Chimney Conundrum

[Chris Lingwood]

What on earth is this?

another angle http://www.thousandmonkeys.com/chimney/2.jpg

It feels rubbery!

 

I'm tring to get the stove out becausee the flue's cracked and the tiles are starting to come off, oh and its never been bolted down! The flue's seized at the bottom so thats going to be fun for later, but this top joint is quite interesting. It had lots of sealant between the rubbery thingy and the flue to stop it leaking but surely thats the wrong way up? I don't know how far down inside the flue it goes, and its firmly cememter at the top. I don't really want to use the angle grinder in the middle of the living room!

 

I think the chimney roof colar is about 4-4.5 inch diamenter but the flue is 4 3/4inch approx diameter. Can you even buy that size? The local steel supplier doesn't stock it so I might have to try and weld up the crack. There must be a better way of connecting that together though!

 

Ideas please!

[Mac49]

Sorry, don't know about the rubber joint but I do have a brand new 4.5" flue surplus to requirements if it's any use to you if you're planning on redoing it, I could do with the space to be honest. I listed it in the for sale section a while ago but didn't get any responce so i'd swap it for something for my boat or failing that just some beer! Send me a PM if you're interested.

Rick

[pirate paul]

The rubber stuff could be something similar to heat mate, only heat mate is a different colour.

[springy]

Hi Chris

 

Looks like a similar setup to mine - if the flue pipe O.D. is 4 3/4 and your collar I.D. is 4 1/2 then

you would need to fit some sort of adaptor / reducer - which fits over the O.D. of the collar (circa

5 inch), and inside the flue pipe, & then packed with fire cement. This does mean that any tar running

back from the outside chimney is directed down the inside of the flue & back on to the fire. Don't know

what the rubbery looking stuff is - sealant of some sort but I think to get the flue out you will have to

unbolt the collar from the roof and remove it. I would suggest cutting the rubbery sealant away with a

stanley knife first & then gently tap the reducing collar (the black ring) with either a mallet or rubber

hammer (it looks like its vitreous enamel - if you use anything hard you'll knock the coating off) to break

up the fire cement - at this stage you should be able to move the reducer relative to both the flue and the

roof collar. Once the reducer is free you can then remove the roof collar from outside - you'll

probably have to get a large screwdriver or a cold chisel inbetween the roof and the roof collar

to break the seal, lift of the roof collar and then lift out the reducing collar & deal with the flue as required.

 

Hope this helps

 

springy

[DHutch]

I know what you mean my 'upside down' as the flu gasses are hot and rising.

- However althought the wrong way round for the gasses, its the right way for both tar and water which may be running down the stovepipe and from my expericent you have far more trouble with the latter two than the flu gasses.

 

Is the rubbery stuff high temp slicon?

 

 

Daniel

[Chris Lingwood]

The red stuff is heatmate. It was either loads of that or gasses in the boat.

 

I was talking about the black thing in the centre of the picture. I don't think its vitrious enamel, wikipedia kindly informs me that should be glassy. I would say its got a rubbery texture to it, although I'm pretty sure now that its steel underneath.

 

I really really don't want to take the collar off the roof. Its not long been painted.

 

That's interesting about the wrong/right way up. I hadn't considered tar.

 

I think my plan so far is to just cut the damn flue apart to get it out seeing as its cracked, then grind it off relativity flush to the top of the stove collar (outside the boat!) and use it as an adapter ring for the 4.5inch pipe (I'll get back to you on that rick if it will indeed fit). Then to refit I can feed the new flue into the stove further than the plate that's supposed to stop it. And then wedge it in and fire cement the crap out of it.

 

I doubt that the 4.5inch pipe will fit over the questionable black thing though. How are they supposed to connect to the roof collar?

 

Is it one of these?

http://www.midlandchandlers.co.uk/CAST-SOC...PTOR_A125H.aspx

 

Or pixie dust and fairies wings?

[springy]

Pixie dust is ok if you can get the real stuff (there's a lot about that aint) but dont try using fairies wings - the fairies

will go balistic.

