sweep the chimney for the 1st time this year. hmm

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Lynch

Member
Dec 13, 2010
192
northern maine
well as the title says...
didnt look to bad but maybe you guys might think other wise.
the chimney is about 15 feet total with 5 feet single walled stove pipe to give you an idea of what i have with the lil jotul

the wood im burning is doing pretty good have no real problems heating things up.
but some of it has been hissing when burning.

anyway there was a small pile of the black flakes in the stove when i was done 4-5 cups worth at the most.
we have been burning pretty steady for 3 weeks now and maybe a total of 5 weeks.
so this is probably not the best.

i got some stove cement to try and seal up the stove pipe to see if that makes any affect on things.

so what do you guys think ...good bad or geez what are you doing lol
 
well anybody?
 
With my smoke dragon furnace, that's about what I get at my midwinter cleaning. Three weeks? Not good. Keep a close eye on it.
 
Yea sounds like that wood is a little on the wet side, fair amount for 5 weeks total.
 
i guess its not tht good but stove temps are good and stove pipe temps arent that bad most of the time either
hmmm
the wife has been burning just as much or more than me .... i wonder what she is doing when im not at home.
i'll blame it on her lol


oh one thing i noticed when sweeping was that the poly brush i bought wasnt very tight on the double walled chimney but was tight on the stove pipe.
must be normal but thought i would mention it.
 
i just wonder how im going to get up there when its snowing and blowing.

i have a metal roof so it can be very slipppery. anyone with a metal roof that sweeps in the winter?
 
If this is indeed the first time this year. Did you sweep at or towards the end of the season last year? Is this pile last season's pile, as opposed to the 3 weeks from this season?
 
Lynch said:
well as the title says...
didnt look to bad but maybe you guys might think other wise.
the chimney is about 15 feet total with 5 feet single walled stove pipe to give you an idea of what i have with the lil jotul

the wood im burning is doing pretty good have no real problems heating things up.
but some of it has been hissing when burning.


anyway there was a small pile of the black flakes in the stove when i was done 4-5 cups worth at the most.
we have been burning pretty steady for 3 weeks now and maybe a total of 5 weeks.
so this is probably not the best.


i got some stove cement to try and seal up the stove pipe to see if that makes any affect on things.


so what do you guys think ...good bad or geez what are you doing lol

It is difficult to state that the wood is burning pretty good.....but it has been hissing when burning. Hissing wood if far from being "pretty good." Good wood does not hiss and will not give you 4-5 cups of black flakes. That is more than we've got in 4 years of burning and wood heat is our only heat.

Stove cement is cheap and easy to put on and also easy to clean up. We've always used it in the pipe joints so as to stop any possible air leakage.
 
Seems like a little more creosote than I would expect to see with only a few weeks of burning . . . I sweep monthly once I get going full time and maybe get 1/2 cup of creosote . . . but it's very fine . . . looks like coffee grounds.

As Dennis said . . . hissing wood is not primo wood.
 
+1 on coffee grounds.... flakes sound like glazing. You need to burn a bit hotter.
 
I would be interested in hearing what happens after you seal the stove pipe. I sealed mine with A/C cargo tape and so far has completely solved the problem.
 
wkpoor said:
I would be interested in hearing what happens after you seal the stove pipe. I sealed mine with A/C cargo tape and so far has completely solved the problem.
wkpoor, what heat rating is that tape at?.....did you use it on single or double wall pipe.....just curious, sounds like a good idea.....wondering if you could use Rutland Hi-temp silicone in the joints of single wall pipe, just as a space filler to cut out air leakage...
 
