Black soot

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wood burner12

New Member
Nov 28, 2014
13
south jersey
Hello all. I have a question. Since it snowed yesterday today I been seeing black soot on the ground most liking coming from the chimney was curious to see if I should be concerned about it or keep burning? I am going to take the clean out cap off the tee fitting tomorrow and inspect to see what the chimney looks like.
 
Of course inspection is always the best route but if you burned through the storm it may just be that the cap was cold and getting wet. Can get gunked up in those situations then the wind blows it off. My cap is noticeably darker after burning through last night but not enough to cause any problems. It will dry up/fall off or otherwise disappear after a bit.
 
Yes the cap was cold this morning I seen icicles on it this morning. Would have never thought that a chimney would have icicles on it
Just warm enough to melt snow but not hot enough to prevent it from icing back up. The flue gases will condense on that and make a bit of a mess. Cap is the coldest part of the system. No biggie but the more it's gunked up the more likely your wood is less than optimal. I'm into a bad bit of my stacks myself. Stuff I burned earlier this year was much drier. Keep your eye on it, binoculars are handy in some cases.
 
Yes talking about wood. I ordered a cord of wood few days ago and the person told me it was seasoned but of course as i was stacking it , it sure didn't look seasoned so I got my moisture meter out and was checking it out and it all read from 30 to 50%. I could call and complain but it's not worth the aggravation. Won't use them again
 
Unfortunately the term 'seasoned' means different things to different people. It is possible your wood supplier thinks he is selling seasoned wood. It is also possible he said what he thought necessary to make a sale.
 
this was my first time buying wood. I was given about a half cord from my coworker to get me going but since I had ran out I had to buy some. And plus not knowing the area since I just moved put a damper on things. I learned a lesson so I'm hoping to get more on Friday just have to find a reputable person in my area.
 
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