This is a long post, sorry. I would greatly appreciate the input of the other members on this topic.
Thank you in advance.
I have a quadra fire 2100. I have had this stove for 5 years now.
Last night at about 3:30 am the smoke detector went off and the house had smoke in it.
The smoke didn't smell like burning wood. It had the smell of firing up a stove for the first time.
At 2:30 am I add several pieces of wood on top of a large bed of coals.
The way the pieces happened to fit left no path for flames to move upward around the fresh wood.
I'm not even sure this is relevant.
The flue is black double walled from the stove top to the ceiling box where it then connects to the double wall stainless flue that goes through the attic and then the roof. It is a straight run.
The black flue was so hot that it melted the UL listed sticker on it.
I touched the flue ( I had to know just how hot it was ) and it was hotter than I've ever felt it.
It wasn't glowing or anything.
The fire in the box was massive but not any more so than it has been before.
When I opened the door I heard a massive roaring sound.
I wasn't sure if it was just the fire or perhaps a flue fire. There was no smoke pouring out of the flue outside.
I unloaded the stove into a steel bucket and relocated the burning wood and coals outside into another steel can where my son covered it with snow.
Once the stove was empty and cooling down I climbed onto the roof and removed the cap.
I was surprised when I looked down to see that there was no real build up of creosote, no fire, no glowing, nothing at all. I did notice small black pieces of ash setting on the snow on the roof.
The stove burns clean and when I clean it, before every season, it's never anything more than just a few small flakes.
Could there have been a small flue fire 5 feet or less from the stove top which burned out before I emptied the stove and climbed on the roof?
Should that UL listed sticker on the side of the black flue have melted off? Has this happened to anyone else?
Could the door seal be letting in air causing it to burn to hot or the damper controls malfunction?
Personally, I don't think there was a flue fire and I don't think there was a malfunction of the dampers since they seem to feel exactly the same way they always are, i.e. no slack in the movement, etc.
I also find it highly unusual that after 5 years of burning that I suddenly reached a temperature I've never reached before causing the flue to 'cure' the way a stove does on it's first few burns.
However, something sure as the heck did happen and it scared the crap out of the family, me included.
I'm going to go up now and clean the flue and fire up the stove again and see what happens.
Thank you in advance.
I have a quadra fire 2100. I have had this stove for 5 years now.
Last night at about 3:30 am the smoke detector went off and the house had smoke in it.
The smoke didn't smell like burning wood. It had the smell of firing up a stove for the first time.
At 2:30 am I add several pieces of wood on top of a large bed of coals.
The way the pieces happened to fit left no path for flames to move upward around the fresh wood.
I'm not even sure this is relevant.
The flue is black double walled from the stove top to the ceiling box where it then connects to the double wall stainless flue that goes through the attic and then the roof. It is a straight run.
The black flue was so hot that it melted the UL listed sticker on it.
I touched the flue ( I had to know just how hot it was ) and it was hotter than I've ever felt it.
It wasn't glowing or anything.
The fire in the box was massive but not any more so than it has been before.
When I opened the door I heard a massive roaring sound.
I wasn't sure if it was just the fire or perhaps a flue fire. There was no smoke pouring out of the flue outside.
I unloaded the stove into a steel bucket and relocated the burning wood and coals outside into another steel can where my son covered it with snow.
Once the stove was empty and cooling down I climbed onto the roof and removed the cap.
I was surprised when I looked down to see that there was no real build up of creosote, no fire, no glowing, nothing at all. I did notice small black pieces of ash setting on the snow on the roof.
The stove burns clean and when I clean it, before every season, it's never anything more than just a few small flakes.
Could there have been a small flue fire 5 feet or less from the stove top which burned out before I emptied the stove and climbed on the roof?
Should that UL listed sticker on the side of the black flue have melted off? Has this happened to anyone else?
Could the door seal be letting in air causing it to burn to hot or the damper controls malfunction?
Personally, I don't think there was a flue fire and I don't think there was a malfunction of the dampers since they seem to feel exactly the same way they always are, i.e. no slack in the movement, etc.
I also find it highly unusual that after 5 years of burning that I suddenly reached a temperature I've never reached before causing the flue to 'cure' the way a stove does on it's first few burns.
However, something sure as the heck did happen and it scared the crap out of the family, me included.
I'm going to go up now and clean the flue and fire up the stove again and see what happens.
