Chimney fire I think.

[Jules083]

I just went down to check the fire, I can't say I had a chimney fire but it was glowing through a small crack where the stove pipe goes into the flue. Closed all of the air off, now its not glowing. There was no fire in the actual stack.

I just ran the brush through it a few days ago, I'm thinking some creasote must have fell into the end of the stovepipe. The chimney itself is pretty clean, as chimneys go. I did get out more creasote than I'd have liked to.

So now what? Call off work, let the fire go out, and clean the stovepipe? I'd hate to miss work, but I want a house when I get home. I could plug in space heaters and deal with it tomorrow if I absolutely had to, but I'm kinda nervous even leaving right now.

 

[D&B Mack]

If you have a chimney fire going, you will know it. It will sound like a tornado...it is noticeable. Let the fire go out. Can you check the 'attic' or whatever dead space you have above? Is the wall extremely warm where your pipe goes through?

 

[nathon918]

well first off is this a newer cat stove or an old stove, if its a cat stove you shouldnt have flames going up the chiminey, unless your damper is open,
when i load up my stove, i leave the damper open and the air wide open to get the fire going and drive all of the water out of the wood, i dont shut the damper untill the stove pipe reaches 600-800 deg. theres also flames shooting up the stove pipe while i do this, then i shut my damper and leave the air open until its burning hot then i turn the air down.
i have a mini chiminey fire everyday just to burn out whatever is in the stove pipe.
if you just cleaned it i wouldnt worry too much, unless your burning very wet wood at a low temp then it could get dirty pretty quick then id let it go out and check it out when you get home...

 

[Jules083]

The chimney wasn't a raging fire. I think I just has some creasote in the stovepipe glowing. I can touch the chimney all the way through the roof. It's normal temperature, meaning warm to the touch. I'd say 80 degree surface temp on the brick?



All typos and misspellings blamed on my phone.

 

[nathon918]

no black cloud and fire coming out of the chiminey?
i wouldnt worry too much, just check it out when you get home...

 

[Jules083]

well first off is this a newer cat stove or an old stove, if its a cat stove you shouldnt have flames going up the chiminey, unless your damper is open,
when i load up my stove, i leave the damper open and the air wide open to get the fire going and drive all of the water out of the wood, i dont shut the damper untill the stove pipe reaches 600-800 deg. theres also flames shooting up the stove pipe while i do this, then i shut my damper and leave the air open until its burning hot then i turn the air down.
i have a mini chiminey fire everyday just to burn out whatever is in the stove pipe.
if you just cleaned it i wouldnt worry too much, unless your burning very wet wood at a low temp then it could get dirty pretty quick then id let it go out and check it out when you get home...

It's one of the wood/coal furnace type stoves. I'm not sure why, but I seem to get creasote a lot with this thing. I guess it just doesn't burn hot enough to keep the chimney clear.

I just cleaned the chimney, not the stove pipe. The problem was in the stovepipe for now, but it's very possible that there's enough creasote in the corners of the flue to burn if it gets going.

I can't let it go out then check when I get home. Wish I could. 10 hour shift, plus 2 hour drive each way. I leave at 4 PM and get home at 6 AM. Cleaning a chimney after that is not a job I relish.

I'm just going to call work and tell them what's going on, if I miss a day then I miss. Not much I can do about it at this point.

 

[Jules083]

no black cloud and fire coming out of the chiminey?
i wouldnt worry too much, just check it out when you get home...

Everything looked normal coming out.

Was it just glowing creasote then? I imagine that there's stuff in the stove pipe, and with me gone and the girlfriend running the fire it's basically a worst case scenario whatever she does. I have no idea what goes through her head sometimes, but whenever I get home 'something' is always wrong. This morning I came home to a 55 degree house and a full firebox, draft door choked down tight. Night before it was 80 and the draft knob was wide open.

 

[Jules083]

While I'm at all of this, I'm buying an IR thermometer and a Moisture Meter at Lowe's today. Need to go there anyways now. There is a reason why my wood furnace makes creasote and smoke, I need to find out why.

I understand what the moisture level should be in wood, lower the better but 20% max.

What temperatures should I see, and where?

