I'll try and give as much info as I can about this issue. I just installed a blaze king about 3 days ago. When I installed it the temps were fairly warm for the seasonal, around -5 to -10. The very next day after I installed it the temps plumeted to around -30ish, windchills of -40 or more (centigrade). Also as this drop happened I had 4 people show up for new years eve so there were THAT many more people, that many more showers, etc in my house. My windows, all argon sealed and less than 10yrs old started forming water drops and ice along the bottom edges (which has begun to dissipate since the people left). I'm not sure if these factors are related but I thought I'd chime them in just in case.
As for the stove, it's a "king" size, catalytic. I burn dead jackpine that I cut and split and stacked in a covered woodshed beside my garage (full roof, not tarped), I also burn white birch, the birch was cut down 2yrs ago in full tree lengths, and I bucked and split it back in July of this passed summer. I was running the blaze king within is specified parameters, the catalytic was showing nice and hot, thermostat where it should have been to heat my house, etc. Of course with the cat style stove the chimney runs much cooler. My chimney is standard selkirk insulated pipe that goes straight up 2 stories through my roof, the stove hooks up to it with 7" black pipe, single walled, and the only bends in it before it connects to the ceiling are 2 45deg elbows to move the pipe "back" then "up" to the ceiling.
After the first day or 2 of -30's I noticed there was ice and some icicles on my rain cap, I've never seen this before, but assumed that the stove was sucking in humid air from inside my house, as well as the usual amounts coming from even dried wood, and due to the low chimney temps it was flash freezing at the rain cap when it hit the shocking cold temps. So I ignored it. Here I am a day or so later and when I turned my kings thermostat up to re-stoke it I heard a HISS.......HISS.......HISS sound coming from my black pipe and could see some water almost forming along one of the elbow joints, so I knew it was dripping down from the top of the chimney ice.
Right now I have the bypass to my cat open and the thermostat turned up to achive the "normal burn" range on my chimney thermometer. The hissing has stopped as well.
Is this normal? Is this a HORRIBLY bad thing to have happen? Could it have just been related to the extra people and moisture in the house combined with the very frigid outdoor temps? Any info would be great.
As for the stove, it's a "king" size, catalytic. I burn dead jackpine that I cut and split and stacked in a covered woodshed beside my garage (full roof, not tarped), I also burn white birch, the birch was cut down 2yrs ago in full tree lengths, and I bucked and split it back in July of this passed summer. I was running the blaze king within is specified parameters, the catalytic was showing nice and hot, thermostat where it should have been to heat my house, etc. Of course with the cat style stove the chimney runs much cooler. My chimney is standard selkirk insulated pipe that goes straight up 2 stories through my roof, the stove hooks up to it with 7" black pipe, single walled, and the only bends in it before it connects to the ceiling are 2 45deg elbows to move the pipe "back" then "up" to the ceiling.
After the first day or 2 of -30's I noticed there was ice and some icicles on my rain cap, I've never seen this before, but assumed that the stove was sucking in humid air from inside my house, as well as the usual amounts coming from even dried wood, and due to the low chimney temps it was flash freezing at the rain cap when it hit the shocking cold temps. So I ignored it. Here I am a day or so later and when I turned my kings thermostat up to re-stoke it I heard a HISS.......HISS.......HISS sound coming from my black pipe and could see some water almost forming along one of the elbow joints, so I knew it was dripping down from the top of the chimney ice.
Right now I have the bypass to my cat open and the thermostat turned up to achive the "normal burn" range on my chimney thermometer. The hissing has stopped as well.
Is this normal? Is this a HORRIBLY bad thing to have happen? Could it have just been related to the extra people and moisture in the house combined with the very frigid outdoor temps? Any info would be great.
