Chimney clean out not sealed.

[Schmidtski]

Hello, I have been living in this 150 yr old home for 18 months. It has a hearthstone HearthStone soap stone stove which was installed within the last 15 yrs. I was attempting to do a cleaning of the chimney when I noticed the bottom of the chimney clean-out is un-sealed. I have attached some pictures to help visualize what I ran into. The stove vents into the chimney above the clean-out, I just scooped a small pale full of debris from the bottom of the clean-out. I was able to get my phone into the clean out and take a picture and noticed it is open through the top. This means when I burn, embers may be falling down into the clean-out, which is unprotected. I feel is a big concern, but am looking for advise before I go any further.

Thank you.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

To my untrained eye- yes that clean out should make a good seal. That chimney also needs to be cleaned. The single wall pipe from stove is fairly close to the ceiling as well. If that is some wood framing around chimney in back of stove, that would have to meet clearances dictated by stove as well.

 

[bholler]

Hello, I have been living in this 150 yr old home for 18 months. It has a hearthstone HearthStone soap stone stove which was installed within the last 15 yrs. I was attempting to do a cleaning of the chimney when I noticed the bottom of the chimney clean-out is un-sealed. I have attached some pictures to help visualize what I ran into. The stove vents into the chimney above the clean-out, I just scooped a small pale full of debris from the bottom of the clean-out. I was able to get my phone into the clean out and take a picture and noticed it is open through the top. This means when I burn, embers may be falling down into the clean-out, which is unprotected. I feel is a big concern, but am looking for advise before I go any further.

Thank you.

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I see plenty of problems but the cleanout being open to the top isn't one of them

 

[begreen]

To my untrained eye- yes that clean out should make a good seal. That chimney also needs to be cleaned. The single wall pipe from stove is fairly close to the ceiling as well. If that is some wood framing around chimney in back of stove, that would have to meet clearances dictated by stove as well.

Yup. The cleanout is all non-combustible, cement block with a metal door, correct? Air leaking through the cleanout door may be cooling the flue and weakening draft, but there are many other issues. When was this flue last cleaned? It looks pretty caked with creosote above. Also, the stove pipe does not look like it has the required 18" clearance from the ceiling. The wood trim behind the stove appears to be pretty close too. Unless shielded, it should have more space. It could be 16" or more required depending on the stove model.

 

[Schmidtski]

Yup. The cleanout is all non-combustible, cement block with a metal door, correct? Air leaking through the cleanout door may be cooling the flue and weakening draft, but there are many other issues. When was this flue last cleaned? It looks pretty caked with creosote above. Also, the stove pipe does not look like it has the required 18" clearance from the ceiling. The wood trim behind the stove appears to be pretty close too. Unless shielded, it should have more space. It could be 16" or more required depending on the stove model.

The clean-out is non combustible, found that out after I cleaned the years of debris out, and it does have a metal door. The door seals tight, however I will probably apply silicon around the edge to be sure. I have no idea when the last time the flue was cleaned, I ran the wire Brush through it 4x and it looks much better. I am not sure it if is double wall or single wall pipe, is there an easy way to tell. Either way I will be looking into some shielding as I think it still may be too close per the stove manual.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

The clean-out is non combustible, found that out after I cleaned the years of debris out, and it does have a metal door. The door seals tight, however I will probably apply silicon around the edge to be sure. I have no idea when the last time the flue was cleaned, I ran the wire Brush through it 4x and it looks much better. I am not sure it if is double wall or single wall pipe, is there an easy way to tell. Either way I will be looking into some shielding as I think it still may be too close per the stove manual.

Probably best to Google image some double wall stovepipe pics and then compare to yours. Hard to describe but if you see a few examples it will be easier to tell.
Are the pics above from before or after you swept the chimney?