Last night it was (and still is) very cold around here with another brutal night coming. I had the stove top near the flue exit connection running up to 620 degrees. Generally around 500 is where it probably averages. Things were going up the flue very well, not a roar like I’ve heard you guys discuss for a chimney fire but still moving right along. I went outside and watched for a while. Twice, I saw a little red hot ember come out but it disappeared before hitting the ground. Well, this morning I’m seeing a few little, almost weightless, pieces of black creosote on the snow downwind of the chimney. My wood is fine and the two times I’ve swept the chimney twice this season it couldn’t have filled a 12 ounce pop can. Pretty clean top and bottom where I can get a visual after sweep. The chimney cap was by far the worst of it. I’m going to sweep this weekend and polish out the cap too. Question: is creosote occasionally landing on the snow normal? What about just leaving the cap off till we get into more of a warmer rainy season?
