old-cat
Fir Man
Chimney fire IS scary. Yes I did get one going 4 years ago when all I had to burn was Cotton wood. My whole stove pipe is about 6' tall, all I did was shut off the air intake and the fire went out! Man what a roaring, loud noise!
If you do get a chimney fire in a wood stove throw a cup of water in there and then shut it down. (and call the fire department) A lot of times you will get enough steam conversion to put it out.
I've never had one, but opening the stoves door is suicide during such a fire.
Yeah that is the way you do it, right? I saw some firefighters down the road cleaning the chimney a few years ago with all kinds of smoke coming out of it. I didn't know they offered that service until then.
Yeah that is the way you do it, right? I saw some firefighters down the road cleaning the chimney a few years ago with all kinds of smoke coming out of it. I didn't know they offered that service until then.
One of our local VFD's offer that service for free. They would rather do that than fight a fire.
Neighbors have had chimney fires. Very scary stuff. Last year, I had zero problems because, I had never touched the dampner. A neighbor had told me not to touch it, but I did, and now I know.
Yes, there are settings between wide open and too far down.Thats just silly talk IMO. There are optimal temperatures in which you should operate your stove. Yes, you can turn the damper down to extend your burn time and operat outside that temperature. You should not do it for days on end. If you do expect an increase in buildup even after a few days. The typical thing to do is burn a hot fire at least once a day (15-20 mins?) to dry out the build up. To say you can touch the damper is silly. How do you control your stove?
Thats just silly talk IMO. There are optimal temperatures in which you should operate your stove. Yes, you can turn the damper down to extend your burn time. You should not do it for days on end. If you do expect an increase in buildup. The typical thing to do is burn a hot fire in it at least one a day to dry out the build up. To say you can touch the damper is silly. How do you control your stove?
I don't think the original poster had a creosol problem. It sounds like the screen at the top of the chimney got clogged up which is a very common occurrence where you have the hot smoke coming in contact with the cold air. The soot tends to cling to the screen and clog the small openings. There is a huge difference between some soot on the screen and a bunch of creosol causing a chimney fire.
I agree. There will always be some unburned stuff going up the flue, even if it is just at start up, and the cap at the top can be cold. If it condenses on a restrictive cap it really doesn't imply anything about the condition of the rest of the flue.I don't think the original poster had a creosol problem. It sounds like the screen at the top of the chimney got clogged up which is a very common occurrence where you have the hot smoke coming in contact with the cold air. The soot tends to cling to the screen and clog the small openings. There is a huge difference between some soot on the screen and a bunch of creosol causing a chimney fire.
I agree. There will always be some unburned stuff going up the flue, even if it is just at start up, and the cap at the top can be cold. If it condenses on a restrictive cap it really doesn't imply anything about the condition of the rest of the flue.
I understand and I guess it needed a good sweeping. Pine and fir are bad to dirty your chimney. Is this all you have access too or can you get some hardwood. oak, hickory, ash, beech etc....
I'm not as familiar with pine and fir as we have better options available here. Makes sense that if it's seasoned properly that it will burn fine. and it also makes sense that goes for any wood you burn, hard or soft. green will never be as healthy for your chimney.Pine and fir are not any worse on a chimney than hardwoods if burned properly and seasoned properly. I've burned pine for an entire season with no issues and the key is good seasoned wood and not choking the fire down (IE Burn properly).
What a difference a day makes. I left the ladder set up in place incase I needed to get back up there and further diagnose a problem. This morning at the early stages of getting the stove fire going, zero smoke came out the door. The smallest amount of heat swept all the smoke straight up the stoves pipe. The cabin feels and smells clean and fresh.
Happiness is a properly functioning stove when it's freezing outside.
Not so. 2 years ago similar problem, and I removed the cap, and solved all my problems. Come summer time and guy came to sweep it and he said it looked spotless. It's all in the cap.
If you do get a chimney fire in a wood stove throw a cup of water in there and then shut it down. (and call the fire department) A lot of times you will get enough steam conversion to put it out.
You betcha!Happiness is a properly functioning stove when it's freezing outside.
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