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The Sterling Chimney Sweep team

Do I need a chimney liner for a wood stove?

If the stove vents into a masonry chimney, usually yes. A stove sends hot, fast smoke up the flue, and a liner sized to the stove keeps it moving and away from cracked tile. An insulated metal chimney built for stoves brings its own pipe. The stove maker's manual and the condition of your flue decide.

Why does a stove need one when a fireplace did not?

An open fireplace has a wide opening and draws warm room air up the chimney. A stove burns in a closed box and sends out smoke through a small outlet. Sent into a wide old flue, that smoke cools and slows, and creosote sticks to the walls. A liner narrows the path to match the stove, so the smoke keeps its speed and heat.

A liner also covers tile that has cracked with age. Smoke and heat that leak through a crack can reach the wood framing around the chimney.

What kind of setup do you have?

What you can check safely

• Find the stove maker's manual and read what it says about the chimney connection.
• Note whether the stove pipe goes into brick or into a metal chimney.
• With the stove cold, shine a flashlight up from the hearth and look for pipe or tile edges.

Stop and call: if smoke leaks into the room from the pipe, if a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, or if you see cracked tile. For an alarm, get outside and call 911. Do not burn until the flue has been looked at.

How big should the liner be?

It should match the stove's flue outlet. Too big, and the smoke cools and drops creosote. Too small, and the stove cannot breathe. The manual gives the size, and we fit the liner to it.

When to call

A camera look is the fastest way to tell what the flue holds. After it, we can say whether your stove needs a liner, what kind and why. Our chimney liner service works from the stove maker's instructions. We do this work in Mahtomedi, Bayport and across the east metro.