Ashes on the ground outside my front door..... WTH???

[Bocefus78]

OK, newbie burner here.....had my PE vista for 34 days now. Boy, it's nice to finally be warm in the winter. I woke up to some fresh white stuff on the ground this morning and noticed some small black ashes from what looks like paper on the ground. I was late for work so no pics. I'm burning nothing but good 2 year seasoned mixed hardwood with an average stove temp of 450-550. Absolutely no paper in my insert. EVER. With the wind direction last nite, it definetly came from my chimney. Is this normal? Are those ashes/embers hot coming out? If so, that cant be good for the asphalt shingles when not snow covered???? I have not noticed this before....even on fresh snow.

Help before I burn the house down.

 

[colebrookman]

Sounds like you're doing everything right. It may have came from the colder exposed part of the chimney or. I would check out the chimney for creosote just for peace of mind and to be pro- active. Let's see what others think. Be safe.
ED

 

[BrotherBart]

Yeah. Sounds like the wind blew some creosote flakes out of the cap/screen.

 

[Troutchaser]

Mine did that last year. My wood wasn't stellar and I was getting black papery crap in the top of the flue. Like you, I first noticed it in the snow.
Hasn't been a problem at all this year because my wood is drier and I'm a slightly more educated burner . . . maybe.

 

[Battenkiller]

Yeah. Sounds like the wind blew some creosote flakes out of the cap/screen.

Never seen that one. Then again, I don't have a cap and screen.

I've read that fly ash will land on your lawn throughout the winter and fertilize it. My dog did a better job far as I can tell. Little green tufts of grass everywhere against a browner background.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I still think my golden retriever was the reason my grass was so thick and healthy at my old house. I think I spread ash on it once, but that probably did little if anything.

Matt

 

[BrotherBart]

Yeah. Sounds like the wind blew some creosote flakes out of the cap/screen.

Never seen that one. Then again, I don't have a cap and screen.

Or glass to watch the fire. You are missing ALL of the fun of wood burning. The only time you see the effect of anything on wood is through the glass in the microwave oven Professor. %-P

 

[Lighting Up]

Yeah. Sounds like the wind blew some creosote flakes out of the cap/screen.

bingo...had it to last wind storm...
md

 

[Bocefus78]

Thanks for the replys so far. My cap is not a screen one. It has slits running up and down.....not sure if that makes a diff. or not.

The liner is new but the cap is not. It was used previously with a gas log set that was never installed right. It sooted the fireplace up real bad and the cap was fairly black as well. The installer did mention that I might have to get up there and clean the slits periodically.

Just to confirm.....crap on the ground is somewhat normal after a windy day? Nothing to be concerned about?

Thanks in advance.

 

[firefighterjake]

No worries . . . every once in a while I get some of the black that comes off the cap . . . usually after high winds . . . think of it as Nature's Free Chimney Sweeping Service.

Please note . . . this does not mean folks should not check and clean their chimney and cap on a regular basis.

 

[nate379]

Would be really hard to catch asphalt shingles on fire from an ember.

I did a roof this fall and I threw the scraps in the burn barrel, only to find out that it pretty much doesn't burn. nor does tar paper.