Chimmney Fire Help!

[metoyou]

I bought a Lopi Leyden (top loader) brand new in January, and had it installed by the dealer. I have had a lot of problems with it since then. The problem had to do with the damper plate not making a tight seal when closed. In fact about 10 days after installation
I was getting ready to go to bed so I filled up the stove let in burn for about 1/2 with everything open and then closed it down (damper and Air inlet). Within a short time I smelled something that was very hot. I went to the stove to make sure I did indeed close the damper and the back of the stove was glowing red with the damper closed! I could hear kind of a whistling sound. I figured
air was escaping and acting like a blowtouch. I had to stay up for about 2 hrs to make sure it wouldn't catch my house on fire.

After many service calls I think the problem finally got fixed by them puting a nut on the bolt that worked the damper!

So thank goodness that never happened again!

Next thing I noticed is my stove was not giving me anywhere near the burn time that the brochure had said 12-15hrs I think it said, ....ha no way near that.

Sometimes I would fill it up to the top (very dry wood) and then close it all the way down and maybe get 4-5 hrs out of it.
Well I solved that problem on my own. This stove has a grate on the bottom where ashes fall through to a pan you can pull out and empty. I was cleaning my stove too good. Not only would I empty the ashpan, I would brush all the ashes through the grate so it was absolutely clean inside.
Now I leave about 1' of ash when I clean it and can get an overnite burn easily.

Ok, now to the chimney fire. When I wasn't getting the overnite burn times, I started adding unseasoned wood along with my seasoned wood for longer burn, and I have been doing that ever since. Actually come to think of it, I have been burning more unseasoned than seasoned.
I have had chimney fires before in other homes I've had (as I have been heating with wood all my adult life) and they usually burn themselves out. What scared me especially about this one is a flame came through the chimmney into my house. There must be a gap where one of the chimney pieces meets another piece. That's when I called the fire department. When they came, I told them I only had the stove since January and they thought that was unusual that I have a chimney fire so soon.

My setup is older manufactured home, triple insulated black stovepipe to the ceiling that has a black square box where the pipe goes through the ceiling. I also have a round stainless steel shield that covers the black stovepipe toward the top where it go through the ceiling. I wanted a straight up chimney (no curves) as I know this gives the least amount of headaches. At first they told me I could have it straight up through the ceiling, but then when they came to install it they said it wouldn't work, and I would have to have two 45 degree elbows. The pipe goes up straight for about 29' from the top of the stove then curves 45 then another 22' and then another elbow, then of course straight up through the roof.
It's all stainless up there and is about 4ft high.


My questions is do you think it was more of the unseasoned wood burning on low most of the time, or the elbows? Or equal?
If I can move it to another space in my house should I... so the pipe could go straight up.
I would appreciate any and all comments and will email pics if needed.
Unfortunately, after using wood all my life, I'm very frightened of my wood stove now.
thanks,
Laura

 

[Fire Bug]

I bought a Lopi Leyden (top loader) brand new in January, and had it installed by the dealer. I have had a lot of problems with it since then. The problem had to do with the damper plate not making a tight seal when closed. In fact about 10 days after installation
I was getting ready to go to bed so I filled up the stove let in burn for about 1/2 with everything open and then closed it down (damper and Air inlet). Within a short time I smelled something that was very hot. I went to the stove to make sure I did indeed close the damper and the back of the stove was glowing red with the damper closed! I could hear kind of a whistling sound. I figured
air was escaping and acting like a blowtouch. I had to stay up for about 2 hrs to make sure it wouldn't catch my house on fire.

After many service calls I think the problem finally got fixed by them puting a nut on the bolt that worked the damper!

So thank goodness that never happened again!

Next thing I noticed is my stove was not giving me anywhere near the burn time that the brochure had said 12-15hrs I think it said, ....ha no way near that.

Sometimes I would fill it up to the top (very dry wood) and then close it all the way down and maybe get 4-5 hrs out of it.
Well I solved that problem on my own. This stove has a grate on the bottom where ashes fall through to a pan you can pull out and empty. I was cleaning my stove too good. Not only would I empty the ashpan, I would brush all the ashes through the grate so it was absolutely clean inside.
Now I leave about 1' of ash when I clean it and can get an overnite burn easily.

Ok, now to the chimney fire. When I wasn't getting the overnite burn times, I started adding unseasoned wood along with my seasoned wood for longer burn, and I have been doing that ever since. Actually come to think of it, I have been burning more unseasoned than seasoned.
I have had chimney fires before in other homes I've had (as I have been heating with wood all my adult life) and they usually burn themselves out. What scared me especially about this one is a flame came through the chimmney into my house. There must be a gap where one of the chimney pieces meets another piece. That's when I called the fire department. When they came, I told them I only had the stove since January and they thought that was unusual that I have a chimney fire so soon.

My setup is older manufactured home, triple insulated black stovepipe to the ceiling that has a black square box where the pipe goes through the ceiling. I also have a round stainless steel shield that covers the black stovepipe toward the top where it go through the ceiling. I wanted a straight up chimney (no curves) as I know this gives the least amount of headaches. At first they told me I could have it straight up through the ceiling, but then when they came to install it they said it wouldn't work, and I would have to have two 45 degree elbows. The pipe goes up straight for about 29' from the top of the stove then curves 45 then another 22' and then another elbow, then of course straight up through the roof.
It's all stainless up there and is about 4ft high.


