Water in bottom of chimney

[stovehugger]

Recently I purchased a Englander 30 to replace my Shanandoah r77E junk stove that I bought 2 years ago. I connected the new stove to the second flue in my 2 flue chimney. This flue had never been used and the chimney is only 2 years old. The chimney has a concrete cap on it. I am very happy with the stove. It seems to heat well and good burn times. The problem is there is an inch or so of water in the cleanout on the chimney the Englander is attached to. We have had quite a bit of snow lately but i never had that problem with the other flue. Is this a common problem or something I should worry about. Thanks for any responses.

 

[RonB]

Do you have a rain cap at the top of the chimney flue?

 

[stovehugger]

I have a concrete cap on the top of both flues that extends 2-3 inches all the way around. Possibly a windswept rain might allow rain down flue but it has never happened to the adjacent flue in the same chimney. Would partially seasoned wood carry enough moisture to collect in the bottom of the flue? Since I have been using the Englander I have been into wood that was cut 14 months ago , split in June 07 and put in basement Nov 07.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Could be condensation too. I wouldn't worry about it. It'll melt in the spring.

Matt

 

[swestall]

Did you ever check this flue? IF not it may have been getting in there for some time. The other flue has a heat source and may not take the moisture in as a result. My thought would be to vac it out and go from there, the wood burner is sure to keep the flue warm enough in season, and off season you'll have to see what happens.

 

[stovehugger]

Thanks for the posts. The flue that is getting the water is the one that I am currently using with the Englander. Before it was being used it was dry as a bone and a home for some hornets. I know because I found out they were there the hard way. I guess I wont worry to much about it. Thanks

 

[jbrown56]

Hi, When I had my old stove, I had water in the bottom of the chimney for years. The stove has a 6" outlet and was exhausting into an 8 x 12 flue. I could never figure out where the water was coming from. After much reading here, I learned that smoke has steam as a component and as it rises it cools and can turn back into water if not burned hot enough ending up in the bottom of the chimney. It also creates a lot of creosote which I had. The day I put the new stove in, three months ago, the water stopped. I think it is because this stove burns hotter. Two months ago, I installed a rigid ss liner and has helped the draft and performance of the stove greatly. Hope this helps.

Jim

 

[brogsie]

I had squirrels eat the chimney flashing causing rain water to leak down. Might want to check that.

 

[swestall]

Varmints; all of them.....

 

[stovehugger]

I believe from what I can see so far that a combination between the wood that is not quite seasoned enough and the fact that the stove outlet is 6 inches going into an 8 inch square chimney that the water vapor is condensing and falling to the bottom of the chimney. The chimney is all brick with a liner and 32' tall. I noticed this morning that when i got the stove heated up well with new wood on top the smoke out the chimney was pure white. The Englander seems to give a good secondary burn because I havent seemed to have much if any creosote. I guess i shouldnt have the problem next year because my wood supply will be much dryer. Thanks to all that posted.