 

I feel you need to positively support the bottom of the flue in the top of the stove - wedging & filling with fire cement

may give way when the engine has been running for a few hours due to the vibration, resulting in the flue dropping

into the stove - possibly messy at least and potentially a disaster if the stove happened to be lit at the time. One other

possibility occurs - does the stove have legs/feet that you are going to involve in bolting it down ? Are they removable ?

if so assemble flue to stove first then raise/jack up & fit legs, if not removable you could arrange the flue length so that

it required say 1/2 inch thick spacers under the feet to give the correct height - again assemble stove/flue, raise to

position & then slip spacers under feet & bolt down.

 

cheers

 

springy

[Smelly]

Ask yourself how the flue went on, as it will come off that way. It will be easier for three people to jiggle the fire around while supporting the flue than using a grinder, although I'd recommend using a stainless disc or three at a very slow speed and a dose of patience to minimise mess if that were to be the end result.

 

To expand on Springy's thoughts, the fitter may have jacked the fire up from floor level and slipped the base underneath; that's what i did and it worked a treat. Well at least until we started splitting kindling in front of the fire and killed the base.... That's a job for the next BSC!

 

I used two scissor jacks and a scaff plank to lift our fire, then slotted new a paving slab underneath. A bit of left over laminate floor underlay meant the flagstone didn't scratch the flooring to bits. I'll tile the next one; as there's space, and there will be no splitting of kindling inside!

[alan_fincher]

Ask yourself how the flue went on, as it will come off that way.

I've done that for our boat (very different set up to this).

 

I'm sure I know how it was put together, and it looks one of the cleanest neatest chimney installs, I have ever seen.

 

Unfortunately though, it will still need to be massacred to remove it, as clearly the very last stage was to directly weld the single pipe that goes from top of stove through the roof, and on which chimney slots directly, to the "plate" already bolted to the roof, (actually a normal chimney base from which the usual up-stand had been cut of), and whose fastenings are completely already buried inside under roof linings.

 

I really don't want to disturb it, because I can never hope to put back anything as tidily, but I'm going to have to, (water is getting in at the roof, I'm sure).

 

A really neat job is only good if it is serviceable by someone else in future without total destruction!

[WotEver]

(water is getting in at the roof, I'm sure).

 

Hey Alan - have you tried Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure? I bought some just because I loved the name and it's proved itself invaluable for a weep behind a couple of window surrounds and a crack in the cruiser deck rain channel.

 

It looks like runny PVA when you apply it, but it stains your hands black more like polyurethane, so I've no idea what it's made of.

 

Gotta be worth a fiver to give it a try.

 

Tony

[Mac49]

The red stuff is heatmate. It was either loads of that or gasses in the boat.

 

I was talking about the black thing in the centre of the picture. I don't think its vitrious enamel, wikipedia kindly informs me that should be glassy. I would say its got a rubbery texture to it, although I'm pretty sure now that its steel underneath.

 

I really really don't want to take the collar off the roof. Its not long been painted.

 

That's interesting about the wrong/right way up. I hadn't considered tar.

 

I think my plan so far is to just cut the damn flue apart to get it out seeing as its cracked, then grind it off relativity flush to the top of the stove collar (outside the boat!) and use it as an adapter ring for the 4.5inch pipe (I'll get back to you on that rick if it will indeed fit). Then to refit I can feed the new flue into the stove further than the plate that's supposed to stop it. And then wedge it in and fire cement the crap out of it.

 

I doubt that the 4.5inch pipe will fit over the questionable black thing though. How are they supposed to connect to the roof collar?

 

Is it one of these?

http://www.midlandchandlers.co.uk/CAST-SOC...PTOR_A125H.aspx

 

Or pixie dust and fairies wings?

 

When I fitted mine the flue went through the collar and the space around the flue was packed with 1" glass rope and then a thick layer of heat resistant silicone. The collar sounds a different setup to yours though as the diameter of the collar was probably over 5 inches which allowed for my flue to go in at an angle, parallel to the cabin, but as yours sounds like it's been working OK until now there's obviously more than one way to go about it.

Part of the reason I've got the flue going spare is because of the angle I needed, I would have had to either needed a couple of angles welded into the flue or swap it for a 4 inch flue and I was offered a stainless 4" flue so I went with that option. I thought I'd got some photos, but I mustn't have taken any of the last stage unfortunately. I remember seeing some moulded high temp silicone(?) fittings for a flue, probably on this forum somewhere, could the black adaptor be something similar as you say it's got a rubbery texture?

Rick