When we bought our house 5 years ago, it came with a Glacier Bay stove and we had never really took the time to learn more about the way the stove is connected, though we have always had it cleaned professionally; or so we thought.
A couple of weeks ago, I thought it would be nice to pull the stove out and give it a new coat of paint. When I pulled it out I found that I only had a 12" pipe going though the blockoff plate. I guess you guys call this a "slammer". While the chimney sweep may have done a fairly decent job keeping the flue clean, he NEVER told me the dangers of this type of installation nor the tremendous level of gunk in the smoke box. I shined a flashlight though the 6" hole and I could not believe what I saw. Not only thick glazing, but 1" thick of what looks and feels like a lava or fake rock. In searching the forums, I am not sure if this is what is called pyrolized creosote or not. I am able to knock it down fairly easily, but there is still a thick layer of creosote. Does this mean that I have had a chimney fire before? Looking down from the roof, the clay tiles look OK.
I plan to install a rigid HeatFab Saf-T liner as chimney is a fairly straight drop down a 12" x 12" clay flue with only a 7” shift at the bottom to align with the stove. I calculated I can use two 15 degree elbows with a 24" section to handle the shift; I have the vertical space in the smoke box. But before I install the liner, I need to get the chimney clean. We do have the smoke box odor on damp days. Any tips\tricks on how to really get this clean above the damper and how clean do I really need to get? Is it more of a concern making sure the flue is clean with the liner?
A couple of weeks ago, I thought it would be nice to pull the stove out and give it a new coat of paint. When I pulled it out I found that I only had a 12" pipe going though the blockoff plate. I guess you guys call this a "slammer". While the chimney sweep may have done a fairly decent job keeping the flue clean, he NEVER told me the dangers of this type of installation nor the tremendous level of gunk in the smoke box. I shined a flashlight though the 6" hole and I could not believe what I saw. Not only thick glazing, but 1" thick of what looks and feels like a lava or fake rock. In searching the forums, I am not sure if this is what is called pyrolized creosote or not. I am able to knock it down fairly easily, but there is still a thick layer of creosote. Does this mean that I have had a chimney fire before? Looking down from the roof, the clay tiles look OK.
I plan to install a rigid HeatFab Saf-T liner as chimney is a fairly straight drop down a 12" x 12" clay flue with only a 7” shift at the bottom to align with the stove. I calculated I can use two 15 degree elbows with a 24" section to handle the shift; I have the vertical space in the smoke box. But before I install the liner, I need to get the chimney clean. We do have the smoke box odor on damp days. Any tips\tricks on how to really get this clean above the damper and how clean do I really need to get? Is it more of a concern making sure the flue is clean with the liner?
