Aluminum Chimney Liner Vs Stainless Steel

Stainless steel chimney liners can be used in all types of installations and at any flue temperature.

Aluminum chimney liner vs stainless steel.

Stainless steel is suitable for wood burning gas or oil appliances while the aluminum is an inexpensive alternative for certain medium efficiency gas applications only. Aluminum is not appropriate for wood burning appliances or fireplaces because of the temperatures that the fires reach when burning wood. There are also liners made out of aluminum. Stainless steel is good for most heat producing appliances where aluminum should only be used for medium efficiency gas appliances.

Further when dealing with wood stoves and wood burning inserts only a stainless steel chimney liner can be used. 316 stainless steel pipe is a ti alloy of stainless steel that can be used to vent wood pellet coal oil and noncondensing gas burning appliances or fireplaces. Another type of material found in this category includes aluminum. High temperature insulation should always be used with metal chimney liners to protect your home s combustible frame from excessive heat.

These two types are classified as metal flue liners. Stainless steel chimney liners are considered to be one of the best materials to use in heating ovens or fireplaces. Stainless has better corrosion resistance higher temperature tolerance higher strength and some decades of experience in general not specifically with flexible chimney liners of having far more fatigue and corrosion failures of aluminum items than stainless steel items. On the other hand aluminum chimney liners can only be used in gas installations at lower flue temperatures and with less corrosive gases.

These materials can be easily bought from stores. They can be found in any home improvement store even as kits. It is usually required that high temperature insulation be used in conjunction with the liners for safety and performance considerations. If properly installed and maintained metal chimney liners are extremely safe and durable.

An aluminum flue liner is more fragile than stainless steel. It can bend or crumple during installation which compromises the integrity of your chimney flue liner. Metal liners are more expensive than clay. With stainless steel you have a lower risk of damage when installed as it can support a great deal of weight.