Englander 30 suddenly smoking

[buzcranne]

Sorry so long reporting back. A couple of hours after my first post the electricity went out (there was a stiff breeze, which is about all it takes here). 26 hours later it's just coming back on.

In those 26 hours... I went on the roof and found that the screen was in fact clogged up. I would say it was soot, not creosote. I took the cap off off and banged it and the clogged stuff easily fell off in a powder. I couldn't see that it was clogged from the ground, even with binoculars, because of the way the soot followed to contours of the screen.

While I was up there I did my first flue cleaning too. Again, nothing that I would consider creosote, but a decent amount of soot.

Three pics are attached .... The clogged screen, the soot pile in the stove after brushing out the flue, and finally the resulting perfectly burning fire that kept me and the rest of the family warm on a 20-degree no-electricity night.

Thanks again everyone. I'll be cleaning the cap and screen monthly at least.

 

[BrotherBart]

Looking good now that it can breathe. What temps are you running burning N/S in that 30?. Mine just burns too damned hot N/S with dry wood so I have gone to E/W burning this season.

 

[buzcranne]

I typically run around 450-600. Thats the reading on a stove-top thermometer pushed to the back of the lower "step" of the stovetop. If I see it get close to 700 I close it down tight and bring it back down, but that has only happened maybe 4 times in 3 months.

I think these temps will hold true even next year when I have some better-seasoned wood. This year's lot wasn't quite as bad as I originally feared (it was delivered after a major rain and I didn't realize the wood would hold the moisture as many days as it did or that it would soak as deeply into each log as it did). Plus, I've burned some dry pine with similar temps.

 

[TMonter]

Hey that's the same cap I have. I've modified mine to be more clog resistant I can send you some pictures if you like. I think this summer I'm going to remove the screen and make some SS standoffs to hold the cap on the collar.

I have the EXACT same problem. The cap clogs after about 45-60 days of burning but the flue below the cap is slightly dirty with only slight buildup the 1' before the cap. After the 1' the stainless liner is very clean.

PS: that is creosote, it's just not the shiny really flammable stuff that usually starts chimney fires. If you took the stuff off the cap and tossed it on a fire it would take off.

 

[Highbeam]

Wow, well there you go. Yet another one of us that doesn't have one of those magical clog free smoke filters. Apparently only the experts get one.

Some folks on here just can't climb onto their roof and remove the cap every couple of months to remove that pluggage since they might have a steep roof, a couple feet of snow, a very tall chimney, or some other obstacle. Obviously, the stove can't be run with that clogged screen.

Enojy the nice burn.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

That cap looks like it's built from woven wire ribbon. Or maybe even 'expanded metal'. That's sheet metal that gets slots punched and then gets pulled apart. It's flat, too. But it's hard to tell from the photo.

Here, I run a homemade cap with a screen made from 1/2 in. wire cloth. Thats a grid of woven together, small diameter, round wires- held together by galvanization (zinc metal). My solid cap is suspended above the screen, not directly attached to it. The screen is horizontal. It catches just a little of the powdery stuff, which knocks off easily with a few passes of a wire brush. I suspect that round, thin wires attract and hold the stuff at a much slower rate. Mine appears as if it wouldn't close off unless I left it uncleaned for 2-3 years.

 

[TMonter]

If it's the one I have it is stainless expanded metal. I've cut two diamond shaped holes to limit plugging in mine but even then that's not enough. It will prevent it from completely blinding over but I still have the plugging issue.

 

[LLigetfa]

If you zoom in on the pic you can see it is flat diamond stretch mesh. A steady hand and a slingshot with snowballs might clear the screen from ground level.

 

[buzcranne]

A steady hand and a slingshot with snowballs might clear the screen from ground level.

Oh, I'm well versed in slingshot. A few months ago a mild hurricane was due to hit our area Saturday morning. So, Friday after work I decided to take down the HUGE dead tree near the garage that I had been meaning to take down since we bought the house several months before. Long story short, it only missed the pulverizing the garage because it got hung up in another tree on it's way down. But not hung up very well. So, my brother and I spent 10 hours between 5pm and 10am the next morning with a slingshot, fishing line, rope, chain, pickup truck, neightbor's tractor, and a couple of scary close calls getting it down.

But for the clogged smoke arrestor I'll just head to the roof each month. It's a fairly easy process in my situation. If it becomes a hassle I'll probably modify or remove the screen.