Creosote buildup

[mtarbert]

I went to a friends house today who was having problems with his garage woodstove not drawing correctly. Well....after we took apart the 6in stove pipe we discovered there was only a clear hole of about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. It was so clogged I talked him into trashing the old and buying new. Any ideas as to why he didn't have a flue fire ? He only burns the stove (pre EPA) on the weekends.
Thanks,
Mike

 

[Harley]

My guess would be he never got the stove temp (or pipe) high enough to ignight off the creosote. Was he just always running the stove a little bit at a very low, almost smoldering rate?

 

[Gooserider]

I went to a friends house today who was having problems with his garage woodstove not drawing correctly. Well....after we took apart the 6in stove pipe we discovered there was only a clear hole of about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. It was so clogged I talked him into trashing the old and buying new. Any ideas as to why he didn't have a flue fire ? He only burns the stove (pre EPA) on the weekends.
Thanks,
Mike

Whats he doing with a stove in the GARAGE? Major safety violation right there... Agreed as to the reason he didn't have a fire, but it's not something that should be getting fixed as stoves shouldn't be in garages to begin with.

Gooserider

 

[mtarbert]

Garage/outbuilding/workshop/hideaway.....not that he would ever actually put his 40,000 automobile in it when he has to have someplace to keep all his junque

 

[rdrcr56]

No offense guys but I have been working in garages/shops all my life, down in the oil patch in texas, line haul trucks buses etc. Between all the cutting torches, grinders, open flame heaters we never caught the places on fire and this is with all the different fuel vehicles, chemicals, solvents inside with the doors down. If a person uses their head the risk is minimized, store solvents and fuel in a sealed cabinet.

 

[Shane]

If it was the really fluffy stuff (stage 1) then it just never formed into stage 3 the really tarry nasty flammable stuff. If it formed into stage 3 lit off and expanded that is another possibility.

rdrcr56 - I agree I think that with all of the potential sources of open flame in a shop that a woodstove mounted a min of 24-36 inches above floor level in conjunction with proper solvent/fuel storage would not add a huge amount of risk. Though it is still against code so you do get into sticky insurance & compliance issues etc.

 

[babalu87]

No offense guys but I have been working in garages/shops all my life, down in the oil patch in texas, line haul trucks buses etc. Between all the cutting torches, grinders, open flame heaters we never caught the places on fire and this is with all the different fuel vehicles, chemicals, solvents inside with the doors down. If a person uses their head the risk is minimized, store solvents and fuel in a sealed cabinet.

One
You are there to quell any thing that could become nasty. Think about it? Rag, etc.

Two
Find a YOOGE piece of wood and knock HARD

 

[coalkirk]

I went to a friends house today who was having problems with his garage woodstove not drawing correctly. Well....after we took apart the 6in stove pipe we discovered there was only a clear hole of about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. It was so clogged I talked him into trashing the old and buying new. Any ideas as to why he didn't have a flue fire ? He only burns the stove (pre EPA) on the weekends.
Thanks,
Mike

First of all, it sounds like the wood or what ever he has been burning was wet or damp. For a 6" pipe to be clogged with creosote to 1/1/2 inches is very extreme. He needs to burn hotter fires and use dryer wood.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

I went to a friends house today who was having problems with his garage woodstove not drawing correctly. Well....after we took apart the 6in stove pipe we discovered there was only a clear hole of about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. It was so clogged I talked him into trashing the old and buying new. Any ideas as to why he didn't have a flue fire ? He only burns the stove (pre EPA) on the weekends.
Thanks,
Mike

was probably so restricted he couldnt get enough heat in the pipe to set it ablaize, i would politely question your friend how long since last cleaning and coach him if he hasnt in some time, also if the flue wasnt checked prior to first fir it could have been obstructed with a swallows nest they build mud nests in chimneys and under bridges and the like, would'nt burn but could block it up and cause buildup. another likely possibility is a flue leak causing cooling and buildup, or wet wood , or even low burns which can plug up a flue quickly with an old non-epa unit