Steam cleaner or hand scrape? My flue liner cracked mid-job

Was cleaning a heavy buildup in a 1960s flue last Tuesday over in Salem. Used my steam cleaner to knock off the creosote like I always do. Next thing I know, I hear a pop and see a hairline crack running down the terra cotta liner. Now I'm split - some guys say steam is fine if you go slow, others swear it causes thermal shock. Has anyone else had a liner fail from steam, or was this just bad luck with an old install?

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2 Comments

spencerm525mo ago

Honestly, I'd say people overthink this. A 1960s liner is already pushing 60 years old, so that crack was probably just waiting to happen anyway. Steam or no steam, that terra cotta was on its last legs. You could have been scraping it by hand and the same thing might have popped when the temps changed.

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leoward5mo ago

Didn't I read somewhere that old terracotta absorbs moisture like a sponge, making it more brittle over time?

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