TEE connected to Ash Dump

[rmcfall]

My fireplace has an ash dump in the floor that I would like to utilize to making cleaning the chimney easier. What I am thinking is that I will run a piece of liner from the bottom of the TEE into the ash dump. The ash dump is about 7 or 8 feet deep and can be accessed from a cleanout on an outside wall of the basement. Are there any requirements for the piece of liner that I run from the bottom of the TEE into the ash dump? I imagine the liner running from the TEE into the ash dump has to be capped at the end, or can I just leave it open? It would be easier to leave it open at the end...that way I could just run the liner down into the top part of the ash dump without having to go the entire 6-7 feet. Something doesn't seem right about leaving it open at the end, however....

 

[BrotherBart]

It has to be capped. If not capped the chimney would be constantly sucking air through it instead of your stove. I doubt you would ever even get the stove to light. The cardinal rule is that you want any air that goes up that chimeny to come through the stove first.

Besides that it the stove somehow did light you would clog that chimney with creosote in a matter of days. And we won't even talk about all of the smoke in your house.

Cap it.

 

[rmcfall]

What you say makes perfect sense. Thanks.

 

[elkimmeg]

Bad idea all around. In a perfect world where ash dump doors were air tight and each flue compartmentizes it might work.
in the real world chances are the ash dump area is hollow servicing all flues including you burner. that being so It is not good to suck in burner exhaust or wood stove exhaust threw the burner vent. I like you thinking but this time you are re engineering a system that does the job at hand, better than using the ash dump

 

[rmcfall]

Bad idea all around. In a perfect world where ash dump doors were air tight and each flue compartmentizes it might work.
in the real world chances are the ash dump area is hollow servicing all flues including you burner. that being so It is not good to suck in burner exhaust or wood stove exhaust threw the burner vent. I like you thinking but this time you are re engineering a system that does the job at hand, better than using the ash dump

I don't totally follow what you saying. When you say burner, which burner are you referring to?

In any event, I think the hole that exists in the floor for the ash dump may be better suited for accomodating the vent for the outside air intake. I can run the vent from the stove, down through the ash dump hole, and then outside. This way, the intake will be about 6-7 feet off the ground and tucked away nicely under the deck.

Even though I no longer intend to run an extension off the tee into the ash dump for chimney cleaning purposes, I'd still like to understand why doing so would have been a problem even if the extension were capped off... I got the idea from the pic on the top left-- http://www.hartshearth.com/chimney/flexreline_diagrams.htm

 

[elkimmeg]

using the ash dump door for the fresh outside air supply is a great idea?

Steps backwards in multi flue chimneys one will have an 8/8 flue for the burner then a 12/98 or 12/12 fire place flue
this being so in the cellar there are two cleanout doors one for the burner and one for the fireplace ash dump many tines this is a hollow area without cement blocks or partitions dividing up the two flues into compartments. It is ome general shared area. You may not have this situation so disregard that part of my past post

 

[rmcfall]

using the ash dump door for the fresh outside air supply is a great idea?

Steps backwards in multi flue chimneys one will have an 8/8 flue for the burner then a 12/98 or 12/12 fire place flue
this being so in the cellar there are two cleanout doors one for the burner and one for the fireplace ash dump many tines this is a hollow area without cement blocks or partitions dividing up the two flues into compartments. It is ome general shared area. You may not have this situation so disregard that part of my past post

I see what your saying--insofar as the case with multi flue chimneys. In my case, however, it is a single flue chimney with an ash dump. So the only thing venting out the chimney is the wood stove. Would there be a problem running the air supply through the hollow area of the ash dump? The inlet of the supply would be on the outside..not in the dump...

 

[elkimmeg]

No problem it is done all the time A feresh air intake is a good solution however not always needed if enough room air is avaliabvle

 

[rmcfall]

Thanks, Elk. I appreciate your aforementioned concern.