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installing chimney liner with heatilator fireplace
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Posted by ranger_ric (My Page) on Wed, Oct 7, 09 at 17:39
| I want to installi a chimney liner for a wood insert but my fireplace was built with a heatilator system. One expert I spoke with told me to simply "ovalize" the liner (six inch diameter) and push it through (and don't insulate that short section), then reform the pipe to round so that it will for the connector. Another expert told me that I need to "torch out" the heatilator smoke shelf in order to get a straight shot at the liner. Can anyone out there give me advice on which way to go on this? The torching seems like a lot of trouble compared to the ovalizing of the pipe. Thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: installing chimney liner with heatilator fireplace
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| Just an update on this. I talked to the installer about this and he said that they used to do it without torching out the heatilator, but because the liner pipe is not very flexible it made connecting to the collar on the stove difficult. This is why they went to the process of cutting out a 14 inch x 20 inch section of the back wall of the heatilator, in order to get a straight shot at the liner pipe. The pipe must still be snaked down past the smoke shelf, but apparently the heatilator made it all that more difficult. |
RE: installing chimney liner with heatilator fireplace
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| Well no one has responded to this question so I will respond myself for the benefit of anyone out there who is struggling with the same issue. As it turned out, it was an academic question - once I got to it, it was literally impossible to install the chimney liner, even though they call it "flex liner", without having the heatilator torched out. I tried, believe me - I "ovalized" the 6-inch flex liner and forced it through the smoke shelf and the open damper, and then I ordered two expensive elbows and to make the bends, but even that was not practical. So I finally hired a welder to come and cut out the smoke shelf and damper, and wow what a difference that made to the ease of installation! Plus it was inexpensive and fairly painless. |
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