Chimney Fire? Need help...

Lenen98 · Dec 23, 2009

I know this is alot of info, but I trust you guys will give me good advice, which I really need. I had a new Lopi Republic 1750 installed this year. Single story house, double wall pipe going straight up through ceiling, through attic, out through roof.

I burn 99% locust from my property, a couple small pieces of pine just for starting. I have two wood piles, one that is dead fall locust, that has been cut and split for about 18 months. Pretty good wood. The other pile was standing trees that were dropped and cut to rounds about 18 months ago, then split last spring. It's okay, but I'm sure it could sit longer.

I use the dry stuff to start my fires (I have less of it), then throw in the less-dry wood once I have a bed of coals. About 15 minutes after adding the less dry wood, I have good flame, and can close the damper about half way and let it run. I have little or no smoke from the chimney at this point, and I don't have any build up on the glass, so I THINK the wood is fine for burning.

Last week, I noticed I could see there was more build up on the chimney cap than I'd like to see. I'd say 1/8" of black "fuzz". I did not take apart the chimney to look down. I ran a couple wide open fires to try to clean it out.

Last night, did my normal routine, started a fire in the afternoon, ran it until about 9:00, then packed it full, ran it wide open with the door cracked open for about 15 minutes. Closed the door when fully flaming, then pushed the damper in about 3/4 of the way about 20 minutes after that. It burns with a low fire this way, little or no smoke, and will last from about 10:00 PM until about 4 AM, when the fan turns off. By 6:00 AM, there is just a few red coals left.

This morning, started a fire, and let it run for a few minutes with the door cracked open, closed the door, damper wide open, and took a shower. Came out, expecting to go close the damper 1/2 way as normal, but could smell cooking paint, which is weird because the stove has been more than cured. The pipe with blazing hot. There was some wooshing noise from the stove, nothing too loud, and there were a couple sparks coming from the chimney, no flame though. SO, panicked, closed the damper down, noise went away in a couple minutes, sparks went away, and I checked everything, including the chimney in the attic space. I'm going to have the installer come out and check everything and clean the chimney.

Okay, so I'm sure it's all because my wood isn't good enough, but the fact that I don't have any build up on the glass, and it burns without smoke, confuses me. Should I not be dampening it so far down at night, especially with this wood?

Also, with the high efficiency stove, that has a plate in the back, I can't see up the pipe with a mirror, what's the best way to inspect it regularly? It's too tall on the roof to look down. Should I take a section off on the roof, or can I take the plate off inside the stove and then see up it with a mirror?

Thanks in advance

Pagey · Dec 23, 2009

It's possible you had a chimney fire, but without knowing how much buildup you had beforehand, it will be hard to say for sure. I have the Lopi Endeavor which is basically the same fire box, and with a good fire started I would never walk away with the air fully open long enough to take a shower. I start up the stove around 5:00AM, and I never get in the shower until I have the air closed down enough for a comfortable secondary burn with the stove top reading about 500-600F depending on how much wood I have in the fire box.

It may be that you had a chimney fire, but it may be that you simply walked away from a hot stove with the primary air open for far too long. On cold nights that I really load it down with oak, mine will push 700F for a little while, and I get that "too hot" smell even though the stack is clean and the stove is long since "broken in".

LLigetfa · Dec 23, 2009

Lenen98 said:
Okay, so I'm sure it's all because my wood isn't good enough, but the fact that I don't have any build up on the glass, and it burns without smoke, confuses me. Should I not be dampening it so far down at night, especially with this wood?

While blackened glass glass is compelling evidence the absence of it is no guarantee. If your wood is less than ideal, don't damper it down as much. You need to keep the flue temps up and flue temps are a product of flue velocity.

I'm not familiar with your model stove so not sure if/how you can inspect the flue from the bottom up. If creosote buildup were to dry, curl, and fall back down, where would it accumulate? It could be that you will not see a buildup at the top of the flue if it sheds periodically.

You might want to consider running a radiation shield the full length of the attic. It can help to retain more heat in the flue that otherwise heats your attic and in the case of a chimney fire, extend the safety margin. Talk to your sweep/installer. Chances are your flue has been cleaned out by the fire but it's still prudent to investigate and inspect it.

Greg123 · Dec 23, 2009

I have the Lopi Republic 1750 installed this year also. Like Pegey said, I never leave the stove when the damper is wide open, I get some blackness and some fuzz around my chimney cap also, I clean my chimney often, because its easy to do, and gives me piece of mind. I burn almost 100% ash firewood, and like you it could be seasoned better, because of the rainy cool summer it didn't season as well as I would like it too. I always have clean glass and very little smoke from the chimney, and when I do clean my chimney it doesn't really need it. I can still see the inner seem of the class A, But I clean it anyway.