Scotty Overkill said:
wkpoor said:
I would be interested in hearing what happens after you seal the stove pipe. I sealed mine with A/C cargo tape and so far has completely solved the problem.
wkpoor, what heat rating is that tape at?.....did you use it on single or double wall pipe.....just curious, sounds like a good idea.....wondering if you could use Rutland Hi-temp silicone in the joints of single wall pipe, just as a space filler to cut out air leakage...
I don't have the P/N on me (could get this weekend when I get back home) but its a fiberglass 500 degree tape. Didn't know if it would work but was free and easy to use and figured it wouldn't stink. So far it has worked great and has withstood over 500 degrees just fine.
 
wkpoor said:
Scotty Overkill said:
wkpoor said:
I would be interested in hearing what happens after you seal the stove pipe. I sealed mine with A/C cargo tape and so far has completely solved the problem.
wkpoor, what heat rating is that tape at?.....did you use it on single or double wall pipe.....just curious, sounds like a good idea.....wondering if you could use Rutland Hi-temp silicone in the joints of single wall pipe, just as a space filler to cut out air leakage...
I don't have the P/N on me (could get this weekend when I get back home) but its a fiberglass 500 degree tape. Didn't know if it would work but was free and easy to use and figured it wouldn't stink. So far it has worked great and has withstood over 500 degrees just fine.
do me a favor and get me some specifics on that tape.....now you got my curiosity.......may have to try some in my workshop, that is mostly singlewall pipe except where it goes through the roof, that may be the answer I am looking because out of all three flues I have that is the problematic one.....thanks in advance!
 
We searched all over here a few weeks back trying to find a tape that would be high enough heat to handle stove pipe and we couldn't find one. Let us know what you've got.

Silicone can be iffy on pipe joints also. I'd stick w/ furnace cement on single wall. The best I could come up with was this http://www.amazon.com/3M-2113NA-Hig...Z4DS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321405681&sr=8-1. It is called "flue tape" but the directions only refer to hot air ducts and only rate it up to 600.

pen
 
Problem I see with furnace cement is serviceability. How you going to remove and sweep a multi segment pipe with something that is hard a crumbly? I need to remove the stove pipe to sweep from the bottom up. Thats why I choose tape. And like anything else I didn't rely just on the rating. Just maybe its better than the rating. Who knows what the rating is actually based on. And since I rarely is never see 500 degrees on my stove pipe I figured it might just work. I purposely got the pipe over 500 just to test it. Most of the time I'm 200-250 degrees.
 
i did seal up my stove pipe with cement and it did seem to make some difference in draft.
maybe this will help with the creasote some what.
and i have been trying to burn at hotter temps. and telling the wife the same.
 
wkpoor said:
Problem I see with furnace cement is serviceability. How you going to remove and sweep a multi segment pipe with something that is hard a crumbly? I need to remove the stove pipe to sweep from the bottom up. Thats why I choose tape. And like anything else I didn't rely just on the rating. Just maybe its better than the rating. Who knows what the rating is actually based on. And since I rarely is never see 500 degrees on my stove pipe I figured it might just work. I purposely got the pipe over 500 just to test it. Most of the time I'm 200-250 degrees.

True, once you break the seal, you have to put more cement on. Still cheap and easy to do.
 
Agree w/ backwoods. Also, it only takes a bump from a rubber mallet to knock the stuff free.

pen
 
Backwoods Savage said:
wkpoor said:
Problem I see with furnace cement is serviceability. How you going to remove and sweep a multi segment pipe with something that is hard a crumbly? I need to remove the stove pipe to sweep from the bottom up. Thats why I choose tape. And like anything else I didn't rely just on the rating. Just maybe its better than the rating. Who knows what the rating is actually based on. And since I rarely is never see 500 degrees on my stove pipe I figured it might just work. I purposely got the pipe over 500 just to test it. Most of the time I'm 200-250 degrees.

True, once you break the seal, you have to put more cement on. Still cheap and easy to do.
OK but if the tape works then why not do that? Why would I screw with the cement if tape works and I can leave all the sections together and intact except where it goes in the stove and at the top. The tape is what is holding the sections together. Once installed its a captive install but prior to install the 3 sections seem pretty tight and solid. Besides the tape was......freeeee! Not cheap but free. And when I taped it was an experiment to see if it would help. Found out it didn't help.....it solved. Appearance is pretty good too but I still may spring for a single wall expandable pipe now that I know my creosote was 99% augmented air induced.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.