Can it be repaired or do I need a new stove?

[MusicFire]

Hi all, I'm very new to these forums, but so far it looks like I might be able to find some good advice.

My wife and I just bought our first house a few months ago. Now that it's turning colder, we'd like to use our wood stove insert as our primary source of heat. The house is 936 sqft (single story). The insert is a small Country Comfort. We've burned a few fires in it, but whenever we open the door to put another piece of wood on, we get a lot of smoke billowing out. We had a chimney sweep come check it out, but he wouldn't even clean the chimney. He said that that stove is terrible, our installation was done improperly, and that we should just get a new stove installed (he wasn't trying to sell us anything and he didn't charge us). I think it primarily came down to the fact that there's no piping from the insert up through the chimney and that the opening (from the insert into the chimney?) is too small for the firebox.

We don't have a lot of money right now for a new insert and installation. Does this sound like a situation that is repairable? The chimney sweep even mentioned we can't just take the insert out to use the fireplace since our damper is rusted out/gone.

Any advice?

Let me know what other details are necessary as this is my first post.


Thanks!

 

[JohnnyBravo]

sounds like a liner might your situation. how tall is the chimney? if you spend a bit right now on a liner you could reuse it when you get a new insert down the road. step one make it safe. step two heat your house.

 

[Shane]

Take pictures and I can answer more definately, but from what you've explained you have a couple choices.

1. If the only thing that is missing is the damper and the rest of the fireplace is in good operating order then you could install a top sealing damper and use the open fireplace. The downside to this is inefficiency.

2. You could reline the chimney (attach piping to the insert and run it to the top of the chimney) this option has many qualifiers and we need pictures to help you further.

3. Get a new insert

What it comes down to is that we need pictures and measurements and if possible a model number.

 

[webbie]

They made some decent stoves, including some relatively modern clean burning models.

We can guess at about a 90% certainty that your problem is not with the stove, but with the chimney.

First thing is to inspect the stove - it is a simple device. Is the baffle (shelf) in place? Is anything in the way (soot,etc.) of the flue - you should be able to see it above the baffle.

The stove must be installed with a minimum of a 5 to 10 foot stainless steel tube from the stove up into the chimney, and actually most modern codes would call for lining it to the top. Just as important is that a proper fitting block-off plate at the fireplace top. Please see some of the Popular links in the article listed at the bottom of my sig.....

A pic of the stove would help - if you can.

An installation that is not tight - is like having a vacuum cleaner but there are large holes in the hose. Will it suck properly at the end? no way. Draft is the same - it will take the easiest way up unless the installation is tight.

You can buy a bargain chimney liner for as little as $300-350, and if you are handy or have friends that are, it is possible to DIY.

If not, it is going to cost you, although that sweep sounds like a nice guy (for not charging you!).

 

[nshif]

Is this a masonry chimney? or a prefab metal?
At a minimum you need a stainless steel liner to the top of the chimney and a block off plate below the old damper. Its blowing smoke at you because there is no draft. What is the size of the existing flue?
Is the insert in good condition? no leaks, rust, cracks etc?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

definately pictures and a detailed explanation of the hookup. you came to the right place, just work with the pro's in here if a solution is there , it will be found

 

[MusicFire]

Thanks for the fast replies!

About the chimney: It's a masonry chimney with a clay flue lining (the lining sticks up from the top of the chimney a little and looks like the standard two foot rectangle). My house is a short one-story, so I imagine the chimney is maybe about 12 feet tall (it sticks up from the roof about 5 feet or so).

I don't know how to see the flue above the baffle - it seems to be in place very firmly, should I be able to take it out somehow?

I'm attaching a couple pictures for reference. The 'squishy' stuff around the stove is just some pipe insulation we had to cram into the gap left when the chimney sweep pulled out the stove and couldn't shove it back in. It's just a temporary solution and we won't be using the stove until we solve this problem.

Thanks!

 

[BrotherBart]

This post is being qualified by Forum rules due to the fact that I have been consuming Cutty Sark:

That looks like a really nice insert and the interior suggests that it is capable of clean burns. The only thing it probably needs is a full chimney liner from the insert to the top of the chimney. But for sure the chimney needs to be cleaned and inspected before you burn the insert.

