Sam in Wisconsin has been storing his waste oil to burn and called us to see what kind of deal we could make him. We set him up with a OWH150 and chimney kit.
There are a few things every home owner needs to know about chimney liners. To begin with a chimney liner is made of either stainless steel and titanium or aluminum. The stainless steel and titanium alloy liners are typically called steel liners or stainless steel liners. But they in all actuality contain titanium. This is the reason they are so costly to purchase.
The type of liner you need is determined by the type of fuel and appliances are being exhausted out of your chimney flu. To make it as simple as possible if you are not venting a gas water heater do yourself a favor and stay away from the aluminum liner.
When you are lining a fireplace flu or an oil furnace the heat created when you light a fire or turn on your heat is extreme and the flimsy aluminum is not designed to handle it. In general a stainless steel liner is a better decision as they typically come with a guarantee from the manufacturers, visit hbcontrols.com to find more products.
In some case they come guaranteed for life. Yes lifetime guarantees still exist. When you are coming out of your pocket to have a chimney liner installed, Knowing that you will never have to worry about the cost of this project again is appealing. This is yet an other reason to go with a stainless steel chimney liner over an aluminum liner.
Some chimney services will actually guarantee the job itself as well. When you find a company doing such things combined with using materials guaranteed for life, you know you are in good hands. Look carefully there are companies out there who will guarantee their work.
Every liner installed will need to have a chimney cap installed as well to protect the liner and the crown of the chimney. A good suggestion is to have a properly fitted chimney cap installed instead of the ones that come with the liner kits. The reason for this is the caps that are available in most liner kits only cover the liner and your chimney crown is still exposed to the elements.
Over the course of time your crown will wear down as well as the cement or insulation around the liner if there is any. It just makes good sense to have your chimney in complete working order since you are already going to spend a good amount of money installing a chimney liner.
