Lots of smoke, seemingly overnight

[stonesif]

I have a Jotul C450 insert. It's in an external chimney, and we just had the stove inspected with a new liner installed a year or two ago. We had the chimney cleaned just a month ago (early December), with no problems reported..

The stove has generally been great since we bought the house about three years ago. We can get a nice, hot fire going with great strong flames. However, starting just a day or two ago, the fires have not been burning well at all. There is smoke in the stove, which billows out into the house any time the stove door gets opened. The only way I can get it to burn decently is to leave the door cracked just slightly, so something is clearly wrong and has changed pretty much overnight. (Don't worry, I'm not leaving the door open for long)

This morning, I heard a slight bit of crackling like something was falling down the pipe; internet searching suggested this could be creosote, but we just had the chimney cleaned, literally last month. If it's worth anything, my wife said she saw sparks coming out the back of the stove, but that was weeks ago and was an isolated incident.

I talked to my stove installer today, and they thought it was wet wood. While I'm realizing my wood is not as seasoned as I thought it was, I'm not convinced this is the culprit since this problem came up overnight.

In the morning, I'm planning to clear out all the ashes, and shopvac as much as I can. Wondering if it's somehow a backed up air intake??? At this point, I have no other ideas. I would gladly welcome any suggestions!

 

[begreen]

Is there a screen on the cap? If there is then clogging it up in a month due to burning poorly seasoned wood is possible.

 

[stonesif]

I'm not too sure. I tried getting my drone up there to take some pictures, but didn't get a good angle today. I can go out on Monday after this snow storm. Would it look like a screen just set inside the pipe?

A few extra thoughts -- I'm burning with the airflow lever to full open. I'll get the fire going nice and strong (and hot, but I don't have a thermometer), close the door, and anywhere between a couple seconds and a couple minutes, the fire is really struggling as if I had the airflow to closed. Coals seem to be building up and not burning away down to ash.

 

[Blue Heron Hideaway]

Did he clean the inside the insert when he was done cleaning the chimney.

 

[stonesif]

I believe it was just the chimney. The stove should have gotten a good cleaning 1-2 years ago during a major service.

 

[Blue Heron Hideaway]

Also check the combustion air intake in there back of the unit.Maybe something is blocking it.

 

[weatherguy]

Definately check the cap may be clogged. Happened to me my first year.

 

[jetsam]

That's a classic wet wood/clogged cap story.

Hop up there and take the screen off.

You may want to buy a brush and start sweeping a lot more often, too. See what it looks like while you're up there.

 

[begreen]

Another thing that may be making this worse would be if you are working through a wetter batch of wood

 

[stonesif]

Thank you for all the speedy advice!! I went up onto the roof today (during a good snow storm ) and confirmed that the screen was in terrible shape. Covered in black stuff, and unable to see through the screen. I took the cap off, scraped off the crud to get it nice and clean. I took a peak down the chimney, and didn't see much creosote. There was a thin bit I could see at the top, just a slight, spotty coating. I'll post some pictures once the mods approve. But in the meantime, the fire is burning great! Thank you so much for the advice.

For this season, I'll keep a closer eye on that screen. I imagine there's not much I can do about my wood at this point...

 

[jetsam]

I imagine there's not much I can do about my wood at this point...

Things you can do:

Take the screen off.

Inspect the top of flue very often this year.

Buy a brush or rotary cleaner and clean the flue often this year- your inspections will tell you how often.

Dry your next couple loads of wood by the stove.

Get ahead on wood now for next year! Split, covered softwoods like pine can be ready to burn in 1 year.

Get scrap wood and pallets to mix with your wet wood this year.

Buy compressed firelogs (NOT wax logs like duraflame, but pure wood like biobricks) to mix with your wet wood this year.

Here's a good one that might seem counterintuitive: Burn 24/7. Here's the theory: When you burn wood, the volatile organics offgas during the first part of the burn. Hopefully your hot stove gets them all reburned in secondary combustion, but with a cooler stove (caused by wet wood), that's less likely. The volatile organics that should have been fuel drift up the flue and condense on the first surface that is <250°F, and that is where creosote comes from, and that is how your cap got plugged. SO- if the stove and flue are always hot at reload time, you will get much less creosote, because more of it is being burned and heating your house, and the stuff that gets away from secondary combustion finds less cool surfaces to condense upon.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

worth anything, my wife said she saw sparks coming out the back of the stove, but

That sounds odd, can you clarify?

 

[jatoxico]

The cap is the likely culprit. Did it improve after you had it off and knocked the crud off?

One other thought; before I started cleaning my chimney myself I had it done. I found that most sweeps would not remove the baffles and at most would vacuum out the box, getting what they could. If they swept down and you have not ever had the baffles out completely you may have reduced flow.

 

[Ben Stark]

I am not a gambling man but I would lay money on the wood being unseasoned and wet. It needs to be split and stacked under cover for at least a year before you can burn it. Two would be better for hardwoods.

 

[stonesif]

Thanks for all the advice. Here are the follow up images.

Jetsam (and others), I really appreciate the ideas. I will definitely keep an eye on the screen throughout this season and brush it regularly. Mixing in biobricks is a great idea.

The wood is probably 2 year old split hardwood. I'm realizing my problem is that it's uncovered and susceptible to rain and snowmelt. Looks like I've got a summer project now!

Chimney wide

• stonesif
• Jan 20, 2019

Chimney close

• stonesif
• Jan 20, 2019

 

[jatoxico]

Yeah, that's not gonna work.

 

[jetsam]

That sounds odd, can you clarify?

You do need to drill down on that one. Granted the flue was mostly plugged and the stove was breathing through every opening it could find. Why did it find an opening in the back of the stove??

 

[Ben Stark]

That’s a pretty bad collection of creosote. I use an open cap, cut all the mesh out. The cap over top of your cap isn’t helping either. Does the chimney run up the middle of the house or is on an outside wall? You may need an insulated liner to help keep the flue gasses hotter and reduce that build up.

I have better luck keeping my firewood under cover in my garage where it stays dry. Tried stacking outdoors for years, Wood was always damp, heavy and burned poorly. I won’t go back to it. Might build a 3 sided woodshed this summer to free up room in the garage.

 

[maple1]

I'm yeah, sparks should not be coming out the back of a stove. Under any circumstance. Dangerous. Highly.

 

[Kevin Weis]

Why is there a cap over the cap? I think that's half the problem. I'be never seen a screened cap with a large grid plugged up like that.

 

[ajbildeaux78]

We haven’t built an actual wood shed yet, but keep ours under an enormous tarp. It’s keeps it out of the elements, but still easily accessible.

Thanks for all the advice. Here are the follow up images.

Jetsam (and others), I really appreciate the ideas. I will definitely keep an eye on the screen throughout this season and brush it regularly. Mixing in biobricks is a great idea.

The wood is probably 2 year old split hardwood. I'm realizing my problem is that it's uncovered and susceptible to rain and snowmelt. Looks like I've got a summer project now!

Chimney wide

• stonesif
• Jan 20, 2019

Chimney close

• stonesif
• Jan 20, 2019

 

[HomeinPA]

Did they insulate the liner all the way, top to bottom? If that's in an exterior chimney and not insulated you have issues on multiple levels. You're either burning wet wood, burning at to low a temperature or both to manage to plug it up like that in 2 months. You can also see the large amount of glazing on the underside of the masonry cap.

 

[weatherguy]

Why is there a cap over the cap? I think that's half the problem. I'be never seen a screened cap with a large grid plugged up like that.

Mine used to when I had the BK Princess insert, had to go up half way through the season and clean it up and my wood was all under 20%.