I'm cleaning stove (summit) after 1yr of buring....What SHOULD I find if Im running it right?

[michiganwinters]

Well, fall is drawing near here in Michigan although by next weeks forcast it still seems like summer (78degrees). But its on its way, the trees are looking tired and some of the maples are starting to develop some color. So, I have gone into nesting mode. I have the satisfaction of having 13 cords split & stacked in to woodshed...probably 8 that is good for this year if I needed it. Anway, I decided to take the stove apart and give it a good cleaning and of course replace the baffle gasket. BTW....I thought I remember someone using 2 gaskets.....whats the benefit of that? Well finally dropped the baffle down, actually had hubby do it as the pin was crusty and the baffle is surprisingly heavy. My jaw nearly hit the floor when I saw 2" of black crusty stuff,...creosolt (sp?) sitting on top. I started thinking my goodness the whole chimney is probably plugged up with 3" of this and we could have died in a chimney fire! Well, we dont have time to sweep it today so we will leave the baffle out and do it this week. But, I was SO curious I got out a mirror and looked up the chimney. The interior pipe was super clean and the only area I noticed anything was all the way up near the cap looked like there was some crusty up there. Now the wood I was burning last year wasnt what I would call super seasoned...acually at times I did see some hissing.....but I didnt have any that wasnt green and the guys around here say its seasoned but I dont think it was very. And it was our first year burning so trial and error I guess. I would always open it up when putting new logs on coals until charred........Im not 100% sure spouse knew that was super important (of course he knows now).

But my questions are this:

- If your burning "right" should a chimney be compeletly clean after a season or will there be ash or what??

- Do you think the wood did it or was it improper usage?? Which only occurred in 1 time per day the rest of the time we got her really hot before closing it down?

- Too, I was reading in our manual that our MIN legnth from base of stove up should be 15' ours is 13' 4" w/o including cap I did notice a little backpuffing....would another 2ft help?? If I put on any more we wont be able to reach to clean and it would look funny.

Anyway, just looking to do better this year and I think we will with OUR wood which clinks vs. clunks when you hit them together....LOL.

Thanks a bunch!
Audrey

 

[begreen]

Burning right means burning only dry wood, a hot first fire, and not smoldering the wood (closing off the air right, repressing secondary combustion). But low draft can be contributing to the problem. Is the flue interior or exterior? A cold flue can contribute to creosote, especially if the stove is being run cool. Do you have a thermometer on it? If yes, what are the normal operating temperatures on the stove top?

I'd go ahead an add another 3 ft of pipe. to the stack. The stove will draw and work better. You should notice the difference. If this makes the exterior flue greater than 5 ft tall, it will need a roof brace added. And by all means take a close look at the upper section of pipe. Take a picture if you can and post it here for a looksee. Another fix might be with the interior pipe. Is this single wall or double wall pipe on the interior connecting pipe?

 

[Dexter]

Horizontal exhaust gas surfaces in the stove or chimney pipe will always collect some ash. If its fluffy brown or black, feels "oily" or is easily ignited, it is creosote. Even if vertical portion of your chimney appears clean, you should run the brush through it at least once each year. Causes: Green/wet wood, or shutting down the fire too much, too soon.

If the ash is dark grey and powdery, you're probably burning ok.

If it is light grey and very fine or "dusty", you're getting very hot, clean burns.

We had back puffing and poor draft problems when we first installed our stove. We were able to reduce the horizontal pipe-run to the chimney by about 10 inches, and it cured our problems immediately. BTW, we don't shut our primary air down until the flames have almost subsided on their own. The coals are still hot enough in the morning to reignite easily, and no more creosote. We burn pine.

Happy Burning.

Dexter

 

[michiganwinters]

Thanks guys. My smoke pipe inside the house is all doublewall pipe. I do not have any horizontal runs at all just stright up. So I measured from the base of the stove all of the black pipe then added 6 ft as that is how much class A we have minus the cap and thats our 13 or so feet. We already do have the support brackets so no worries there. Do you really think the additional 2-3ft will help that much?? We face south and we are on top of of a hill so it gets a little gusty. Our current chimney is NOT higher than the peak of our roof. But it does meet the code standards. What I saw was not just dusty its was dark brown/black shiney pieces. Actually some parts of the inside of the stove are shiney.

Our flue just goes out our cathedral ceiling and is class A through the roof so I would say not enclosed. And we did not operate with any type of themometer last year. I did just purchase a rutland surface thermo......but do not have a probe.

When I restart a fire on coals I load it up and keep the air wide open for about 20-30 minutes then shut it down like 1/8" from the lever being completely shut. I still get a few flames that dance around from the secondary. No Im interested to see what the sweep of the chimney brings down.

Too, ....If you notice anything Im doing wrong or doesnt sound right just tell me

 

[begreen]

Sounds like a pretty good installation. The wood is the prime suspect, but you may be getting a downdraft if the stack is located on the leeward side of the roofpeak. I'd add the pipe. If it works, you will notice the difference in less smoke spillage, a livelier fire and better air control.

The thermometer should be a big help in understanding how the stove is burning. If you drop the air control down and notice the top temp dropping below 400, open it up a bit more, maybe 1/4 open instead, especially if the wood is only marginally dry.