![[Hearth.com] FOUND PROBLEM NEED HELP ON PREVENTING IT,PIPE BLOCKAGE](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/154/154255-172d650d42cebb756c7bc99e88dd5c47.jpg?hash=MZc6_N1kLZ "[Hearth.com] FOUND PROBLEM NEED HELP ON PREVENTING IT,PIPE BLOCKAGE")
thanks for all the help on my post with poor heat and feeder adjustment.i found the problem.i am going to ask your opinions.i am going to try and add a photo to make it way easier than the explanation.my pipe comes through my wall and outside house.i have a T pipe that has a removable plug(for cleaning the pipe)on the bottom.then the T connects to a 5 foot long pipe.this pipe connects to a 90 degree elbow about 1 foot long.at the end of the 90 is a wire screen(guessing birds and bats don't fly in pipe and into house)where the 5 foot long pipe and elbow connect there is a mesh wire screen(dealer said this is for bee's and insects flying into pipe and stove and making nests)this wire mesh builds up with freezing rain and ice and becomes a solid block.bye-bye fire.the exhaust gasses have no where to go now and come back into stove.i removed the wire mesh for now but in summer i can guarantee bee's and insects will explore this and build a home.i can cover the pipe elbow end with some canvas or something but this involves borrowing a 30ft ladder everytime i want to put the cover on/off.the pipe/elbow connection is 25ft above ground level.check out the pictures and see what you guys think i should do.FOUND PROBLEM NEED HELP ON PREVENTING IT,PIPE BLOCKAGE
- Thread starter HOGG0494
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thanks for all the help on my post with poor heat and feeder adjustment.i found the problem.i am going to ask your opinions.i am going to try and add a photo to make it way easier than the explanation.my pipe comes through my wall and outside house.i have a T pipe that has a removable plug(for cleaning the pipe)on the bottom.then the T connects to a 5 foot long pipe.this pipe connects to a 90 degree elbow about 1 foot long.at the end of the 90 is a wire screen(guessing birds and bats don't fly in pipe and into house)where the 5 foot long pipe and elbow connect there is a mesh wire screen(dealer said this is for bee's and insects flying into pipe and stove and making nests)this wire mesh builds up with freezing rain and ice and becomes a solid block.bye-bye fire.the exhaust gasses have no where to go now and come back into stove.i removed the wire mesh for now but in summer i can guarantee bee's and insects will explore this and build a home.i can cover the pipe elbow end with some canvas or something but this involves borrowing a 30ft ladder everytime i want to put the cover on/off.the pipe/elbow connection is 25ft above ground level.check out the pictures and see what you guys think i should do.
heat seeker
Minister of Fire
I have no screen on my vent. No bees around in the winter, and no bird is going to fly into a hot vent. During the summer, I do seal the vent off, as we all should, to prevent moisture and vermin from getting in.
Bioburner
Moderator
Better picture? Just borrow the ladder once and attach a light rope to the cover and pull off in the fall before use.
reallyte
Feeling the Heat
Yeah I had an issue with the mesh on my exhaust end also. It precipitates the ash and clogs quickly. I now remove it until non-burn season and remove come burn season. It is important to cover the exhaust because I had a starling or two dive bomb into my stove...unpleasant and preventable.
really don't want to pony up $400 for a ladder from HD.what if i removed the 5ft pipe and put a simple cap on like this in picture?i have 2 buddies with wood stoves where the pipes go 30+ ft up to roof.they said they never touch them ever.what is advantage of the 5ft long pipe?.![[Hearth.com] FOUND PROBLEM NEED HELP ON PREVENTING IT,PIPE BLOCKAGE](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/154/154259-0e89c05fcf01e71a6dcf792d3a2bf157.jpg?hash=09P0mmeZhP "[Hearth.com] FOUND PROBLEM NEED HELP ON PREVENTING IT,PIPE BLOCKAGE")
Peterfield
Minister of Fire
The up pipe helps create a natural draft mostly for power outages so most of the smoke will escape out of the pipe and not into your house
That works. Many people do it that way. But it doesn't stop the bees from getting in there as you stated. But It may be easer to reach
Change to the straight-out configuration so you can install and remove the screen, and get a pure sine-wave uninterruptable power supply (UPS) to power your stove during a short power outage (to prevent possible smoke back-up into the house). You will have to shut-down the stove before the battery runs out in the UPS.
Check the clearances to those windows and such.
You don't want to fix your current problem to cause another one plus also have the possibility of a power outage dumping smoke in the house. Your call
TimfromMA
Minister of Fire
This may sound weird but here's what I would do. Run a cleaning brush up inside the vent and just leave it just inside the opening at the top. It should sufficiently plug your vent to keep critters out and you can just pull it when ready to burn again.
Is that stairwell used in the winter? If it is and you eliminate the vertical pipe, do you want pellet exhaust blowing in someone's face every time they go up/down the stairs? Use the cleaning brush idea.
That's a great 'thinking outside the box' solution, Tim.
It would likely require a little finagling with the cleaning rod length so you could leave the rod in the pipe, but still close off the T-cleanout to keep critters from entering from that end. If the cleaning rod length was 6" or so shorter than the vertical pipe section length you could reach up in there to pull it out, while still being able to cap the T - clean out.
Alternatively, you could cut the bottom most section of cleaning rod to length and dedicate that section 'to the cause'.
funflyer
Burning Hunk
That's the best way to do it. Use a UPS as others have suggested and don't worry about the exhaust being closer to where people may be walking up the stairs unless their head will hit it. The exhaust velocity is negligible and less is more when it comes to cleaning. It also looks better than a periscope eyesore going up a wall.
Luv2burnPellets
Member
I like the cleaning brush idea with the dedicated short rod. But you need a fool proof idea on how to prevent fall start up without removing the brush! Maybe pull the plug from the wall outlet with an attached tag as a reminder.
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
Yes and too you can roll up a ball of rags and wire that on to the end of a rod . Leaves less gaps than the brush.That's a great 'thinking outside the box' solution, Tim.
It would likely require a little finagling with the cleaning rod length so you could leave the rod in the pipe, but still close off the T-cleanout to keep critters from entering from that end. If the cleaning rod length was 6" or so shorter than the vertical pipe section length you could reach up in there to pull it out, while still being able to cap the T - clean out.
Alternatively, you could cut the bottom most section of cleaning rod to length and dedicate that section 'to the cause'.
TimfromMA
Minister of Fire
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
Man I screwed up last year and didn't do that, the stove looked older than my 35 yo coal stove inside when I opened it up this fall. I never did anything like that with my coal stove and it never rusted inside, I think cause it was sealed tight enough and could breath.
hyfire
Minister of Fire
Removing the vertical pipe will result in no natural draft on power outage, good way to start a hopper fire... unless the manufacturer says your OK with no vertical rise I would not remove it .
i forgot and left my vent open a few summers. most of the time i make something to seal the end. We have a lot of bees here and they always leave it alone, they are more interested in the roof overhang, probably because its higher up. also had some bee making hives on tree branches, in the dirt, under my shed and in my cars side mirror but never the vent for some reason. If they did make a nest in there, i'd light that stove on 9/9 mid summer and show them the error of their ways.
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