I leave the chimney cap off my masonry chimney while burning the wood stove in the winter.

[Wood Pirate]

As the title says, I leave the chimney cap off my masonry chimney while burning the wood stove in the winter.
I used to keep the cap on but it seems to draft alot better with the cap off. Although, when it rains the flue is unprotected. Is this a bad idea?

 

[BrotherBart]

Do what ya wanna do. I never had caps on my chimneys until I installed the liners. Now I don't want the liners being a storm drain right straight down into my stoves.

 

[BrotherBart]

i just cleaned a chimni whose top/crown was assbackwards where the tile was recessed & the top was built so that water would drain into the chimni. the top tiles were clean. some creo built up 3' down but zilch in quantity. this guy lives across the st. & i watch his nasty smoke regularly from his non epa furnace with missing firebrix. he got 2 gal of creo from bottom of chimni before i cleaned it & coffeecan full after. i was amazed & wonder if tile chimneys get rainwashed clean normally...ps.= oil boiler which makes his hot water burns into the same chimney year round
i am still amazed!

Rain water is very effective at washing off chimney accumulations. When I replaced my chimney caps this year I just laid the two old ones down by the wood pile. The rain has washed them spotless.