You might of had a small Chimney fire, its hard to tell. I sometimes still get a slight paint smell if I burn 600 to 650. I try not to burn that hot and because it does not get that high often it might still be curing some paint, I'm usually burn between 500 to 550.

gzecc · Dec 23, 2009

If your wood is locust, it should be plenty dry in 18 mos. Get a moisture meter to confirm the wood moisture. My BL is 20% after 6-8 mos of stacking. I cross stack it.
I think you just had a hotter than usual fire. Do you have a temp gauge?

rdust · Dec 23, 2009

I also have an Endeavor, I never leave the stove when the bypass is open. I close my bypass as soon as I have a fire established. I only have a couple months on my stove but I can always tell when my stove top is getting near 700 by the smell since I still get that new paint smell with high temps. If I let it run wide open for too long when I start closing the air down the temp really goes through the roof from the secondary burn. I usually start turning mine down in three stages when the temp hits 400-450 and settle with a cruising temp around 650 or so with the air all the way in or out an 1/8" or so.

rdust · Dec 23, 2009

gzecc said:
If your wood is locust, it should be plenty dry in 18 mos. Get a moisture meter to confirm the wood moisture. My BL is 20% after 6-8 mos of stacking. I cross stack it.
I think you just had a hotter than usual fire. Do you have a temp gauge?

I agree, locust seasons like the ash I'm burning now in 6 months it was around 20%.

Valhalla · Dec 23, 2009

The "jet engine" sound and sparks out of the
cap are charactistic of an active chimney fire.

The good news is that you were very lucky! As a
structure fire is the next phase.

The entire flue must be inspected and then cleaned
before the next burn. It may have been damaged or
caused some to the nearby components.

I clean my own early each fall, December,
February and then March. Properly seasoned wood
fuel is a must, along with correct stove operation.

Burn safely and wisely!

firefighterjake · Dec 24, 2009

While sparks shooting out of the chimney and a loud whooshing noise like a jet engine or freight train are some possible signs of a chimney fire, they could also simply be the result of the draft being left wide open and the fire taking off big time (which I personally would suspect).

As others have mentioned, opening the air control and wandering away is not a good idea. When I am getting my fire going and I'm trying to get ready for work I might go to the bathroom to brush my teeth or shave or I might go to the back porch for a load of firewood, but then I come back to check the temps. Like Pagey, I only jump in the shower once the fire is up to temp and the secondaries are in action. Any task that could take me longer than 5 minutes is postponed . . . and I never walk away from the fire with the air control open more than a quarter if I know I will be doing something that may take me longer than those 5 minutes.

And I certainly wouldn't jump in the shower . . . because . . . wait for it . . . what happened to you also happened to me (well minus the sparks coming from the chimney) . . . after seeing the high temps (fortunately they were still within the safe limits . . . but just barely) . . . I resolved then and there to stick to the 5 minute rule -- again, anything that will take me away from the stove for more than 5 minutes is not done unless the air control is shut to at least the quarter mark.

On the flip side . . . you definitely did the right thing . . . closing the air control should result in the flue temps decreasing within 5-10 minutes and the fire should be OK at that point.

As mentioned clean smoke and clean glass are good, but not always indicative of a clean chimney . . . it's still a good idea to check and clean frequently.

LLigetfa · Dec 24, 2009

firefighterjake said:
While sparks shooting out of the chimney and a loud whooshing noise like a jet engine or freight train are some possible signs of a chimney fire, they could also simply be the result of the draft being left wide open and the fire taking off big time (which I personally would suspect)...

Ja, this where it becomes a matter of interpretation, making the distinction between a runaway fire in the stove versus a chimney fire. A creosote fire too can be a runaway fire "in the stove" when the creosote dries, curls, falls back into the stove, and later ignites there.

I am very fortunate to have a thermostatic control on my stove so it both opens itself up and dampers itself down as needed. That way I don't need to open it wide and monitor it closely if I'm busy. Granted, there is a lot of thermal mass between the fire and the bi-metal coil so one cannot treat it with impunity as it is somewhat slow to react on a cold startup.

michaelryba · Dec 24, 2009

Lenen98
I ran a couple wide open fires to try to clean it out

Regardless of wheather or not you had a chimney fire, I come to the conclusion that doing this is probably more dangerous than having "just one more fire" & then cleaning it via brushes. Like today's fuel injected cars are not going to get cleaned out by going 100 mph on the highway; modern stoves don't burn off accumulated creosote in your chimney.

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Chimney Fire? Need help...

Lenen98

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Greg123

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rdust

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