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View Full Version : Making a flue pipe - what would I need?


Mickey
28-11-2009, 12:12 PM
Hi everyone,

I am trying to get hold of some reasonably costing flue pipe to install a solid fuel burning stove in our sitting room.

The cheapest quote I have been given so far is €110/m for the straight bits. The bendy bits are apparently much more expensive. We just DO NOT have the budget for this so we really need to find the cheapest, safest way of doing this. What on earth did people do before they were able to just phone a man to come and do the job for them?!?!

Our chimney is very old (200+ years) and goes straight up and down through 3 floors of double height rooms. There is a short diagonal angle though (just found it now) between the open fireplace and the chimney part. Also, since we are renting we cannot do any physical re-modelling of any kind in order to make this work. It needs to be easily dismantle-able should we move one day.

I figure we wouldn't need to pipe all the way up the chimney, just maybe a short way up to where there seems to be a lip that we could possibly rest a flat sheet of metal with a hole. Would I be able to make one of these myself (via my hubby of course)?

Also, would I (he) be able to make the pipe himself out of galvanised sheeting or something? and then we just buy the clampy bits to fit it all together? And of course try and find the bendy bits here on JT?

Please give me the benefit of your collective creativity and experience. I would be ever so grateful.

Mickey
29-11-2009, 12:54 PM
No advice anyone?

Fries-With-That
29-11-2009, 08:04 PM
No advice anyone?


Hi Mickey,

I would imagine the reason people are reluctant to offer advice on this subject is because it is potentially a minefield of danger.

I would not contemplate a homemade flue pipe, because of the danger of leaking co2 and carbon monoxide(death inducing) or combustiable gases.

The best advice I would offer you is to contact one of the solid fuel stove suppliers and request a brochure with prices.

I don't understand why you can't just pipe the stove directly into the existing chimney from the back of the stove.

Without seeing you're actual situation its almost impossible to offer constructive advice.

There is a flue system available thats powered by a fan that exhausts the flue gasses directly through an outside wall.

This company ( see link below) appears to offer good value in stove piping.


http://www.kielystoves.com/



Regards,

Fries

Mickey
29-11-2009, 11:16 PM
Thanks Fries :o)

I completely understand and agree with what you're saying and we only want to do the best and safest thing here. Budget is a huge constraint here and we really need to get the stove in and working because right now it is colder inside the house than it is outside (I kid you not). Not really fun when you have to choose between groceries and heat I'm afraid. But I really do wonder how we all coped before there was someone to come and make huge sighs and shake their heads and make tut-tut noises and then present us for a bill for thousands for changing a fuse or unplugging a drain.

Ideally I would like to find the ready made stuff and just pay for someone to put it all in right, but for a simple piece of straight galvanised steel pipe it costs €110/m. Does that not sound ridiculous to you?

I've added a diagram to show you what I was hoping to do (sorry it's not masterful - my AutoCad is being used by another and so I had to use Word)

It is obviously not to ANY sort of scale but it looks sort of in proportion - the walls are REALLY thick.

Mickey
29-11-2009, 11:27 PM
This company ( see link below) appears to offer good value in stove piping.
http://www.kielystoves.com/


Fries, this site is BRILLIANT - HALF THE PRICE of any quote I have had so far! Thank you - the end may be in sight!

portsbruff
30-11-2009, 01:25 AM
What i did was got a role of Flexi Flue 5 inch round 7 meters long with 2 people 1 at the bottom pushing and another on top of roof with a small guage rope attached to the flexi pulling (Before you insert the Flexi up the chimney you put a waight on the end of the rope and dropit down the chimney then tigh rope to flexi)

Dont try putting it down the chimney not safe in this weather unless you have a death wish lol
Its best to have the least amount of joins no leaks. One more thing to remember make sure the flue you buy is for solid fuel because you can get a flue which is cheaper but its only for oil fire central heating

Mickey
30-11-2009, 10:24 AM
What i did was got a role of Flexi Flue 5 inch round 7 meters long with 2 people 1 at the bottom pushing and another on top of roof with a small guage rope attached to the flexi pulling (Before you insert the Flexi up the chimney you put a waight on the end of the rope and dropit down the chimney then tigh rope to flexi)

Dont try putting it down the chimney not safe in this weather unless you have a death wish lol
Its best to have the least amount of joins no leaks. One more thing to remember make sure the flue you buy is for solid fuel because you can get a flue which is cheaper but its only for oil fire central heating

Cool :o) Thank you portsbruff!

Do you have to use flexi flue as well as the rigid kind? Does the flexie flu attach to the back of the stove?

We would be unable to get onto the roof of the house at all though, we'd have to use a really tall cherry picker and it is very steep and the slate is very old now. We'd have to go via the fireplace to do an installation of any kind. This is going in on the ground floor and there are 2 double volume rooms above that.