My questions is do you think it was more of the unseasoned wood burning on low most of the time, or the elbows? Or equal?
If I can move it to another space in my house should I... so the pipe could go straight up.
I would appreciate any and all comments and will email pics if needed.
Unfortunately, after using wood all my life, I'm very frightened of my wood stove now.
thanks,
Laura

Hi Laura,
Glad to see everything is ok, mainly yourself!!
If I am reading your post correctly, you have better than 51' of stove pipe just to get to your room ceiling. Wow, this isn't stovepipe, to me this is an "industrial smokestack".
I wonder what the difference is in stove pipe temperature at the stove and outside on the roof? I't would, I have to believe, be a vey significant drop in temperature.
Burning green wood in a wood stove = creosote build up in your chimney no matter how you look at it, especiall when you damper it off and cut back on the air intake at the stove. Do you have a stove or stove pipe thermometer?
If the inside of the stove pipe was on fire, this suggest you surely had cresote build up probably caused by stove pipe lenght, low air intake,(cold fire), closed damper,(cold gases), and green wood that sizzles.
I am suprised the fire came back down the stove pipe. The fire should have created a tremendous draft that would of drawn the fire upward.
As far as owners manuals go, as stated on this forum, don't believe eveything the manufactures state in them. Case in point being the thread reading; Block Off Plates. In this thread the manufacture states a stubb intake pipe can be used with fiberglass insulation used in lieu of a block off plate. This is to block off the damper opening.
Expert respondents say this is unacceptable but the manufactures, other members, and reputable dealers say it is an acceptable form of application. Go figure. Whos righi, whos wrong?
Best advice, I would suggest an inpection by a creditable chimney sweep.
The inspection may prevent your house from becoming a pile of charred rubble and may even save your life or prevent you from bodily harm.
Thanks,
John

 

[Highbeam]

I'm pretty sure she meant inches and not feet. "Older manufactured home" to me means a double wide trailer with a low roof so the actual length of chimney is probably quite short.

The flame came through the chimney and into the house. This is a problem. I read this to mean that flames shot out of the side of your stovepipe through a gap on the side. This of course means the pipe pieces are not adequately connected since there should be overlap which would prevent the gaps.

Mobile home installations require spark arrestors and that the stove be bolted down, plus an outside air hookup here in WA. The spark arrestor may have been pretty plugged up before the chimney fire which would act to pressurize the pipe.

Time for an unbiased chimney sweep to come out and sweep your chimney (a chimney fire doesn't clean the chimney) and check the installation.

 

[Fire Bug]

Highbeam,
I sure hope its inches and not feet but I am not sure where the two 45's come into play.

 

[Highbeam]

The two 45s awould be used to put a jog in the pipe. They likely chose a stove location and then when they went to install the vertical chimney there was a rafter in the way so they had to jog around it. This isn't all that uncommon but not ideal either.

 

[Shane]

I would lean towards the green wood. How tall is the chimney floor to the top of the pipe? How much of it is exposed to weather?

 

[Fire Bug]

The two 45s awould be used to put a jog in the pipe. They likely chose a stove location and then when they went to install the vertical chimney there was a rafter in the way so they had to jog around it. This isn't all that uncommon but not ideal either.

That paints a better picture. I do know, the straighter the run the better.
Sometime though some installs look like bad pluming work.

John

 

[elkimmeg]

Sometimes I would fill it up to the top (very dry wood) and then close it all the way down and maybe get 4-5 hrs out of it.
Well I solved that problem on my own. This stove has a grate on the bottom where ashes fall through to a pan you can pull out and empty. I was cleaning my stove too good. Not only would I empty the ashpan, I would brush all the ashes through the grate so it was absolutely clean inside.
Now I leave about 1’ of ash when I clean it and can get an overnite burn easily.

Hot fires short burn times and ash is the answer? If ash is the answer, then your problems is not the ash ,but ash filling the grate spaces, because the ash pan door gasket is not sealing correctly It could be the gasket not seated correctly or the latch not adjusted to put enough tention for the seal

Leaving ash on the bottom only mask the real problem If you are getting air under there it explains the symptoms you are experiencing and again you compensated with wet wood creating another problem.

Tripple wall pipe shows the age that not new modern Double wall solid packed insulated pipe. You got quite a scare and I glad you are ok and no home damage occured .but you got the warning shot. The pipe does not provide the protection required. Time for an upgrade.

Well checking gaskets might as well check the door gasket and glass gasket too much air is getting in that stove and causing short burn times

I have an identical sized fire boix Vermont Casting Encore My stated BTUS is 47.000 we are burning the same amount of wood producing the same BTUS Lopi Travis Industries is over stating what that vollume of wood will produce in BTUs or burn times N You would have to load the stove ever 2 hours and run it full open to produce 70,000 BTus and I doubt it can be done
2.3 fire box at best will only produce 7/8 hours of productive heat no where near 18 stated. I telling you from years of usage and not sugar coating production like Lopi did

Laura welkom to the Hearth