The other thing you need is a new chimney sweep. That dork does not know what he is doing or he is pimping for a local stove dealer.

 

[begreen]

Agreed (with a nice cab sav speaking), the stove looks great. I would only add that it needs a block off plate to go with the new liner. After that, the cold air seepage should stop and the stove should burn quite nicely.

 

[mortimer]

Can you get on the roof with a flashlight? You will/should be able to see whether there is a liner. If not, putting one in makes sense. There are some on ebay. Sounds like this will fix the smoke problem. You might want to make sure that there is no blockage in the exhaust part of the insert,


You might want to replace the broken brick. Ace hardware sells them. In Spokane anyway.

 

[babalu87]

ROFL
Northern Virginia = Whiskey
Puget Sound = Cabernet


I concur, a new liner top to bottom and a different chimney sweep, that one sounds like a bit of a shill

 

[velvetfoot]

That foam doesn't look too good, anyway.

 

[Shane]

Take the surround plate off the top and take a picture that way. We should beable to see the flue collar and if you can get your camera in there take a picture of the fireplace damper area. As for condition of the insert it looks just fine. What we're trying to see is what is preventing the unit from being lined.

 

[velvetfoot]

Is hearth made of a slab of stone? Very nice!

 

[BrotherBart]

ROFL
Northern Virginia = Whiskey
Puget Sound = Cabernet

Ah yes. I find Cutty to be an impertinent and bold example of its class with a smoky nose and a clean but arresting finish with just a hint of regular unleaded.

 

[MusicFire]

Here are a few pics with the top surround plate removed. You can see the pipe isn't even inserted into the stove completely. Is this still something that can be repaired with a SS liner?

Thanks!

 

[begreen]

Yes, with a proper liner, block off plate and stove connection, this stove has the potential to be a completely different animal. Get the job done right and you should be a happy camper. But get the chimney thoroughly cleaned first!

 

[babalu87]

ROFL
Northern Virginia = Whiskey
Puget Sound = Cabernet

Ah yes. I find Cutty to be an impertinent and bold example of its class with a smoky nose and a clean but arresting finish with just a hint of regular unleaded.

LOL
McClelland's Islay. Should be $20.00 a bottle and it is well worth the splurge on yourself. Good gravy that is some fine stuff at that price. Better than some of the $40+ bottles I have tasted.
The Islay is the strongest (peaty and thick) of the McClelland line. They have a good website to show what their different variations have for characteristics.
It is odd but you can taste the salt air of Islay????????? How do they do that, its like Willie Wonkas gum meals.

http://www.mcclellands.co.uk/

 

[Gooserider]

Definitely looks like a situation that can be cured with a full liner (maybe insulated for best performance), and blockoff plates top and bottom... Stove itself looks fine, but definitely needs lots of TLC in the chimney.

As to the other question, I'm of the opinion that one of the best out there, especially for the money is SCAPA - brewed and aged on the islands of the Scapa Flow in Northern Scotland, it is very nicely balanced and incredibly smooth - it's moderately priced for a single malt, and tastes like some McClellend's that are twice the price - IMHO it is better than the bottle of McCallan's Cask Strength that I got a while back as a gift...

OTOH, if you like a "Peaty" brew, try Isle of Jura...

Gooserider

 

[Shane]

Looks like everything is in decent order. Get it lined. What exactly did the chimney sweep do? I wonder if he didn't want to pull that heavy beast.

 

[MusicFire]

Alright, I'll be getting that liner installed and I'll let you all know it works out. Thanks for the help!

 

[woodburner9]

by now, you have probably fixed your problems. i've owned a cc135 for about 15 years and it works well although not as efficient or as clean burning as a newer insert. One thing that noone seemed to suggest about your initial 'smoke in the room' problem was to make sure that you pull the damper rod all the way out 5-10 sec before opening the doors and then open the doors slowly. this usually prevents any blowback of smoke and allows a good strong draft to pull thru the door opening. the damper rod should ALWAYS be pulled out when the doors are open.

good luck and get that chimney cleaned!!

 

[TMonter]

He may need an offset box to get the pipe to hookup to the stove.