal flues are a short term solution. they will never outlast a masonry structure or a poured flu liner.Incidentally, I am not in the business anymore. But I would have it in my own home.Scott WhittenAnchored & Co.
*Linda,As and Insurance Agent I represent many insurance companies that write homeowners policies, and most do not look favorable on triple wall pipe. Some will charge more premium for a triple wall installation, and others just will not write the coverage. They all say the problem is the inner pipe will eventually burn out and create a pocket to collect creosote. This creosote will ignite if you have a chimney fire, and burn with intense heat. With any flue, the best way to extend the life of the flue is proper cleaning to prevent chimney fires, and use well seasoned wood. I suggest clean once at the beginning of the season and two or three times during the season. The Insurance Institute will provide you with a brochure on the exceptable types of chimney. They have a web site.Ken
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Hi again,
Back to the ICF home. I'm installing a Nuaire fp in the basement as an alternate heat source for the hydronic and ground source system. The smallest Nuaire itself supposedly will totally heat 2000 sq ft. It's very efficient but I guess burns fairly hot.
Do you have any info on triple wall steel pipes vs the clay? I know the material expense is much more but the labor less, but what about long term reliability? I've had local masons tell me they would never use steel and others say that's all they use now.
Thanks for helping me go up with this house. Just wait till I get to my stucco questions!
Linda