Also, I'm thinking out loud here that the blower which feeds the ductwork is pulling heat from the firebox and lowering the temperature, which is giving me an incomplete burn. I ALWAYS have smoke coming from the chimney. What temperature do you guys set the blower to cycle at? Mine is currently on at 140, off at 100 according to the dial.

I have an older version of this, purchased in 2008. Mine doesn't have the heat exchangers they talk about.
ENERGY KING 385EK indoor Wood Furnaces

 

[hardpan]

Unfortunately it is a judgement call as a flue fire will act differently from one system to another. I've had 2 of them and they were violent to say the least. My system is custom built brick and clay lined especially for an insert, a Buck. It sounded like a train in my front yard. That wall was vibrating and flames shooting like a torch from the top of my flue. It lasted maybe 2 or 3 minutes and the roof had a lot block potato chips on it when it finished. I ended up with hair line cracks in my flue liner. You are the one that has to feel good about it. Flames in the pipe a few feet where it leaves the stove is probably not a flue fire but I'm sitting here wondering why you can see through your pipe in the area of the pipe that is typically the hotest. If you can see through the wall of the pipe I'm concerned.

 

[Jules083]

I can't exactly see through the pipe. Where the pipe goes into the chimney there's a hairline gap, and I could see the glow through that. I'll get a picture, give me a bit. Internet is slow out here.

All typos and misspellings blamed on my phone.

 

[nathon918]

While I'm at all of this, I'm buying an IR thermometer and a Moisture Meter at Lowe's today. Need to go there anyways now. There is a reason why my wood furnace makes creasote and smoke, I need to find out why.

I understand what the moisture level should be in wood, lower the better but 20% max.

What temperatures should I see, and where?

Also, I'm thinking out loud here that the blower which feeds the ductwork is pulling heat from the firebox and lowering the temperature, which is giving me an incomplete burn. I ALWAYS have smoke coming from the chimney. What temperature do you guys set the blower to cycle at? Mine is currently on at 140, off at 100 according to the dial.

I have an older version of this, purchased in 2008. Mine doesn't have the heat exchangers they talk about.
ENERGY KING 385EK indoor Wood Furnaces

are the air controls manual? if so how/what position do you typically run them in?

 

[hardpan]

There are some products out there that claim to dissolve the creosote in a flue but I can not testify as to which are the best or if in fact any of them are any good. Maybe a search is in order.

 

[Jules083]

are the air controls manual? if so how/what position do you typically run them in?

Too low.

It's a knob to turn. Before bed I run it closed then back it out one turn, gives about an 8 hour burn time. When I'm home it's about 1/2 open and I just feed it as needed, normally only having a few logs at a time on it. When she's here unsupervised all bets are off. It's getting pretty annoying, but she grew up with gas heat and wood is a mystery to her. Not for lack of me teaching, but for lack of her paying attention. I can see it in her eyes, as soon as I mention something she doesn't want to hear the eyes glaze over and she's somewhere else.

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

Too low.

It's a knob to turn. Before bed I run it closed then back it out one turn, gives about an 8 hour burn time. When I'm home it's about 1/2 open and I just feed it as needed, normally only having a few logs at a time on it. When she's here unsupervised all bets are off. It's getting pretty annoying, but she grew up with gas heat and wood is a mystery to her. Not for lack of me teaching, but for lack of her paying attention. I can see it in her eyes, as soon as I mention something she doesn't want to hear the eyes glaze over and she's somewhere else.

I know that feeling!

OP, what type of material is your chimney made out of? Brick with clay liner? SS steel?

How long has your wood been drying? I've been blessed with being able to get dead fall which is burnable the day I bring it home. I know not everyone is able to get this dry of wood.

 

[Jules083]

The chimney is brick with a 5x10 clay liner.

The wood was split and stacked last winter. I'll have a moisture reading soon, I'm heading to lowes now

All typos and misspellings blamed on my phone.

 

[Chris-PA]

I can see it in her eyes, as soon as I mention something she doesn't want to hear the eyes glaze over and she's somewhere else.

LOL - how many of us have been there! Sometimes I just stop talking to see if she notices.......