Majorly Freaked Out!!! Calling All Vet's!!

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NordicSplitter

NordicSplitter

Minister of Fire
May 22, 2011
541
Western,NY
Go home from work and started a fire. Had some coals left from this afternoon. 2pcs of American Sycamore on the bottom. 2 pcs of Ash and 1 pc of Shagbark Hickory across the top and then a small pc of ash across that. Fire got going nice and quick and them for about 5 minutes it took off! Temp went to 600F REAL FAST! Then I got freaked out. Heard loud crackling in my stack towards the ceiling. Lasted about 10 minutes. Chocked the damper down to 3 and turned on the blower full blast. WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS THAT???? Never experienced that before. Did I do a no no??? Advise PLEASE.......
 
Sounds like creosote burning up aka chimney fire.
 
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600 doesn't seem like a out of control temp. If I hadn't cleaned the chimney yet this winter I would be nervous.
 
Steady at 500F. No more noise of any kind. Damper still at 3, blower is off. For the most part my wood is at least 18 months seasoned in the wind and then put in the garage, Very strange..... Will have to take a close look at it over the weekend when it hits 55F in WNY..:)
 
Did it feel like air was rushing into the firebox and you heard the sound of a jet engine? If not, that chimney fire was probably rather benign. Take a look down the flue as soon as you can but it sounds like not much to worry about.
 
Grisu said:
Sounds like creosote burning up aka chimney fire.
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That's what I would be scared of too.....

How much creosote do you normally build up in a burning season? You may find that it is clean as a whistle after that incident.
 
Where are you reporting the temps from? The stove top or the flue? Sounds like a small event not a big one. When was the flue last cleaned?
 
smokedragon said:
That's what I would be scared of too.....

How much creosote do you normally build up in a burning season? You may find that it is clean as a whistle after that incident.
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Have it cleaned every May and the tell me the same thing..."Whatever your doing..don't change a thing, Looks real good" It was just weird...
 
begreen said:
Where are you reporting the temps from? The stove top or the flue? Sounds like a small event not a big one. When was the flue last cleaned?
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Top of the stove...Now running at 500F...No noises at all anymore...Damper down to 3
 
Grisu said:
Did it feel like air was rushing into the firebox and you heard the sound of a jet engine? If not, that chimney fire was probably rather benign. Take a look down the flue as soon as you can but it sounds like not much to worry about.
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I heard of that before and NO it did not sound like that at all. Just alot of crackling in the stove pipe near the ceiling. Only lasted about 10 minutes but it felt alot longer...
 
I'm guessing you have burned about 25% more wood than normal due to the cold winter. Is that about right? With a much colder flue (due to your very cold winter temps) it could be you have accumulated more creosote than normal. 600F on the stove top is not a big deal, but it would be wise to check the chimney for build up. This has been an unusual year.
 
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begreen said:
I'm guessing you have burned about 25% more wood than normal due to the cold winter. Is that about right? With a much colder flue (due to your very cold winter temps) it could be you have accumulated more creosote than normal. 600F on the stove top is not a big deal, but it would be wise to check the chimney for build up. This has been an unusual year.
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Normally burn 8-9 face cords. I'm up too 12! It's been an hour and all is calm. Turned the damper down too 2. Everything seems back to normal. May have burned off a few creosote scabs on the inside of the flue...Calling the crew tomorrow to stop by this weekend to take a peek...
 
begreen said:
This has been an unusual year.
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You can say that again.......

A tobacco farmer I know has been farming for 40 year, this past summer was the first one in his life that he didn't have to irrigate his crops (because of the rain).

My parents have lived in their current house for 25 years, and their pressure tank for their well froze (for the first time in 25 years) in an insulated well house.

Between the crazy wet summer and the crazy cold winter......this has been more than just unusual.

In all seriousness though, begreen is right. Even with good burning habits, you have used a lot more wood and the top 1/3 of your flue has been a lot colder. You are going to have a dirtier pipe.
 
Joful said:
I read the thread title, and thought he needed a veterinarian. A'la my squirrel in the stove, 2011 edition.
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I thought the same things, thought maybe a problem with a dog or cat.
 
Anyone with both a stove top plus a flue thermometer can tell you that 600 on the stove top could mean 1200 in the flue under the right conditions. It sounds like a chimney fire to me and my guess is the crackling sound is your chimney expanding and contracting. I've cleaned my chimney twice since last fall and each time I've had the same amount (or more) that I would normally see for a full year.
 
UPDATE: Spoke with the guy who cleans my stove regularly and he said it really was no big deal. He has heard of it alot this year with the cold winter. He will be out Sat morning to do a thorough year end cleaning and I should be all set for next season. Thanks to everyone for their input and experience :)
 
I get that from my oslo to when it takes off quick from a cool stove to some serious heat. I only have about 5 feet of single wall to the thimble and then into a 6x6 inch clay lined chimney but when that cast iron starts heating and pinging it just kinda telegraphs up the stove pipe sounding like, well, sounding like a cast iron engine getting hot. I clean everything at least once every mounth so I know it aint creosote its just metal pingin from the heat.
 
Sometimes I will hear tinkling of creosote down the pipe if I am starting from cold and the wood really takes off and the pipe heats up very quickly (pipe expanding)....then you hear more tinkling when you rush to close it down (pipe contracting). To me if you didn't hear the roar and the pipe temperature didn't go past 700-800 and you went outside and didn't see flames spewing out the pipe you probably just got things going really really well... maybe another 10-20 minutes of unattended fire could have produced some bad results though.

You probably do have excessive creosote in your pipe though and should have it cleaned ASAP. You might have conditions appropriate for a chimney fire if you hear that much tinkling and the stove were to get away from you.
 
Charles1981 said:
Sometimes I will hear tinkling of creosote down the pipe if I am starting from cold and the wood really takes off and the pipe heats up very quickly (pipe expanding)....then you hear more tinkling when you rush to close it down (pipe contracting). To me if you didn't hear the roar and the pipe temperature didn't go past 700-800 and you went outside and didn't see flames spewing out the pipe you probably just got things going really really well... maybe another 10-20 minutes of unattended fire could have produced some bad results though.

You probably do have excessive creosote in your pipe though and should have it cleaned ASAP. You might have conditions appropriate for a chimney fire if you hear that much tinkling and the stove were to get away from you.
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UPDATE: Spoke with the guy who cleans my stove regularly and he said it really was no big deal. He has heard of it alot this year with the cold winter. He will be out Sat morning to do a thorough year end cleaning and I should be all set for next season. Thanks to everyone for their input and experience :)
 
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