Chimney Liners and Why They are Important
Liners in Chimneys serve three basic functions:
1. The liner protects the the structure from heat transfer to surrounding combustible materials. In the tests conducted on unlined chimneys, the resulting heat moved through the masonry chimney so rapidly that the adjacent woodwork caught fire in only 3 1/2 hours.
2. Liners protect the masonry from the corrosive byproducts of combustion. Unlined chimneys allowed flue gases to penetrate the brick and mortar resulting in a reduction in the usable life of the chimney. Flue gases are acidic in nature and literally eat away at the mortar joints from the inside of the chimney. As the mortar joints erode, heat transfers more rapidly to the near by combustibles and dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide can leak into the living areas of the home.
3. Liners provide a correctly sized flue for optimum efficiency of appliances. Modern wood stoves and gas or oil furnaces require a correctly sized flue to perform properly. The chimney is responsible for not only allowing the products of combustion and passage not only out of the house, but the draft generated by the chimney also supplies the combustion air to the appliance. An incorrectly sized liner can lead to excessive creosote buildup in wood burning stoves, and the production of carbon monoxide with conventional fuels.
1. The liner protects the the structure from heat transfer to surrounding combustible materials. In the tests conducted on unlined chimneys, the resulting heat moved through the masonry chimney so rapidly that the adjacent woodwork caught fire in only 3 1/2 hours.
2. Liners protect the masonry from the corrosive byproducts of combustion. Unlined chimneys allowed flue gases to penetrate the brick and mortar resulting in a reduction in the usable life of the chimney. Flue gases are acidic in nature and literally eat away at the mortar joints from the inside of the chimney. As the mortar joints erode, heat transfers more rapidly to the near by combustibles and dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide can leak into the living areas of the home.
3. Liners provide a correctly sized flue for optimum efficiency of appliances. Modern wood stoves and gas or oil furnaces require a correctly sized flue to perform properly. The chimney is responsible for not only allowing the products of combustion and passage not only out of the house, but the draft generated by the chimney also supplies the combustion air to the appliance. An incorrectly sized liner can lead to excessive creosote buildup in wood burning stoves, and the production of carbon monoxide with conventional fuels.