Suggestions?

sparkwell
30-11-2009, 01:19 PM
Hi Mickey

Some great advice there from Fries and Portsbruff. I'd just like to add one little bit of advice based on experience. In a previous home we had a solid fuel cooker which was built into a large chimney and the previous owner has piped so far up the chimney and closed off the rest of the chimney with a piece of steel and a hole to allow the flue pipe through. This was fixed in place so when cleaning the chimney you could disconnect the flue but not take the steel out. Anyway to cut a very long story short we had a horrendous chimney fire because soot had fallen down the chimney and got lodged on the steel and all of this soot caught fire one night - Christmas Eve! We had to get the fire brigade and they managed to get it under control but the house was destoyed with water and soot!!

So my advice is if you are going to close off the chimney with the flue pipe going through the steel make sure that you can take the steel out easily for cleaning (when completely cold of course as it will fly everywhere!)

Hope you get sorted soon

Sparkwell

Mickey
30-11-2009, 01:29 PM
Wow - I'm glad you told me that Sparkwell! Maybe the steel plate could be in 2 sections? Might that help prevent a build up maybe, if we cleaned it out maybe twice (?) a year?

sparkwell
30-11-2009, 01:53 PM
Yes Mickey I would make it in 2 sections and depending on usage twice a year should be okay. I think our problem was that the soot built up there even though the chimney had been cleaned.

Kind regards

Sparkwell

portsbruff
30-11-2009, 10:43 PM
Cool :o) Thank you portsbruff!

Do you have to use flexi flue as well as the rigid kind? Does the flexie flu attach to the back of the stove?

We would be unable to get onto the roof of the house at all though, we'd have to use a really tall cherry picker and it is very steep and the slate is very old now. We'd have to go via the fireplace to do an installation of any kind. This is going in on the ground floor and there are 2 double volume rooms above that.

Suggestions?

If the Flue is coming from the back of stove you will need a 90 Deg Cast Iron Bend 80 euro max join the flexi flue with fire clay to Bend and to Stove(Flexi Flue is about 150 to 180 euro for 5 inch 6 inch might be to big for a older house) You need to know how much you will need i did this with bailing twine with a heavy stone on the end put the stone down chimney (Soot in room) messure from floor of the fire to foot above chimney pot my house was about 8 meters. Now once you have done what i said earyer you will have to get a Cowl for the Chimney pot(Make sure that the maker of this cowl knows the shape and inner Diameter of your pot and make sure that the cowl inner diameter is 5inch to hold the flexi flue (dont use self tappers screws for the cowl and flexi) use Pop Rivets and fire cement once you have got this done get a role of fibre glass this wont burn put this down the chimney around the flue cement ontop of fibre glass if you can or
just enough to block all the holes around the flue once done!!! buy a bracket or make one i made one out of a old roses tin and hid this in the fire place. (the cowl was made for about 80euro) Good luck!!! Remember Be Safe and make safe
PS my roof has nail sickness so get a roof ladder or a builder lol

skenn
09-12-2010, 06:36 PM
I would suggest a length of thin-wall(2mm)stainless steel pipe lowered from above. with the end beveled to lodge close above the fireplace. How long would you need to run the full height ? You could get a cone fabricated( I could get that done) to close the gap if you didn't want to go the whole height.

Mickey
10-12-2010, 03:12 PM
Thank you so much Skenn for answering this post. The house is about 200 + years old and is 3 storeys high with multi levels and VERY high ceilings so it would be a massive length of pipe we'd need then and a crane to get on the roof I reckon.

It has actually gotten so cold here that last winter my hubby ended up in hospital and so with the cold even earlier and worse this year we have decided that we have no choice but to move as the landlord is not allowing us to install the stove. A very good idea though and thank you also for offering to help with the cone thingy. You are very kind.

We will miss this house in the summer - it is just incredible here - but in the long (and short) run my family's health is the most important thing.

skenn
13-12-2010, 04:59 PM
With a funnel at the top of each section, you could construct it in manageable lengths to lower down the chimney. Alternatively, there are inflateable sausages which fit into the chimney, and pour concrete/fire cement around it. The sausage is then deflated and removed, leaving a cast-in-situ liner.

toddler
14-12-2010, 04:02 PM
Having just had the fire brigade out to a chimney fire I would suggest that you get together with the owner of the house and see if you can't come to some sort of agreement to get the job done properly. Luckily we were at home when the smoke filled the attic, lounge and bedroom and there was no structural damage done. Our 'multifuel' was fitted in the summer by a professional plumber, compete with insulated flue pipe. We have now been advised by the fire officer to ensure there is a metre of metal pipe from the stove up the chimney then attach the flue to that then once the flue is in place to pack the chimney with either sand or the product made for the job so that the flue can't touch the chimney and air cannot get in, therefore a fire can't start.
Saving a penny here and there has cost us quite a lot, including heating at this time of year.
Tod