I'm New and I read Mother Earth News and I'm wondering...

[analogia]

...why did it say that the biggest mistake you can make is to have your chimney go out the wall and upside the house? This is how ours is and I'm looking for information why this is the biggest mistake you can make.

Many thanks.

 

[analogia]

In the event that this would be helpful, we have a toploader stove, a Tempwood.

 

[pgmr]

It is the type that has the most exposure to the elements, so it can cool off too fast. A cool chimney will not draw as well as a warm one.

 

[Pagey]

The "general" belief is that an exterior, uninsulated chimney can cause: 1.) poor draft and 2.) cooler flue gases which will allow the flue gases to condense and creosote to form more easily.

See: (broken link removed to http://www.woodstove.com/pages/good_chimney.html)

(broken link removed to http://www.woodheat.org/chimneys/evilchim.htm)

Of course this is not to say that an exterior chimney will not draft correctly or stay clean. However, if you are burning in correctly, an exterior chimney would seem to exaggerate the problem, potentially.

 

[analogia]

Thank you. I think I understand from these links.

We have a woodstove and a "kit" chimney that goes upside our one-level ranch. There was no information in the article as to WHY this was "the biggest mistake", I thought it meant that our house was going to burn down. Thanks to the same article writer in last year's Mother Earth News we learned how to build a fire to produce the least amount of smoke.......am I wrong in assuming we're ok??? "The Biggest Mistake" sounded to me like our house was going to burn down, that having our type of chimney was worse than not having a brick underlay or brick hearth or not sweeping the chimney or starting fires in my clothes dryer. It was alarming, but I think posting here made me feel better (I think?!) Thank you for your input.

 

[BrotherBart]

There are two things going on neither of which will burn down your house but just affect the draft of the chimney. One is there are two 90 degree turns that the exhaust has to make that induce friction and slow the draft. The second is the pipe being outside it does run cooler than if it was inside the building envelope where it is warmer around it.

 

[LLigetfa]

The "general" belief is that an exterior, uninsulated chimney can cause: 1.) poor draft and 2.) cooler flue gases which will allow the flue gases to condense and creosote to form more easily.

Ja, My father had a chimney up the outside and a chimney fire burned his house to the ground.

...and they're just plain ugly too.

 

[analogia]

...and they're just plain ugly too.

Your parents?

 

[Wood Duck]

I have been under the impression that an exterior chimney is particularly a problem with cold starting draft - the chimney is cold and won't draw well until it heats up, making it harder to get a fire going. An interior chinmey is generally already warm (since the house is probably warmer than outside) so it has a tendency to draw even before the fire warms it up, making starting easier. I have always thought that this is more of a pain-in-the-butt type of problem than a burn-down-the-house type of problem. Haven't actually ever had an exterior chinmey myself.

 

[cmonSTART]

Chimneys like to be warm. We have an exterior chimney because of the odd construction of our old house. It was the only way to get a chimney in without making it a major remodel project. It's sluggish at the start but does OK when its going.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

the members are all correct in their assessment of that statement i think however its not as big a mistake as "MEN"makes it out to be. i would suggest if you have the option , look into an interior chimney before committing, not all setups are going to give that option , but its preferred if you can go that way , less expense (less class a pipe) and generally gives more "standby draft" (for cold starts)

to understand why think about the physics of a flue. a flue having air in it that is warmer than the air outside drafts due to the rising tendancy of the warmer lighter air creating draft(which means less draft as the rise creates vacuum behind the rising air pulling more air through the stove). having a flue outside (especially with a cold start) the difference in temperature is not as great so you have a less pronounced rise and less draft. an interior chimney which is insulated by the warmth of the house , has a warmer column of air inside when compared to outside tems, meaning more draft.

in closing this is not a slam on mother earth news (MEN) i read them myself and generally they have great info, on this topic however i think they were a bit strong in their language. many folks have exterior chimneys and have great success with them, i would not give up on woodburning if you do not have the "footprint" that will work without an outside chimney, as for the looks , you can always build a chase around the pipe to dress it up (which may actually help it in performance if you insulate it)


hope this is helpful to you.

mike

 

[rowerwet]

they could also be meaning that the heat in the pipe will be wasted on the outside of your house as opposed to the heat the pipe would radiate into the house by keeping it inside as long as practical.

Is your tempwood a steel box with a round lid on top to feed it like my dads was?

My parents had a tempwood stove and an exterior chimney 3+ stories tall, it was "fun" to light the stove off after loading as that very cold tall chimney took a going fire to get the draft going. Imagine the draft tube covers streaming smoke, and every joint in the pipe also, the smoke alarm (in the other room) going off, and every now and then the stove lid (how you fed the wood in) hopping every so often until the draft started. The quick fix for this was to remove the bottom clean out cap on the outside "T" that way the little bit of draft caused by the warmer air inside could flow out the bottom of the "T" until it got hot enough to go up.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

nice avatar rower, the warthog is nasty in close air support, great bird

 

[madrone]

I've got a chimney as described, about 18' of it outside. No draft or creosote issues. I'm sure it would be better if it ran up the inside, but it does work just fine.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We have had chimney going up the outside of the house for over 30 years now. We had no problems with it either. I do agree that you will get more heat inside the house if the flue goes straight up though.

As far as that article, the guy does not know what he is talking about. The worst thing I've seen people do, and there are many of them too, every year, is they do not put enough thought into the fuel they are going to burn. Most folks go buy a stove then start thinking about the fuel. Wrong!

The second worst mistake people make is to believe the wood selling guy who says his wood is seasoned. Never believe the wood seller; inspect it before delivery.

