Chimney icing up

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Sawset

Minister of Fire
Feb 14, 2015
1,340
Palmyra, WI
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From the AF20 BlazeKing manual.
Has anyone here ever experienced something like this?
 
Not I with a Progress Hybrid. Seems highly unlikely. But as the band Rush would say on Hold Your Fire, "Anything Can Happen"
..."From the point of ignition..."
 
If it does happen you really need to consider an insulated liner.
 
It does absolutely happen. But only with a Blaze King. Water vapor is the only thing that is able to pass through the catalyst, it then collects in the freezing cap. Insulated liner or not, it can happen in extreme climates. I've had 16" ice cycles hanging from cap!
 
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What is the icing fix then? Prevention?
In some climates, physically breaking the ice out of the cap is what needs done. Dry wood, hotter fires will prevent this of course in most climates.
 
It does absolutely happen. But only with a Blaze King. Water vapor is the only thing that is able to pass through the catalyst, it then collects in the freezing cap.
?? I would expect, CO and CO2 and a host of other vapors too.
 
True if burning hot enough, but with a low setting and a cold pipe creosote can clog cap screens and pipes.
 
True if burning hot enough, but with a low setting and a cold pipe creosote can clog cap screens and pipes.
Yes, but ice build up was the issue at hand. Creosote can plague any stove on any setup. Ice can be an issue only with a BK and only in extreme climates.
 
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I've already seen a little ice buildup with my BK Chinook.
This occurred when temps dropped into the low to mid 20's while doing a medium burn.
My current fuel of choice is the Tractor Supply store eco-bricks so wood moisture is not playing any role.
 
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I've already seen a little ice buildup with my BK Chinook.
This occurred when temps dropped to the low to mid 20's while doing a medium burn.
My current fuel of choice is the Tractor Supply store eco-bricks so wood moisture is not playing any role.

Even the driest of dry wood fuels will produce water vapor as a product of combustion.
 
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Even the driest of dry wood fuels will produce water vapor as a product of combustion.
Agreed.
I'm not complaining about it.I know I can just melt them off with a higher burn.
I figured it would help the record here by sharing my own experience with it.
 
It does absolutely happen. But only with a Blaze King. Water vapor is the only thing that is able to pass through the catalyst, it then collects in the freezing cap. Insulated liner or not, it can happen in extreme climates. I've had 16" ice cycles hanging from cap!
I spent 30 yrs. up there. Not as bad as some places, but Palmyra indeed qualifies as an "extreme climate" in my book. You go up there, you'll have 16" icicles hanging from your nose! ;lol
 
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I have not had that problem.

I could see if maybe i had a bigger stove in the same house i might run it low enough and long enough.

I do have a neighbor with icicles hanging off his chimney, but he just split his rounds yesterday.

This has got to be a sqft / envelope/ stove size/ chimney configuration thing.

With 24 hour burns in the shoulders, 12 hour burns in cold weather and 4-6 hour burns in really cold weather, with 30 minutes on high at each reload i have never yet had an inkling of this.

I wonder if @Ashful noticed anything in his January?
 
It does absolutely happen. But only with a Blaze King. Water vapor is the only thing that is able to pass through the catalyst, it then collects in the freezing cap. Insulated liner or not, it can happen in extreme climates. I've had 16" ice cycles hanging from cap!
Well no water vapor is not the only thing that can get through the cat. That is totally untrue. And yes you can absolutely get icicles from the cap I have gotten that from my regency. I was thinking about ice closing off the flue itself not the cap I guess it would be very possible to close off at the cap.
 
Well no water vapor is not the only thing that can get through the cat. That is totally untrue. And yes you can absolutely get icicles from the cap I have gotten that from my regency. I was thinking about ice closing off the flue itself not the cap I guess it would be very possible to close off at the cap.
Water vapor is the only element that can pass through the catalyst without being changed. It starts as water and ends water. Or in this case ice. That's what I was trying to say I guess.
 
Water vapor is the only element that can pass through the catalyst without being changed. It starts as water and ends water. Or in this case ice.
Unless the temps are not right or the cat is overwhelmed with smoke ect ect ect. Also you say without being changed. That is far from the only thing that can get through the cat is water. Your statement is simply not true
 
Well no water vapor is not the only thing that can get through the cat. That is totally untrue. And yes you can absolutely get icicles from the cap I have gotten that from my regency. I was thinking about ice closing off the flue itself not the cap I guess it would be very possible to close off at the cap.
An ice cycle is different than an iced up cap. Your regency won't ice up a cap. Too much wasted heat going up the flue.
 
An ice cycle is different than an iced up cap. Your regency won't ice up a cap. Too much wasted heat going up the flue.
agreed but water still is not the only thing that makes it through a cat I am sorry that is just wrong
 
Don"t have to worry about any ice around here. Not yet anyway, it"s been a warm start this fall.
 
agreed but water still is not the only thing that makes it through a cat I am sorry that is just wrong
I had read an article at some point about the physics behind a catalyst, can't remember where. It mentioned that everything that passes through the cat is altered, or destroyed. Except water vapor, it simply returns to water once it's reintroduced to the atmosphere.
 
I had read an article at some point about the physics behind a catalyst, can't remember where. It mentioned that everything that passes through the cat is altered, or destroyed. Except water vapor, it simply returns to water once it's reintroduced to the atmosphere.
And that may be true under perfect conditions. But even if it is that does not mean the only thing that gets through a cat is water. It does say altered or destroyed. So even if it is altered that means something goes through
 
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