Chimney Flue Fire

you might find this interesting

Hell - I found that interesting!

Gabe

holy crap, once a year since the 80's - 25+ chimney fires
time for a liner

weeks001 said:

My father in-law said this happens about once a year. He said the chimney is self-cleaning, and the process is just burning the residue off.

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i don't know if he was just pulling your leg, sarcastic, or what,,,but just in case you do not know,,,,,the chimney is NOT self-cleaning. You could burn your house down.

Yes there is a risk. Now that it is uh-hem clean you might want to have it inspected again preferable by a company with a cam they can drop down the flue.

There are different types of creosote, the shiny glazed being the worst but they are all potential fuels for a chimney fire. As others have said chimney fires should not be accepted as "normal". Creosote needs to be removed and the system needs to be monitored or better yet, swept routinely as preventive maintenance since each fire can actually bring you closer to touching off framing etc in the house.

You said the insert is installed in a clay liner but you have not said (and may not know) if the insert is mechanically affixed to the liner or just stuffed up the flue, what is referred to here as a slammer. Slammers are bad.

You should have the system swept and inspected. Have the sweep answer for you the "slammer" question.

Once back up and running burn dry wood (<20% moisture). All wood creates creosote but dry wood creates much less and gives more heat. You can burn wetter wood, especially in an older insert but you will have to sweep the flue more often. Sweeping should be a routine part of the inserts operation and depending upon how much wood you are burning, may need to be done a couple times a year or more depending on the quality of the fuel.

So welcome aboard and have the sweep done. Get the system safe and if you follow some basic good practices wood burning is very enjoyable.

A chimney is most definitely NOT self cleaning. With a properly installed stove, it should be easy enough to do, sometimes it can be done from inside the house. Depending on how dry your wood is, you need to sweep the chimney at least once a year, if your wood is freshly cut, or less than a year old, plan on cleaning it every few weeks. At this point, you need to have it cleaned and inspected before lighting another fire. The chimney fire could have cracked flue tiles, which would allow flames and soot from another chimney fire to come into contact with wooden framing, setting your house on fire.

My re commendation is to start over and be thankfull your still here to talk about it, learn about it and still get to enjoy what wood burning is all about. If you can't afford a brand new insert, the minimum I would do is have a professional company come out, rip out your old liner, if you even have one, clean the chimney fully and insert as well, then install a brand new liner for the insert, I'm sorry to say you inherited a neglected system that is a ticking time bomb if you decide to do nothing about it..... Good luck

I was watching Alaskas railroad tv show today, a guy ran out of wood, he cut down a wet fir, bucked, split and loaded his stove, the next shot was of his chimney cap, black and all fatty covered, barely any space for any smoke to escape..

The point being, there are just some people that don't know any better or care for that matter.....
And I think that's the situation that you find yourself in now.....

Self cleaning woodstove . . . happens once a year . . . hehheh . . . no offense, but don't listen to your father in law . . . at least on the topic of safely burning and maintaining a woodstove. Trust me . . . trust us . . . on this.

P.S. We have one of your country "men" . . . well women folks . . . up this way. Married a big ol' Yankee . . . we kind of forget Allyson's from down south until she gets mad or excited and then we start to hear the y'alls and other southern dialect come out. Probably shouldn't mention this . . . but she is a rabid football fan . . . Auburn I think . . . War Eagle War?

Don't think there is such a thing as a self cleaning chimney. I would purchase the correct brush for your chimney size put a rope on it and get up there and clean that thing a few times a year or whenever you feel necessary after visual inspection. You are lucky no embers got on the roof and yes you could've very well burnt your house down had you not acted quickly. Good luck stay safe!

I'm a "nervous Nellie" about safety things; if you can stack the odds in your favor by doing "routine" things in accordance with a prescribed safety protocol I'm all for it. Basically, I've aged into a full fledged "chicken--hit" in spite of (because of?) all the stupid things I did (continue to do?) in my misspent youth.

But the thing that really stuck with me was a comment the good man once made with respect to our Fireview 201. It was really cold and the stove had been in use for weeks on end. And he commented that having a quality stove, a proper chimney, and taking good care of both made him comfortable leaving a "contained 1000 degree" fire" in our home. I've never forgotten that because I'd never really considered that what was going on inside the firebox was a good deal more intense than the reading on the stovetop thermometer.

The stove was properly installed and vented to an interior, "to code", lined chimney (cleaned regularly). We burned clean, seasoned firewood and any ashes were removed and put into a metal container that was properly set up to receive "coals". We "followed the directions" and "paid attention to details". Too many don't and it's sad when bad things happen to them.

weeks001 said:

Guidance above is well taken and apprciatd.

Now let's talk football. Plese send mycondolences to your wife, the Aubie. Yikes, ths yeat tell her to pull for the good team in Alabama. you know, the one with 15 natonal championships, the University of Alabama!!
Roll Tide Roll

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HehHeh . . . I can pass that on . . . but she's actually the wife of a friend.

KindredSpiritzz said:

you might find this interesting

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Wow - imagine THAT x 30 feet of chimney!