Wood fireplace insert-Flue liner questions?

[rc_crfan]

I am getting a Regency wood burning fireplace insert installed in a few weeks. My chimney is brick with a clay flue liner. It will be replacing an existing 27 year old wood burning insert that was vented into the clay flue.

The liner will be 6" diameter round and I have two flue liner options to decide on. "cheaper" according to the dealer, Stainless steel solid liner @ $21.00 per foot. Dealer says that it will only last 10 years before replacement is required.

Or I can go with the $50.00 per foot lifetime guarantee flex flue liner. Says it will never need replacing.


Does anyone know about the differences between the two? Why are they so expensive? Is replacement sometimes required over the years, or is this a sales pitch?
My oil fired boiler has its own flue in the chimney and this fireplace is supplemental and will not be used all the time. What is so bad about the regular old stainless steel liner @ $21.00 per foot? Is this a sales pitch or is the flex a better deal? Thanks in advance.

[Edited by rc_crfan on 09-10-2005 at 09:03 PM]

[Collin]

Regency makes a nice insert.
Not supposed to talk price but 50 bucks a foot?

[hearthman]

By solid, are they talking about rigid stainless, such as 4 ft. sections riveted together?
Look at the warranties. There are liners out there that are "lifetime' to "forever".
Liners for solid fuel must meet the UL 1777 listing. To know how much insulation this will take, you need an NFPA Level II inspection. If you need the thicker insulation, you might need the old flue tile removed to make room for the new. This will drive the cost up considerably. It is nothing around Philly to pay $2-3K for a stove liner and 2-3x that for fireplace relines.

Flex is easier to install and must be used if the chimney has offsets. Get several opinions.
HTH

[rc_crfan]

I was reading the estimates, and Regency dealers have access to Regency's online fireplace sofware program to price different options out. This is what the printout says for the liner:

Flex liner insert- 5.5"x 25ft. =$543.00 which is 21.72 per foot, fine by me. Non insulated.

but then the dealer says "well that is only the 10 year liner, and the lifetime liner is $50-$60 per foot! And the insulation is extra!

I thought it was the solid stainless sections at first, but I was wrong, sorry. I was told that insulation is not necessary and is the homeowners option, because I have a existing brick/clay flue fireplace.

Does the regular flex liner sound like it will do the trick?

[SeattlePioneer]

Personally, I'd be very surprised if you didn't get several decades of use out of solid stainless steel liner.. It's very good stuff, if you can get it up your chimney. I'd prefer it to the flex stuff, even if it weren't half the price.



Seattle Pioneer