BIS Ultima Problems

[martin]

Last winter I encountered a problem with creosote in liquid form leaking down the chimney and onto the top of the BIS Ultima. This created smoke inside the house and
I have been unable to get anyone out to help me find the problem. I even sent pictures to the manufacturer and still no help. It looks like there is something wrong with
the visible part of the stove pipe above the firebox. There is a small gap where the creosote was leaking out. Now the creosote is a hardened glob on top of the stove.
I cannot use the stove until I fix this problem. I would like to learn how to clean the chimney myself since it appears the problem was caused by the chimney sweeper pulling the stove pipe apart. thanks for any help.

 

[hearthtools]

If this is a BUILD IN FIREPLACE
it sounds like the installer did not use a proper Anchor plate that connect the Class A chimney to the stove.

This is a Plate that screws to the top of the fireplace that will have a Collar that fits into the Female opening of the fireplace
and the top will provide a Factory connection that matches the Brand of Class A chimney used.

ALL MALE ENDS go down into the lower ends so all moister or creosoot will drip into the fireplace or stove and not on the outside of the pipe.

 

[martin]

thanks for the advice - I think you are right. Yes, is is a zero clearance built in.
I went into a show room and the top of their BIS did not look like mine. The builder of the house
said that he was not too sure about the installer. This particular installer is the one who I am having trouble getting to come out here and take a look.
the chimney cleaner thinks it is an install problem and the installer says it is the chimney sweep's fault. Is there someone you know in California
who will come out and take a look and give me a quote for a repair? Every road I have tried has lead back to this same installer.
Thanks for the help!

 

[martin]

here is a photo of the stovepipe on top of the firebox

 

[martin]

here is a zoomed out photo - you can see the stovepipe on the top of the firebox

 

[begreen]

Is that pipe attached with screws to anything? Hard to see from the photos.

 

[martin]

no screws - according to the manual it twists in place and locks

 

[david Lee]

Try contacting McNeely- Yuill Corp in Sacramento 916-362-1671. They are the master distributor for the Security Fireplace line in Northern California. They don't do installations but are very knowledgeable and should be able to guide you to a eventual resolution.

As far as your photo's, the fireplace is shipped with the chimney collar pre attached to the fireplace and does not require a field installed anchor plate. The Ultima uses either Security brand 6" Secure Temp (ASHT) pipe or 6" Security Air Cooled (AC Pipe) only. Make sure one of these is installed on the fireplace. The pipe should have a label on it confirming the brand. Any addition photo's such as the chimney cap and other sections of pipe will be helpful.

Also, you'll need to provide them the serial number, date of installation and dealer name. Maybe they have some "juice" with this dealer and can help you out.

 

[BrotherBart]

In the first place that connection is just plain wrong. Second what are you burning and how hot are you burning it? I haven't seen wet creosote in a pipe in years.

Even before I got EPA stoves, liners etc.

 

[DiscoInferno]

That short section of pipe comes installed from the factory (or at least did on mine); the installer wouldn't have anything to do with it. The manual doesn't say anything about installing that pipe; the twist-and-lock stuff refers to the chimney proper I think. The chimney connects on top of the outer shell, which is not visible in these photos. There is an extra "starter section" if you use the air-cooled chimney. FWIW, my pipe stub looks the same except with no creosote. I can't really tell how that section of pipe connects to the firebox, but it's definitely not the usual crimped-end down into a collar. If there's a collar at all, it's inside the pipe. I guess it could be double-wall pipe; it has temperature readings like single-wall but it's very close to the firebox so it might be hard to tell that way. Double-wall wouldn't make a lot of sense from a heat-exchange standpoint, though.

 

[martin]

thanks folks! this is the most helpful discussion board I have ever seen...

it is true I was not burning the stove nearly hot enough. the first time I saw the secondary combustion
near the upper part of the firebox around the secondary air pipes, I thought something was wrong. I ended
up damping the whole thing down way too much. I only burn oak and madrone. That secondary combustion is
kind of freaky if you have never seen it before. I think I will try the folks in Sacramento. Thanks for the tip.

The next question is how to clean this stove up , remove the creosote, and get it usable again. I think if I burn the fire hotter I might
not have this problem. I am still puzzled as to why the creosote ended up on top of the stove smoking inside
the house. That was not cool!

Those of you who have this stove - do you clean it yourself?

Once again a big thanks to all of you from me and my family.

 

[DiscoInferno]

The next question is how to clean this stove up , remove the creosote, and get it usable again. I think if I burn the fire hotter I might
not have this problem. I am still puzzled as to why the creosote ended up on top of the stove smoking inside
the house. That was not cool!

Those of you who have this stove - do you clean it yourself?

I'm not sure how to remove that stuff, but even once the visible stuff is gone you will have some hiding in the pipe waiting to run out the next time you light the fire. Maybe a nice bead of stove cement where the pipe meets the firebox, followed by some really hot fires (with a clean chimney!) would do the trick.

The Ultima is easy to clean yourself if you have top access, just follow the instructions in the manual for moving the baffle out of the way. It's possible to clean from the bottom, but it requires pulling out all the refractory panels, baffle, and at least two burn tubes, and using fairly flexible rods. A real pain you know where. Of course, if your whole chimney is coated with glazed creosote you may need a pro anyway.