Suppliers of flexible flue liner

[Craig89]

Hello

Im currently shopping for flexible flue liners for my chimney and its proving to be a bit of a mine field. There are a considerable amount of online suppliers which all seem to claim they are the best. All of the prices seem to vary considerably. Does anybody have any person experience of purchasing a flexible flue liner and any recommendations for or against anybody?

Thanks,

Craig

 

[malcolm]

I went with the one recommended by stovefittersmanual, but he does sell them so he would say they are good. The guide is here: https://www.stovefittersmanual.co.uk/articles/what-grade-of-chimney-flue-liner-316-or-904/ I bought it and fitted it myself while the scaffolding was up. It might also be worth checking with the place where you want to buy the stove as their fitters will need to be happy with the liner as part of the installation.

 

[steveb]

We went with the same - https://www.stovefitterswarehouse.co.uk/collections/flue-liner/products/duraflue-316-904-grade-chimney-flue-liner

We went with 904 liner and stainless cowl - the builder who fitted it said that the liner and cowl were "unusually good" - but in such a way that the reduced flexibility made it awkward to fit in our tight flue. He got there in the end

 

[Craig89]

Thats good to get a recommendation thanks. I need to ull my finger out so I can get one fitted before the scaffold comes down too

 

[Owain]

Is there a consensus on whether it's easier to pull it up from the bottom or poke it down from the top?

Presumably poking down from the top is more awkward as you have to get it up top in the first place.

 

[malcolm]

Top down is easier if you have access. Liners are heavy so it is helpful to have gravity on your side. There is a pointy bit you can screw on the end and tie a rope to. Drop the other end on a weight down the chimeny then have fun with a friend at the other end pushing, pulling and twisting to get it around the corners.

 

[Flyfisher]

We've had four flexible flue liners installed, all from above. One by me which was absolute simplicity as it was down a very large, straight chimney and the opening could be seen from the inglenook, plus we already had scaffolding in place for other works. The other three were professionally installed, again both from above. For one of them the installer used our scaffolding, for another they just used a roof ladder then climbed onto the stack (see photo!), for the third one they hired a cherry picker for half a day.

If pulling a liner up a flue, I'd be concerned that if (when?) it became slightly stuck then the temptation to pull really hard might damage the liner, whereas by letting gravity do the work, a bit of 'jiggling' is generally all that's required and puts little or no strain on the liner.

The one I installed was a 904 liner from Specflue, not sure about the manufacturer of the professionally installed ones. The first liner was installed 10 years ago, the last one was about 4 years ago. All have been fine so far, even the one used daily (in winter), but I guess the real test is how long they will actually last.

 

[Craig89]

Well that confirms it then I will be ordering from the above tomorrow, thanks everybody. Although they claim to offer these 25 year warrenties or whatever I think you saying you have one still going strong after 10 years is pretty good and must be decent quality

 

[Pennyviz]

We've had four flexible flue liners installed, all from above. One by me which was absolute simplicity as it was down a very large, straight chimney and the opening could be seen from the inglenook, plus we already had scaffolding in place for other works. The other three were professionally installed, again both from above. For one of them the installer used our scaffolding, for another they just used a roof ladder then climbed onto the stack (see photo!), for the third one they hired a cherry picker for half a day.

If pulling a liner up a flue, I'd be concerned that if (when?) it became slightly stuck then the temptation to pull really hard might damage the liner, whereas by letting gravity do the work, a bit of 'jiggling' is generally all that's required and puts little or no strain on the liner.

The one I installed was a 904 liner from Specflue, not sure about the manufacturer of the professionally installed ones. The first liner was installed 10 years ago, the last one was about 4 years ago. All have been fine so far, even the one used daily (in winter), but I guess the real test is how long they will actually last.

