Stove Maintenance Lessons Learned

[old-cat]

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!

 

[wood4heat]

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.

 

[user 122190]

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.

 

[wood4heat]

I've never had one, but opening the stoves door is suicide during such a fire.

That's typically the first thing we do when arriving on a chimney fire. The door shouldn't be open for more than a second and can stop the fire before it extends. The problem with this is that creosote swells as it burns and can seal the stove pipe off from the stove. If that happens it will have to be extinguished from above.

 

[Locoweed]

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.

 

[Marshy]

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.

 

[user 122190]

One of our local VFD's offer that service for free. They would rather do that than fight a fire.

I wish that was the case here. Our FD is volunteer, and one of which is my neighbor who is 70, close to 80yo. Volunteers get free use of the wood chipper and the D8 tractor.

 

[Marshy]

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.

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?

 

[Chris-PA]

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?

Yes, there are settings between wide open and too far down.

 

[Double_Diamond]

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.

 

[user 122190]

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?

With the feeding of wood. My theory is as this. I had turned down the dampener to extend the life of the fire during the night when it was 0 degrees outside. The bitter cold and the low stove temp was enough to cause creosote build up. Now last year, we had deep sub-zero temps and I never touch the dampener and I had no problems. The wood this year is the same (as nearly as I can tell) as what I burned last year. Until I learn more, these are the observations and variables in play. YMMV.

 

[user 122190]

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.

You might be right. And I don't have a screen, but there are steel bands that prevent critters from getting into the pipe, which are small enough to cause some build up.

 

[Chris-PA]

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.

 

[user 122190]

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'm starting to believe that this is the case. There was nothing tacky about the ash, so it may have been soot only.

 

[Cerran]

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....

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).

 

[Landmark]

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).

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.
Meant no offense to those who burn pine or fir.

 

[ppkgmsy]

Maybe there is some confusion about what constitutes creosote. Also, using the dampener is how one controls the burn and regulates heat. Might be worth talking to someone local to clarify creosote/ash problems and determine optimum use of the stove. There should be a professional sweep around that can inspect your stove, chimney, flue and provide some tips. He might charge a couple bucks for an hours inspection, but it could repay in drastically reducing the amount of wood you burn and in peace of mind.

 

[user 122190]

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.

 

[ppkgmsy]

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.

This is great news. I posted above, but I think it's worth repeating that it still might be worth having a pro come by and inspect your setup. Sometimes there can be problems that laymen like us have trouble spotting, like cracks in the flue.

 

[1project2many]

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.

I get the same thing here burning seasoned hardwood and I don't use the flue damper. It happens after several warm days when my wife lets the fire smolder. The flue gases cool and condense as they leave the pipe. I believe my chimney is just a bit taller than it should be. A different cap might help but I believe the real fix for me is to replace the last 36" length of chimney with a 24" length.

I wonder if insulating the top of the pipe would help???

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.

A soaking wet towel works well. Produces steam for a longer period and displaces more oxygen.

Happiness is a properly functioning stove when it's freezing outside.

You betcha!