bird stuck in pipe

[mikerino]

Hi all, I have a Jotul oslo 500 and there seems to be a bird stuck in the pipe. I hear it peeping and scratching around in there. Any advice on how to get it out? Do I have to remove the top to let it out of the pipe and into the stove?

 

[Whitenuckler]

Hi all, I have a Jotul oslo 500 and there seems to be a bird stuck in the pipe. I hear it peeping and scratching around in there. Any advice on how to get it out? Do I have to remove the top to let it out of the pipe and into the stove?

I'm not sure it will come out the stove but if you take the pipe off the stove it should come out the pipe. Then add some mesh to your cap.

 

[Newbie78]

We had a bird in our stovepipe this summer. It was too large to make it past the open flapper damper in the pipe above the stove. I gently closed the damper, removed some stovepipe screws, slid the pipe up off of the stove and damper, and released the starling into the house. We opened some windows and doors and in a short time it found its way out.

 

[mikerino]

thanks for the replies. I did exactly that and the bird is now back among his friends.

 

[Newbie78]

👍👍👍

 

[begreen]

thanks for the replies. I did exactly that and the bird is now back among his friends.

They've probably nicknamed him "sooty" after this adventure.

 

[mikerino]

Actually I just had the pipe and stove serviced. Bird was clean as can be.

 

[Whitenuckler]

Actually I just had the pipe and stove serviced. Bird was clean as can be.

I was wondering about that. I also thought the bird might be hurt. I'm glad the little fellow made it through. Good thing you were home.

 

[Dataman]

I keep metal cloth in pipe to stop them. Open up the cleanup outside so they just drop thru. Otherwise 8" Pipe kills about 4 yearly. Poor Things.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I'm glad you were able to restore him successfully to the outside.

I have a screen on my chimney so that birds don't get in, and I'm very glad that I do. Over the summer as I was working in the garden one morning, I watched two bluebirds attempting to work their way inside the chimney. I was amazed at how persistent they were. They never succeeded, but they definitely wanted to get in and kept trying for upwards of half an hour. It was interesting to see just how determined they were to access that particular space.

 

[Tron]

Old thread, I know, but today I rescued the third Eastern Bluebird this spring out of my stove. The stupid things always try to get into the flue cap and then fall down into the stove. All of them survived, but still...

Not a fan of a cap screen (cap has about 1" wide slits) as IIRC they can clog easily with creosote and I really don't have a good way to access the stove cap.

 

[Dataman]

I have same problem. I put Metal Cloth in Pipe leading into house and open up the bottom (Cleanout). No More Dead Birds. I just cut it and stuff it in the pipe. Problem Solved, but don't let it there. Will fill with Soot and Cause Problems later in Winter (Ask me how I know that).

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/ashman-online-36-in-x-20-ft-hardware-cloth-1-2-in-mesh-19-gauge-hot-dip-galvanized-wire-fencing-for-garden-2505747

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Every stove I've run has had a cap screen, and only once have we had it clog with creosote. That was when we got into a batch of wet wood during a snowy winter in Virginia. We couldn't get on the roof, but it cleaned just fine with a sooteater.

@Tron , how do you handle chimney cleaning now? Do you do it yourself or hire it out? I'd be in favor of a screened cap since you're having regular bluebird visitors. If it were to clog, it can be cleared from below in my experience.

 

[Tron]

and open up the bottom (Cleanout). No More Dead Birds.

I don't have a cleanout. The stove sits against an inside wall, and so the stovepipe goes straight up through the roof.
But every bird so far has survived, it's really hard not to hear them fluttering inside the pipe.

@DuaeGuttae I do the cleanings myself with a sooteater.
But honestly, it hasn't been that much of a problem, this year was extreme with three so far, but most years we don't have any. And it only happens in spring when the stove is not running, obviously.

 

[begreen]

I don't know if it would help, but maybe try putting up a couple bluebird nesting boxes on the property to lure them away to nicer digs?

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I like the nesting box idea, @begreen. My mom has a number around her property, but the birds were still trying to get into our pipe last spring. I haven't noticed it yet this year, but I wouldn't be surprised.

@Tron , I'd rather deal with the unlikely event of needing to run the sooteater for a clogged cap screen than to have to free a trapped bird, but I don't have a slip joint on my pipe, so it's best for me to keep them out. I'm glad you're able to free them with little trouble.

 

[Tron]

@Tron , I'd rather deal with the unlikely event of needing to run the sooteater for a clogged cap screen than to have to free a trapped bird

I surely don't. I'm just imagining starting the stove with a clogged screen, the fire's just starting but my living room starts filling up with smoke. Then you have the challenge of getting the fire out, waiting for the stove to cool down enough so you can actually use the sooteater, all while you only wanted to banish the chill from the room...no, the occasional trapped/released bird is the better option, I think.

 

[begreen]

I had the stock screen on our Duravent cap for years. It wasn't until one year I started off burning maple which had gotten wet due to puddling and leaks in the tarp that covered the stacks. The screen clogged up in less than a month. In a way it was a blessing because it served as a warning to not try and burn that wood until it could be recovered and dried out.

 

[Tron]

Good point. All of my wood dries for at least three years, but I'm not immune to a tear in the tarp letting in water, either.
I usually test one split of a new silo before we use it, but that's hardly a significant sample across the whole silo.