I had a professional chimney sweep company with a good reputation and very high reviews sweep mine last November. He did it from the bottom up and I observed the whole process. Lots of ash and creosote was removed.
I started a fire that day right after he left and didn’t really see much difference in the burning considering how dirty it had been versus the newly cleaned status, but also didn’t know what to expect. Over time though, it seemed to gradually be getting less and less air, coals not burning down as fast as usual and more hot coals remaining overnight, harder to get fires going, etc. It happened so gradually though it took a while to go from suspecting less air to knowing something wasn’t right. My first thought was that it was a clog with the incoming air, so I made sure all incoming vents were clear and vacuumed them. That didn’t make any difference.
Since I knew the chimney was thoroughly clean in November, I suspected maybe he didn’t put the baffle back exactly right, causing less outgoing air flow. He did struggle to get it out and had to look up the guide online to figure it out.
So I had the sweep come back out in February to check on the issue. It was the same employee from November and I observed everything again. When he removed the baffle, one of the boards was now cracked and the fabric had deteriorated to the point that it was coming apart as he removed it.
He swept it again and lots more ash/creosote came down, not as much as November, but it seemed to be a lot for just 3 months of use. When he reached the top there was a complete blockage and he couldn’t even break through it with the scrubbing tool. He said someone would have to come back to clean it from the roof on a different day due to it was raining that day. I asked if he was sure he cleaned it 100% to the top in November because I didn’t see how it could go from thoroughly scrubbed clean to completely blocked in 3 months. He assured me he went all the way last time and blamed the problem on the chimney cap not being at least 8 inches from the chimney opening. This was a guesstimate though because he has never been on the roof to know for sure. The cap was installed by a professional at the time of the wood stove insert purchase, so if it’s not exactly 8 inches it’s probably close.
I’ve had the current wood stove insert, chimney parts, and cap since 2019 with no prior issues. I always burn seasoned wood. I cut and split it myself so no chance of some green wood slipping in without me knowing like when you buy it from someone. I did check multiple samples due to this situation and it’s all in the 10-14% moisture range on average. It’s all covered from the rain and at least 1-2 years of seasoning since the time it was split. Mostly oak with a few other random tree types, but zero pine. I don’t even use pine for kindling. I didn’t do anything different on my part this winter as far as how often I kept fires going. It was pretty cold in January but that’s been true for other years as well.
What are your thoughts on this? Is it possible that it went from clean to clogged in just 3 months when it’s never happened before? Or more likely he just didn’t complete the job back in November? Or maybe the baffle cloth wasn’t completely flat when he put it back? Could that cause a clog in 3 months?
Any help to figure this out is appreciated.
I started a fire that day right after he left and didn’t really see much difference in the burning considering how dirty it had been versus the newly cleaned status, but also didn’t know what to expect. Over time though, it seemed to gradually be getting less and less air, coals not burning down as fast as usual and more hot coals remaining overnight, harder to get fires going, etc. It happened so gradually though it took a while to go from suspecting less air to knowing something wasn’t right. My first thought was that it was a clog with the incoming air, so I made sure all incoming vents were clear and vacuumed them. That didn’t make any difference.
Since I knew the chimney was thoroughly clean in November, I suspected maybe he didn’t put the baffle back exactly right, causing less outgoing air flow. He did struggle to get it out and had to look up the guide online to figure it out.
So I had the sweep come back out in February to check on the issue. It was the same employee from November and I observed everything again. When he removed the baffle, one of the boards was now cracked and the fabric had deteriorated to the point that it was coming apart as he removed it.
He swept it again and lots more ash/creosote came down, not as much as November, but it seemed to be a lot for just 3 months of use. When he reached the top there was a complete blockage and he couldn’t even break through it with the scrubbing tool. He said someone would have to come back to clean it from the roof on a different day due to it was raining that day. I asked if he was sure he cleaned it 100% to the top in November because I didn’t see how it could go from thoroughly scrubbed clean to completely blocked in 3 months. He assured me he went all the way last time and blamed the problem on the chimney cap not being at least 8 inches from the chimney opening. This was a guesstimate though because he has never been on the roof to know for sure. The cap was installed by a professional at the time of the wood stove insert purchase, so if it’s not exactly 8 inches it’s probably close.
I’ve had the current wood stove insert, chimney parts, and cap since 2019 with no prior issues. I always burn seasoned wood. I cut and split it myself so no chance of some green wood slipping in without me knowing like when you buy it from someone. I did check multiple samples due to this situation and it’s all in the 10-14% moisture range on average. It’s all covered from the rain and at least 1-2 years of seasoning since the time it was split. Mostly oak with a few other random tree types, but zero pine. I don’t even use pine for kindling. I didn’t do anything different on my part this winter as far as how often I kept fires going. It was pretty cold in January but that’s been true for other years as well.
What are your thoughts on this? Is it possible that it went from clean to clogged in just 3 months when it’s never happened before? Or more likely he just didn’t complete the job back in November? Or maybe the baffle cloth wasn’t completely flat when he put it back? Could that cause a clog in 3 months?
Any help to figure this out is appreciated.
