It was about 11pm last night and I was burning down the coal bed in the Princess from the morning load(7:30am) so I could load some wood for the night. The stove top was around 350 and the coal bed was still pretty large but I wanted to get into bed so I spread out the coals and loaded it up. I had the stove on high(3.5) and the bypass open while the new load was getting charred up. I was sitting in the chair right next to the stove listening to the wind blowing(outside the house and in the stove). A few minutes after loading I noticed the stove pipe(double wall) was starting to make some noise(like when the stove warms up). I glanced over at the stove and didn't see a fully engulfed load(really not much activity at all) so I continued to watch tv, I then started to smell paint burning off the pipe so I quickly closed the bypass and turned the t-stat all the way down. I grabbed my IR gun and hit the stove top, it wasn't even 400 yet but the pipe was 400 on the horizontal run, it's never close to that hot. I don't have a probe on the pipe so I have no idea on internal temp.
My first thought was I had a fire in the pipe but as soon as I turned the stove down(gotta love the BK control) the pipe quickly cooled off, I also ran outside right after I dialed it down and didn't see any activity coming out of the top of the chimney along with checking the chimney(masonry with insulated liner) with the IR gun where it runs though the attic.(temps matched attic temps) The stove pipe was just off last week and I dusted the powder out of it while I had it off so it's unlikely it had any dangerous creosote build up.
After thinking about it and looking at the stove I'm wondering if the high winds blew down or across the top of the chimney creating a "super draft" condition. I noticed the first layer of splits in the stove had a couple inch gap between two splits right down the middle of the stove and it looks like the flames burned a hole through the second layer of splits right up the bypass. Reflecting back when I didn't see much activity in the stove I do recall some flames at the back of the stove which is rather unusual,(hindsight) I'm thinking those flames were getting pulled straight up the bypass and getting pulled out the pipe by the wind. After the pipe cooled down and I checked everything out I turned the stove back up with the bypass closed, finished charring the load and dialed it down. All the temps and the stove ran normal after this. I didn't reload this morning since I want to check the pipe out tonight.
Any other ideas on what may have happened or could I be on point with my thinking?
My first thought was I had a fire in the pipe but as soon as I turned the stove down(gotta love the BK control) the pipe quickly cooled off, I also ran outside right after I dialed it down and didn't see any activity coming out of the top of the chimney along with checking the chimney(masonry with insulated liner) with the IR gun where it runs though the attic.(temps matched attic temps) The stove pipe was just off last week and I dusted the powder out of it while I had it off so it's unlikely it had any dangerous creosote build up.
After thinking about it and looking at the stove I'm wondering if the high winds blew down or across the top of the chimney creating a "super draft" condition. I noticed the first layer of splits in the stove had a couple inch gap between two splits right down the middle of the stove and it looks like the flames burned a hole through the second layer of splits right up the bypass. Reflecting back when I didn't see much activity in the stove I do recall some flames at the back of the stove which is rather unusual,(hindsight) I'm thinking those flames were getting pulled straight up the bypass and getting pulled out the pipe by the wind. After the pipe cooled down and I checked everything out I turned the stove back up with the bypass closed, finished charring the load and dialed it down. All the temps and the stove ran normal after this. I didn't reload this morning since I want to check the pipe out tonight.
Any other ideas on what may have happened or could I be on point with my thinking?