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Good to see you have all the safety gear on :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Flyfisher]

I should like to clarify that I'm not in that photo, it's one of the professional installations :shock:

 

[Flyfisher]

Well that confirms it then I will be ordering from the above tomorrow, thanks everybody. Although they claim to offer these 25 year warrenties or whatever I think you saying you have one still going strong after 10 years is pretty good and must be decent quality

To be fair, the 10 year old liner is probably the least used one. The one in daily use throughout the cold season was installed around 7 years ago though was not used daily until about four years ago.

 

[paulc]

Well that confirms it then I will be ordering from the above tomorrow

When I had my stove fitted, I looked at the price of liner, cowl, and assorted other "bits". Reckoned it was going to cost around £500, then I'd need to get up on the roof (not my idea of fun). Hiring a cherry picker would have been another £200 or so, then another £300 for building control to sign off on the installation. In the end, got a HETAS engineer in to supply & fit the liner and commission the stove for about £1000. Saved me the hassle of climbing around on the roof, and I reckoned it didn't cost much more than doing it all myself. Certainly saved on the trouble of dealing with BC.

I specified 905 liner, stainless steel cowl and fittings. No vitreous enamel pipes to go rusty.

 

[livias]

If yòu do install it yourself then make sure it is the right way up. Checking that was the first thing that the HETAS sign off person did with ours

 

[Flyfisher]

When I had my stove fitted, I looked at the price of liner, cowl, and assorted other "bits". Reckoned it was going to cost around £500, then I'd need to get up on the roof (not my idea of fun). Hiring a cherry picker would have been another £200 or so, then another £300 for building control to sign off on the installation. In the end, got a HETAS engineer in to supply & fit the liner and commission the stove for about £1000. Saved me the hassle of climbing around on the roof, and I reckoned it didn't cost much more than doing it all myself. Certainly saved on the trouble of dealing with BC.

Exactly the reasons why I installed our first liner and then had the other three installed professionally!

 

[ElectronicFur]

Is a £1000 about the average of what it costs to supply & fit a liner and commission a stove?

We have a few fireplaces and chimneys that need a stoves and liners fitted at some point, as and when budget allows. Also already have a Coalbrookdale Darby stove in one room, but previous owner said it was not safe to use as the liner only goes partway up the chimney. Getting Darby liner sorted is one of the next tasks, so would be good to get an idea of what the rough costs are.

I did look into doing it myself, but it sounds from what you guys are saying it's not that cost-effective. Also all 3 chimney stacks are tall, so it wouldnt be simple to get liners up to them.

 

[Craig89]

Is a £1000 about the average of what it costs to supply & fit a liner and commission a stove?

We have a few fireplaces and chimneys that need a stoves and liners fitted at some point, as and when budget allows. Also already have a Coalbrookdale Darby stove in one room, but previous owner said it was not safe to use as the liner only goes partway up the chimney. Getting Darby liner sorted is one of the next tasks, so would be good to get an idea of what the rough costs are.

I did look into doing it myself, but it sounds from what you guys are saying it's not that cost-effective. Also all 3 chimney stacks are tall, so it wouldnt be simple to get liners up to them.

The Coalbrookdale Darby is a massive stove and requires, I believe, an 8" flue which could be difficult to install in a small chimney flue with bends etc. It will obviously be a more expensive liner due to it being larger than the standard 6"

 

[88v8]

904 is best and can be used with wood or solid fuel.
316 is only suitable for use with wood.
If the liner is to have an insulated jacket, they are very heavy. For a tall house, an interim support may be needed inside the flue which means breaking into the chimney. Insulated jackets need to go from top to bottom. I have heard of cheap installers just fitting a few feet at the bottom, saves them a lot of money and bother innit.
The clamp plate that holds the liner at the top, they too come in different grades from solid with stainless bolts and washers to downright flimsy with silly little bolts and no washers.
Terminate it with something that will keep the rain out. The Brewer UFO 2 does a good job. although the H pot is perhaps the best
https://brewercowls.co.uk/cowl-products

Ivor