Wood, to be seasoned right needs a minimum of one full summer and fall.....after it has been split and stacked. Anything less and you are just kidding yourself and asking for big problems. You won't get much heat from the wood, the fire won't burn properly and you'll get lots and lots of creosote. Creosote works pretty well for treating wood but it is an enemy in a chimney.

The third most common mistake is not checking the chimney often enough and not cleaning it when it needs cleaning. New burners should inspect their chimney monthly.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[analogia]

the members are all correct in their assessment of that statement i think however its not as big a mistake as "MEN"makes it out to be.


hope this is helpful to you.

mike

It was, many thanks, Mike!

 

[analogia]

Is your tempwood a steel box with a round lid on top to feed it like my dads was?

My parents had a tempwood stove and an exterior chimney 3+ stories tall, it was "fun" to light the stove off after loading as that very cold tall chimney took a going fire to get the draft going. Imagine the draft tube covers streaming smoke, and every joint in the pipe also, the smoke alarm (in the other room) going off, and every now and then the stove lid (how you fed the wood in) hopping every so often until the draft started. The quick fix for this was to remove the bottom clean out cap on the outside "T" that way the little bit of draft caused by the warmer air inside could flow out the bottom of the "T" until it got hot enough to go up.

It is the same Tempwood. We live in the same area (we're in P'land) and I was going to suggest maybe it ISSS your dad's very Tempwood, haha, but mine has never done what you're describing. Thank God.

 

[analogia]

The second worst mistake people make is to believe the wood selling guy who says his wood is seasoned. Never believe the wood seller; inspect it before delivery.

BTDT! The guy delivered his "seasoned" wood after the sun went down, how convenient!

 

[meathead]

I haven't read the article, but I do read mother earth news fairly regularly. While they may be referring to issues with draft/cooling/creosote, I'm guessing that isn't what they are gearing this comment towards. M.E.N. is all about efficiency and sustainability. I would guess their reasoning is that if you run the chimney up the outside of the house when you have the option to run inside it, you are giving up all the warmth that the chimney could be giving to your home. Particularly with a masonry chimney, this can be a huge loss.

There aren't any additional safety issues with a chimney correctly installed outside the house vs. one correctly installed inside.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

The second worst mistake people make is to believe the wood selling guy who says his wood is seasoned. Never believe the wood seller; inspect it before delivery.

BTDT! The guy delivered his "seasoned" wood after the sun went down, how convenient!

Please help enlighten me. What does BTDT mean?

 

[analogia]

The second worst mistake people make is to believe the wood selling guy who says his wood is seasoned. Never believe the wood seller; inspect it before delivery.

BTDT! The guy delivered his "seasoned" wood after the sun went down, how convenient!

Please help enlighten me. What does BTDT mean?

"Been there, done that." It's all the rage with the kids these days.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Well, I guess you now know I'm not a kid any longer. Well, my wife says I act like one from time to time though.

Thanks analogia.

 

[firefighterjake]

...and they're just plain ugly too.

Your parents?

. . . Based on this comment I think it's fair to say you'll get along just fine here if you decide to stick around for awhile! Welcome to the forum.

 

[firefighterjake]

It's all been said . .. but as usual I'm late to the party and just want to fit in with all of the other cool kids by reiterating a few points.

Exterior chimneys can lead to draft issues, problems with excess creosote from the cooling effect and there will be some heat loss that you would gain if the chimney were inside. That said, you can have an exterior chimney and heat effectively. Due to the house design I had to go with an exterior Class A chimney (insulated Excel) that runs up the side of my house. I am pleased to say that while I know I am losing some potential heating BTUs if the chimney were inside . . . the entire house still manages to stay very warm, the stove drafts very well and creosote is not an issue. That is not to say that other folks would not have issues . . . just in my case this works A-OK . . . although in my future dream home there will be a chimney in the home's center.

So definitely not a safety issue for a mistake . . . but it can be a mistake in the sense that you're losing potential BTUs, drafting could be an issue and creosote production can be problematic . . . I agree with Savage . . . I think the biggest mistake quite honestly would be with the wood -- folks thinking they have bought seasoned wood, folks not realizing that they need to have the wood cut and split for 9 months to a year before using to get the most BTUs and less creosote production, etc.

Runner-ups for common mistakes would be folks not checking and cleaning their chimneys, folks not installing the stove to specs for floor protection and clearances (deciding that they want the extra room and moving the stove too close to the wall, or not building the proper R rated hearth), and the big one -- folks not properly disposing of the ash (i.e. putting the ash in a paper or plastic bag, cardboard box, plastic pail, etc. and placing this in the garage, on the deck, covered porch, etc. and not realizing that there is a hot ember in the ash -- in my opinion this is one of the most common and biggest mistake made by new burners win terms of safety.)

 

[rowerwet]

never seen a TEMPWOOD but would love to see detailed pics. its a different, downdrafting stove. if the outside chimni affects it, the creo in chimni would tell the story some.

the only pictures I have of that stove are B&W that my dad took back when he was into photo. stuff. it is very simple a steel rectangular box the stove pipe outlet is in the top of the back (horizontal exit) the top is flat along with the sides there is a round "cookstove" type lid in the center of the top with a removable handle to open it. flanking the lid are two small draft tubes with rotary slide covers to control the draft. The only mod my dad ever made was two steel pipes that he bolted onto the ends of the draft tubes on the inside to extend them down into the bottom of the stove farther, the bottom of the stove was lined with brick. It was sort of downdraft but not that efficient compared to today.