Are all liners the same? The short answer is no. First there are rigid liners and flexible liners, rigid are preferred if they can be used. We generally look towards the EXCELiner if putting in rigid liners. The benefits are: Continuously welded seams – no leaks, no possibility of seam separation. This is something you will not find in lower cost liners and is the most common failure point of a liner in a chimney fire. All stainless steel components using type 304 stainless steel. All stainless steel rivets provided with each liner section – some lower cost brands actually do not use stainless steel! The single most important aspect is the Lifetime Warranty. However even in flex-liners there is a difference. You can buy the lower cost at the big-box stores – for maybe $380 to $500 – and you get what you pay for. A liner with no warranty, thin materials, easily ripped during installation and a life expectancy of maybe 15 years. Or you can spend more for premium products, get PEACE of MIND and a product that will last twice as long and have a real warranty. Where can you buy the better liners? Well – you can’t. The way the systems are set up – big-box stores can not sell the premium products – and we can not buy the lower cost products. In fact many of the HVAC wholesalers do not even offer premium wood burning products either which is a surprise – but is because they specialize in gas manufactures as their suppliers who do not manufacture the premium wood-burning materials. They do sell products, but sadly are pretty much on par with those form big-box stores. Get PEACE of MIND – look for a WETT Certified Technician or WETT Certified Advanced Technician for your next installation.