whats up with this picture ? doesnt seem right?

I can't see anything amiss in that shot. What exactly are you thinking is wrong?

Prolly not burning yet. Mine gets washed off by rain in the summer and starts out all shiny. It looks like yours now.

Creosote build up, from when it hits the cold pipe with the moisture it attaches and then builds up. You will see this more often with people that burn in non-epa stoves that let them smolder the fire, just think how much crap is in that pipe.

jeff_t said:

Prolly not burning yet. Mine gets washed off by rain in the summer and starts out all shiny. It looks like yours now.

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Same here, I wouldn't worry.

Take a look to make you feel better. I looked at mine last week, only because I was already on the roof. As I expected, the cap had a bunch of flaky stuff in it but the pipe was clean. This is from burning dry wood in my non-epa furnace.

mellow said:

Creosote build up, from when it hits the cold pipe with the moisture it attaches and then builds up. You will see this more often with people that burn in non-epa stoves that let them smolder the fire, just think how much crap is in that pipe.

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I don't see any creosote on it. Just a dark cap.

Chrism said:

That's the thing I checked my pipe and its pretty darn clean!! I had that isle royale burnin at 500 550 degrees must be from when its dyin out when I'm sleepin

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That's not how it works unless you are choking it down and it is smoking.

Mine is a little dark. Checked and cleaned the pipe last week. Almost a half cord and got about a cup of Dark brown and light black powder. Didnt seem to bad.

There are some caps around my house that are black as night, and it trails down the pipe about a foot.. New chimneys (Class A) and Smoke like Cheech and Chong. Sometimes I wonder what they are burning (both stove model and wood)?.

I hope thats normal. Mine aint that dark.(yet).

Chrism said:

Browning I don't know if I'm doing it right but before I goto bed I turn it down to where the flames go out then I open the air till the flames just come back on and that's where ill leave it. So it doesn't smolder it right above the line of smolder /flame.

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If you are concerned about this, you need to grab a flashlight and check the chimney for smoke when you do this.

Chrism said:

Is there a need for concern ?

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I don't think so, but you seemed concerned by making this thread. If you think your issue might be the way you close it down at night, check the pipe before you go to bed.

Check it out for sure and wait for rain. That'll clean it up some.

It's an exhaust pipe. Don't they get dirty?
Pre-epa stove here, pipe looks similar and the stove isn't allowed to smolder, yet.........top of pipe and topside of cap look like that. Hmmm, seems to be nature of the beast.
Maybe it's just me, but I don't see an issue.

Sorry if that came off a bit harsh, you have the right attitude.
I think that might be partly from heat too. Maybe I should take some cleaner to mine?! :cheese:

Chrism said:

Ok just wanted to check , this is my first year of burning so anything I see that I'm not sure about I'd rather post it here to get the scoop on it . I'd rather be safe than sorry

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You are a good burner because you are worried you are doing it correctly, we all worried at first but I sure you will have no problems as you are asking these questions..

Any way you can take a better pic...maybe more resolution?
Might just be my eyes, but there looks to be some black sticky stuff dripping down around the cap...maybe not, but a better pic might help.

daveswoodhauler said:

Any way you can take a better pic...maybe more resolution?
Might just be my eyes, but there looks to be some black sticky stuff dripping down around the cap...maybe not, but a better pic might help.

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I looked at it in photoshop, and it just looks dark. Nothing dripping. No apparent build up on the cap.

doesn't look to bad. Just remember to start your fire hot. Let it rip for a bit before shutting it down.

Looks like some down drafting. The pipe shouldnt be that dark, that far down. Another short lenght can make all the difference.
If we could see the rest of the roof and house around it, may be able to tell if its too short.
HTH.