Ice Covering the Flue Cap?

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soupy1957

soupy1957

Minister of Fire
Jan 8, 2010
1,365
Connecticut
www.youtube.com
Yesterday's Ice Storm, left at least a quarter inch of ice on every surface, horizontal, vertical, whatever.

Also "yesterday" we didn't run the wood stove all day, since both of us were unable to tend the fire.

This morning, I opened the wood stove door to listen for airflow (a.k.a. "draft") which I can usually hear, and heard none.

The obvious problem: Ice may very well have coated itself totally around the top and sides of the Flue Cap.

If I light a fire in the wood stove, .........yes "eventually the ice will melt off" ............but I'm thinking that the first 20 minutes or so, will produce smoke that is trapped, with no exit.

I've opened the door to the wood stove (knowing of course, that after at LEAST 24 hours or more of NOT burning anything, there are no live embers in the box), to leave it open for a while, hoping that the ambient temps in the house, now bleeding up thru the pipe, will thaw out some of the ice.

Obviously the sun's radiance will melt off some (although the temps today, sun or no sun, are not supposed to get above freezing), of the ice, but that could take a while.

There's no way I'm gonna be able to get up on my roof to knock off the ice, so I'm looking for suggestions.......

If I were to light a fire, I'm of the belief that the lack of draft will do two things:

A) Stifle the fire
B) force smoke to build up in the wood stove and flue pipe, with no place to go.

How would YOU fix this situation so that you could have a fire today??????

-Soupy1957
 
I'd just light some paper and see what happens. If it won't draft then stop there. If it seems to vent, then fill her yup.

pen
 
and if it doesn't draft??????? What's next?????

-Soupy1957
 
Can you hook up a hose to hot water and spray it from a ladder? If you can get enough ice off to get some air flow, I think you'll be home free.
 
good idea woody, but I wouldn't want to get water down inside the pipe, coming down into the wood stove. that would be a mess to clean up.


Keep the ideas comin............

-Soupy1957
 
clean the stove and and stick a propane torch in there.


pen
 
Don't have a propane torch........

I suppose I could go buy one at lunch today, but then the day is half gone.

-Soupy1957
 
I would think this entire discussion is in vane untill we know that the flue is iced up. We in PA had alot of ice but yesterdays sun melted most of it off. I think you should try as Pen said, some paper and see if you have a draft, then decide next steps depending on results. I would be willing to bet that you get some draft because the cap is not completely sealed if it is at all, start with paper to check draft, if you have a draft go with a smaller fire with the air wide open to send the heat up the flue and melt off what ever is still there, then fill er up.
 
Do you have a heat gun, that would be better than a hair dryer but that might work also.
 
Seems highly unlikely that the screen is totally iced in on all sides
 
Can you get on your roof Soup? Cheers!
 
NH_Wood said:
Can you get on your roof Soup? Cheers!
Click to expand...

I wouldn't suggest that if he's worried ice may be covering his chimney cap; surely the entire roof is iced.
 
I'd light a firestarter in the stove. That should burn long enough by itself to cause a draft up a cold chimney, but also doesn't make too much smoke in case the chimney isn't open. I would expect there are a few air gaps in the iced cap that will let some air through. You may get a slow draft, but it should keep a fire going and will quickly improve as the ice melts. If the fire starter works, build a fire.
 
This is like going to the doctor's office when you aren't sure if you have a stubbed toe or not.

Light something in the stove already! Since you haven't reported back in a while, I would imagine that is just what you are doing.

Hell even a candle will tell you by the way the flame moves. Use a pretty smelling one even.

pen
 
If you ran your stove during the storm, this would not be a problem... ;-)

As far as checking the draft, just toss a firestarter or couple newspaper knots in there.. if there is no draft they will just go out. If there is at least some draft, they will burn, raise the temp of the flue and melt any ice up there, or at the least, get the process started.

Oh, and we almost always can find some red coals after 24 hours. not a lot, but dig down in there and you can usually find some.
 
brianbeech said:
NH_Wood said:
Can you get on your roof Soup? Cheers!
Click to expand...

I wouldn't suggest that if he's worried ice may be covering his chimney cap; surely the entire roof is iced.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'll take back that suggestion! No need to read about the Soupy Slide of 2011......... %-P Cheers!
 
I had a similar problem a couple years ago - I got the chimney cap with screen instead of a simple rain cap. The screen filled with creosote, and slowed the draft. A few shots from the pellet gun cleared up the problem. It got me thru until the roof was clean enough to sweep the chimney, and cut the screen out of the cap.
 
A propane torch (plumber's kind) is like $12 and has tons of uses. I recommend keeping one on hand.

I seriously doubt your entire flue is iced over. More likely you have reduced draft, or maybe you had something open in the house which depressurized the inside and that's why you didn't hear any whistling around your stove?

Burn some fatwood, some newspaper knots, whatever and see if it drafts. Heck, stick a hairdryer on an extension cord and let it blow up your flue for 10-15 minutes and see if anything changes.

If you do have reduced draft, try cracking a window or a door when you first get started to help encourage the updraft.
 
oldspark said:
Do you have a heat gun, that would be better than a hair dryer but that might work also.
Click to expand...

Good idea!! I was thinking that this morning, on the way to work........."perhaps a hair dryer!?" Wasn't sure if I could get enough of the heat from the dryer, all the way up to the cap, but am willing to give it a shot.

I did see ice build up on the Chimney Flue Cap, but I'm not convinced it was blocking it off completely. When I go home today, I'll try the hair dryer for 10 minutes or so, and then a small newspaper test.

-Soupy1957
 
soupy1957 said:
oldspark said:
Do you have a heat gun, that would be better than a hair dryer but that might work also.
Click to expand...

Good idea!! I was thinking that this morning, on the way to work........."perhaps a hair dryer!?" Wasn't sure if I could get enough of the heat from the dryer, all the way up to the cap, but am willing to give it a shot.

I did see ice build up on the Chimney Flue Cap, but I'm not convinced it was blocking it off completely. When I go home today, I'll try the hair dryer for 10 minutes or so, and then a small newspaper test.

-Soupy1957
Click to expand...

TBH I doubt 10 mins of a hairdryer will do much if anything at all.
 
Your dreaming if you think its blocked 100%. There is always ambient air above freezing from your home drafting up there to keep it clear. You have no OAK right? Light a fire and get it over with.
 
Hmmmmmmmmmm...........do I have "Oak?" I dunno.......I'm not THAT much of a tree expert. (lol)

-Soupy1957
 
Almost no way it's blocked completely. If you lived twenty feet from the ocean shore and it happened during a huge storm that threw big splashes of water from waves, maybe. I've never seen anything even remotely like an ice-blocked cap in many decades of storms and etc.
 
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