Chimney liner for quick removal and replacement

[Chertsey]

I don't know whether I should have posted this here or in more general 'equipment' but I thought it might find more people with experience of it here.

 

I shall be off for a brief cruise in a few weeks and I think I shall want to light the stove.

 

When we lived on Bakewell, and it didn't go anywhere, the chimney stayed on and it had a liner in it, no problem.

 

But when moving about, sometimes the chimney has to come off. My problem is that with the liner in place, this can't be done quickly or easily. It's a two-handed tussle that isn't compatible with steering the boat simultaneously - getting it back on/in being the hardest part.

 

The cabin has been lovingly cleaned and polished and I don't want to get tar running down it.

 

The liner I've got is a completely separate rolled piece of tin that sits inside the chimney collar, unrolling itself to fit snugly both there and at the top of the chimney.

 

How do others manage?

[koukouvagia]

I have a rolled piece of aluminium, riveted along the edge, which fits loosely into the collar and is attached at the top of the chimney with a couple of rivets. This means I can whip the chimney and liner off quickly.

[ditchcrawler]

My liner is fixed at the top and the whole lot is easy to lift off, but I do use both hands

[Ray T]

I had Simon Wain build me a lovely riveted stainless steel double skinned chimbley. It fits like a glove and I have no problem getting it on or off the collar.

I filled the void between the two skins with exhaust wrap and fire retardant foam.

 

Not cheap, but then quality never is.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 11, 2016 by Ray T

[ChimneyChain]

I know back in the day boats had a chimney extension but did it also fit into the collar as well to prevent taring on the roof ??

In winter I use a rolled Steel Sheet for my chimney and use the "nicey brassy one" for summer.

 

Darren

Edited October 11, 2016 by ChimneyChain

[Laurence Hogg]

I don't know whether I should have posted this here or in more general 'equipment' but I thought it might find more people with experience of it here.

 

I shall be off for a brief cruise in a few weeks and I think I shall want to light the stove.

 

When we lived on Bakewell, and it didn't go anywhere, the chimney stayed on and it had a liner in it, no problem.

 

But when moving about, sometimes the chimney has to come off. My problem is that with the liner in place, this can't be done quickly or easily. It's a two-handed tussle that isn't compatible with steering the boat simultaneously - getting it back on/in being the hardest part.

 

The cabin has been lovingly cleaned and polished and I don't want to get tar running down it.

 

The liner I've got is a completely separate rolled piece of tin that sits inside the chimney collar, unrolling itself to fit snugly both there and at the top of the chimney.

 

How do others manage?

 

Boatmans Cabin made one very similar a rolled conical shape that rested in the collar and sprung open into the chimney. They worked very well. The last thing you want is a fixed liner when moving, catch a bridge or similar and the chimney becomes very strong and can buckle the roof, or if wooden tear the collar out.

[Chertsey]

 

Boatmans Cabin made one very similar a rolled conical shape that rested in the collar and sprung open into the chimney. They worked very well. The last thing you want is a fixed liner when moving, catch a bridge or similar and the chimney becomes very strong and can buckle the roof, or if wooden tear the collar out.

But I do ideally need one that will stay in the chimney when I take the chimney off so that it doesn't catch the bridge, and that will enable me to get the chimney back on again afterwards without too much of a struggle. I think this means that it will have to be fixed, probably more like KK's than Ray's, in the medium term at least, and I will have to be ready to whip it off when required - it's not hard to know when, and to do it, with the cabin chimney, even if you don't notice until the last second.

 

In the very short term, however, I may just have to carry on ramming a bit of rag down between the chimney and the handrail, unless there are any other tar avoidance schemes for single skinned chimneys?

 

 

I know back in the day boats had a chimney extension but did it also fit into the collar as well to prevent taring on the roof ??

In winter I use a rolled Steel Sheet for my chimney and use the "nicey brassy one" for summer.

 

Darren

I'm not sure the liner would stay in on its own. I've also wondered about an all through liner/extension but I concluded it would make the whole assembly too unwieldy, and would of course necessitate taking it off more often.

I saw a National milk tin in an antiques place in Saltaire and was tempted but at £16 it was a bit steep to put to traditional use. Perhaps I should have got it for show.

[Scholar Gypsy]

Just to say that I too have added a couple of rivets to the liner, so that it fits snugly in the collar. In the past it's been loosely fixed to the outer chimney, but with my present setup it is separate. Both can be removed with one hand. You might want to add a longish chain between the two, to sit in the gap when they are in position?

 

In order to fulfill its function I don't think it needs to be that tight - the gunk runs down the inside of the liner and then into the flue etc.

[pete harrison]

In order to fulfill its function I don't think it needs to be that tight - the gunk runs down the inside of the liner and then into the flue etc.

What I do not understand is how can this possibly be considered to be safe, especially with a back cabin stove. Surely this will quicken the blocking of the smoke box / flue pipe so increasing the risk of carbon monoxide escaping into the cabin once the draught becomes restricted.

 

I think I would rather clean the cabin side off now and again than endlessly cleaning out the smoke box / flue pipe, unless I am missing something obvious

[Scholar Gypsy]

What I do not understand is how can this possibly be considered to be safe, especially with a back cabin stove. Surely this will quicken the blocking of the smoke box / flue pipe so increasing the risk of carbon monoxide escaping into the cabin once the draught becomes restricted.

 

I think I would rather clean the cabin side off now and again than endlessly cleaning out the smoke box / flue pipe, unless I am missing something obvious

 

I wonder if this depends on the fuel? I use phurnacite, with a bit of kindling to get it going, and the volume of deposits (soot/tar etc) on the inside of the flue and chimney liner is minimal.

 

But even for a wood burner, I can't really see how whether there is a liner or not will affect the amount of deposits on the inside of the flue, I think?

 

Ideally, I think, you want the chimney to seal reasonably well on the collar, so that the height of the hot air column is maximised (to improve the drawer), but that's a slightly different point.

[Chertsey]

I think the liner works in two ways, so it's not all about putting more gunk down the flue. It creates an air gap, insulating the inner surface, meaning it's not so cold so less stuff condenses on it, but goes out of the top of the chimney. This, I *think* actually makes the fire draw better.

 

An idea came to me in the night. I have no access to riveting facilities in the short term but I do have some exhaust bandage lying around. I'm thinking maybe I can get the liner in place in the collar, wrestle it to size or a bit under size, maybe with some wire, then wrap the bandage round the bottom until it's a tight fit into the chimney, possibly tapering it a bit to help get the chimney on. Hopefully that would hold it in place and seal it at the bottom, while the spring of the liner would hold it in place at the top. Do you think that would work?

 

Edited lots of times for clarity and new thoughts.

Edited October 12, 2016 by Chertsey

[Derek R.]

As has been mentioned, a piece of rolled tube inside the outer chimney and kept in place at the top with two or three rivets, and with a bit of glass fibre stuffed in the bottom between inner and outer that fits inside the collar by an inch or two and is easy and quick to lift off. That's what we had for the better part of ten years living afloat, never had any issues with build up of tar or other residue, burnt all sorts of stuff from green Polish "coal" (?), wood, and Welsh Steam coal. How long does it take to put a brush down the flue from collar to stove? Minutes. With soft coal you would expect to do that once a week at least. With quality fuels far less. No mess on roof or cabin side. Dried Milk tins? Any tin that fits will do for an extension.