Dad and I were cleaning out his chimney tonight. He had creasote about 1 1/2' thick near the base of the chimney. He has an Ashland woodstove made here in ashland by the local amish. It's a base burner with the secondary burn chamber on the side at the bottom of the stove. He hasn't even burned a month straight. Some wood is a little wet yet but most is seasoned. When I opened the cleanout on the chimney, i noticed that the top of the cleanout went all up the basement bloack wall. And Even better than that, there was mortar balled in 2"to 3" inch chunks creating a creasote collecting haven. Now back to the cleanout, there is 1/2 inch gaps open to the rest of the chimney and block wall in the basement. I am thinking that not only is it a saftey hazard, but its causing cold air to leak into the chimney at the base and by the time it hits the flue gasses it condenses right there causing major buildup. We carefully removed the goop of mortar to allow the flow of gasses, and I recommended him to purchase a stove thermometer and monitor the stove and chimney. Its a concrete block chimney and my question is was I right about the leaks at the cleanout inside the block wall and chimney? Any output is appreciated.
