I had a chimney liner installed last summer before installing a new oil heater. I’ve since found that the liner is 1-2 feet short and not attached to the chimney cap. Is this to code? Also, according to another company, there are signs of rust in the liner already.
The installer states that code allows this and will not fix the problem.
Also-I am getting differing opinions on proper sizing. I have a 40 G hot water heater and 105,000 BTU heater. Is there anywhere I can look this stuff up?
Thanks
Jeff
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Since I am not an HVAC guy, this is mostly to bump your message to attention of others
But I think it is insane to line it without usiung stainless steel. Whether code requires it is beyond my ken.
If th eliner goes above the elevatiuo of the roof, that is possibly acceptable. I know it once was common.
Sizing - the paperwork that came with your burner states the required size of flue and most have it stamped somewhere on the unit itself. It is a certainty and a definite rule that you NEVER neck a flue down in size. If the flue connect at the boiler is 36 Sq In, you cannot connect to a flue that is 34.5 square inches.
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Piffen,
any chance you and I are the last 2 people alive that use the word (ken) ?
Must be a cult. I learned it in Florida, from folk who use it. Short for reckoning, I reckon.
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I think Bob Walker here has a handle on the possible ramifications..
one that hits me immediatly is the termination cap..if CO2 COULD fall back outside the liner ( it is heavier than air at sea level)...you COULD be having a draft of it getting inside the dwelling.
Now don't be skeeerd yet..the appliance fittings may be air tite.
If you see rust after one yr...some one F'ed you without a kiss first.
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>>one that hits me immediatly is the termination cap..if CO2 COULD fall back outside the liner ( it is heavier than air at sea level)...you COULD be having a draft of it getting inside the dwelling.I was thinking about that.Typically, of course, the CO2 should be hot enough to keep going up, and you'd think there would also be uplift outside the liner from heat exchange.But I just don't know. As I mentioned in the other message, I just don't like the idea of potential weird air currents that could be created at the top of the flue liner and below the top of the chimney, itself.The more I learn and experience with darfting issues, the less "intuitive" it seemsThe rust he mentioned, though, could be a sign of drfating problems, especially after only 1 year
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I agree. It definatly needs a face to face to deduce what may be going on.
Re: the heat= rise factor..I am not sold on that yet..some cold flames can really limit the Laws of Newton..(G) Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
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The flue liner terminates below the top of the chimney?
I think that's wrong: a flue always has to terminate a specified distance above another building components, and I would argue that with the flue liner being installed, the chimney is "just another building component."
While it might seem bizarre, in my experience, allowing anything to create unusual air currents and eddies around the top of the flue is a sure fire way to screw up drafting of the unit.
As I'm picturing the installation, the more I think about it, the less I like it.
For the flue sizing, there are tables for this sort of thing, but they are, ultimately, just guidelines: the units should have been tested after installation with a draft gauge for between 0.01 and 0.02 wcin draft. There should be a covered or plugged 1/4" drill hole between the heater and the barometric damper.
Also: where are the signs of rust? At the top of the flue? At the elbows in the utility room? At the flue liner joints?
And how much rust is there?
>>Not attached to the chimney cap
Do you mean the concrete "pad" around the top of the chimney on top of the brick? Or a metal cap which keeps rain/snow out of the flue liner?
With gas equipment, there would have to be a metal cap on the top of the metal flue liner, per the flue manufacturer's specs. I'm not sure about oil, but I doubt if it would be different.
See, e.g.: http://www.selkirkcanada.com/products/venting/documents/886106lt.pdf
If the original installer is giving you a hard time, I'd go with another heating contractor. The first guy isn't going to do anything worthwhile - his heart isn't in it, and he might be a bozo.
Given the risks of improper venting, spend the extra bucks for someone else.
Can you post pictures?
Edited 7/9/2005 8:38 pm ET by Bob Walker
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I'm pretty sure it's not to code. If it's rusting, it's not stainless, but probably galvanized, which is not an acceptable material for a masonry chimney liner.
See if you can get your hands on a copy of NFPA 211, which is the national code concerning combustion and venting devices. Your local code may be stricter, but this will give you a good idea.
Probably the earliest fly swatters were nothing more than some
sort of striking surface attached to the end of a long stick.
Hey..(hijack)
we plan on welding up the trailer if we get swamped by rain...OK with you?
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What are dreadlocks made from?