I purchased a home built in 1984 with an existing wood stove and 8 inch class a chimney. I cleaned the chimney and replaced the stove with a new hearthstone shelburne which I have been heating with for three seasons. The original stove was a knockoff of a vermont castings defiant that was leaky, warped, and cracked leading me to suspect overfiring. The drywall and wood frame enclosure on the second floor was built larger than necessary with clearance from chimney to drywall of about 8 inches. For these reasons I decided to remove the enclosure , disassemble and inspect each chimney section, and rebuild the enclosure smaller to allow more space to pass in the room. After inspection all seemed fine with the chimney sections so I reassembled the chimney, and fired the stove up for inspection. I noticed the twist together union portions heated up faster than the rest of the pipe which makes sense. Also, the outside of the chimney pipe eventually got warmer than I expected even though with my hand held 2 inches from the pipe it was a comfortable temp.
The chimney was made by Oliver MacCleod..tested to UL 103 ht in jan of 1984..Projet model hi temp 3103. The original paper stickers are still in place and show no signs of heat.
I tend to be very cautious with fire and electricity , so my questions are..
Is it possible the slip joints getting hot first represents possible insulation settling and a possible hazard?
What should the outside surface temp be of class a chimney pipe at continuous operation?
Should I provide a larger clearance between chimney and drywall than 2 inches or even construct a simple sheet metal heat shield around the chimney for added safety?
Would durarock on the inside of the enclosure instead of drywall add any measure of safety?
Would replacing the entire chimney be a waste of time and $?
Am I concerned for no reason, since it has been used for years without any problems?
I live at 10,000 ft elevation and heat exclusively with wood if it makes a difference.
Thanks !
The chimney was made by Oliver MacCleod..tested to UL 103 ht in jan of 1984..Projet model hi temp 3103. The original paper stickers are still in place and show no signs of heat.
I tend to be very cautious with fire and electricity , so my questions are..
Is it possible the slip joints getting hot first represents possible insulation settling and a possible hazard?
What should the outside surface temp be of class a chimney pipe at continuous operation?
Should I provide a larger clearance between chimney and drywall than 2 inches or even construct a simple sheet metal heat shield around the chimney for added safety?
Would durarock on the inside of the enclosure instead of drywall add any measure of safety?
Would replacing the entire chimney be a waste of time and $?
Am I concerned for no reason, since it has been used for years without any problems?
I live at 10,000 ft elevation and heat exclusively with wood if it makes a difference.
Thanks !