My morning..

[Heem]

Cleaned out the ashes and restarted the fire. 2 small dry splits, a few small sticks, and a firestarter square. Then the house filled with smoke. The pipe going outside was pouring smoke out of it.

 

[Skinn]

Damn, what was it. Doesn't sound like it would have been hot enough for a chimney fire.

 

[Heem]

Damn, what was it. Doesn't sound like it would have been hot enough for a chimney fire.

The stove took off like mad. Stove top temp 800+. Outside chimney was extremely hot to the touch. The firemen took it all apart and it was all perfectly clean. I have no idea what happened. Maybe it was that one piece of pine i put in last week...

 

[brogsie]

Geez, thats scary.

Glad your OK.

 

[Heem]

Well, I've got the fire going again, and it sure did take off quick, again. Maintaining stable at about 550 now, stovetop temp. I'm still not sure if there's something wrong. The stovepipe is extremely hot, but I don't know, I can't say I've ever touched it to see how hot it normally gets. Outdoor chimney just warm to the touch, which I know is the normal.

I'll probably have some questions for the experts here later today. My stove/chimney guy is on vacation until after the new year, and I don't want to call just "some guy" I don't know if there's no emergent need.

 

[brogsie]

What was the smoke from?

 

[Heem]

What was the smoke from?

The smoke was coming from the stove pipe that goes from the stove to the outdoor chimney. all from between the joints. When the FD took it apart it was perfectly clean in there.

 

[thewoodlands]

Well, I've got the fire going again, and it sure did take off quick, again. Maintaining stable at about 550 now, stovetop temp. I'm still not sure if there's something wrong. The stovepipe is extremely hot, but I don't know, I can't say I've ever touched it to see how hot it normally gets. Outdoor chimney just warm to the touch, which I know is the normal.

I'll probably have some questions for the experts here later today. My stove/chimney guy is on vacation until after the new year, and I don't want to call just "some guy" I don't know if there's no emergent need.

Heem, I see in the picture you have a thermometer on the stove top, do you use one on the flue? We have it on both.



zap

 

[Heem]

Heem, I see in the picture you have a thermometer on the stove top, do you use one on the flue? We have it on both.



zap

I don't. I thought of adding it but I don't know how to install it.

 

[brogsie]

What was the smoke from?

The smoke was coming from the stove pipe that goes from the stove to the outdoor chimney. all from between the joints. When the FD took it apart it was perfectly clean in there.

Sound like a blockage somewhere. How about the cap? Is that clean?

 

[Heem]

Sound like a blockage somewhere. How about the cap? Is that clean?

Seems to be clean. I didn't climb up there but it looks fine. The firemen looked up the chimney and were impressed by how clean it was. Many of the guys are wood burners too, so they know.

 

[brogsie]

I would be very carefull burning. Something caused that smoke to back up like that.
Did you do anything different than you normally do?

 

[Cate68]

Wow, talk about a bizarro burn. Very scary. I'm glad you still have your home! Do be careful...

 

[Heem]

I would be very carefull burning. Something caused that smoke to back up like that.
Did you do anything different than you normally do?

This is what I'm worried about. I didn't do anything different, if anything I put less effort into getting it fired up then normal. I did have a couple pieces high up in the stove, I wonder if they hit the tubes on top? I don't know.

 

[gilmil]

Are you in East Hartford? If so I'm right down the road. Who's your chimney/stove guy? I'm in the market for one.

-Gil

 

[Heem]

Are you in East Hartford? If so I'm right down the road. Who's your chimney/stove guy? I'm in the market for one.

-Gil

East Hampton. All the East HA___ 's get confusing around here. I use a guy in East Haddam (....) , "FireWorks" -I'm so unbelievably happy with those guys it's not even funny. I've seen them down on the shoreline (madison, guilford..) so I don't know if they come up your way.

http://www.fireworksct.com

I have nothing but fantastic things to say about them.. except that they're on vacation when I'm having my problem!

 

[thewoodlands]

Heem, I see in the picture you have a thermometer on the stove top, do you use one on the flue? We have it on both.



zap

I don't. I thought of adding it but I don't know how to install it.

We have single wall coming out of the stove so we use magnetic.


zap

 

[begreen]

Good to hear that you didn't hesitate to call for help. I'm glad that it turned out ok. It does sound like there was a fire in the connector pipe that may have been cleaned out by the fire. One thing to check is the pitch of the horiz. run. Is it level or does it run slightly uphill towards the exterior chimney? It should have a pitch of at least 1/4" per foot.

How much wood has been burned since the stove pipe was last cleaned?

 

[Heem]

Good to hear that you didn't hesitate to call for help. I'm glad that it turned out ok. It does sound like there was a fire in the connector pipe that may have been cleaned out by the fire. One thing to check is the pitch of the horiz. run. Is it level or does it run slightly uphill towards the extertor chimney? It should have a pitch of at least 1/4" per foot.

How much wood has been burned since the stove pipe was last cleaned?

It looks like it's level, but nothing in this house is actually level, I'll have to check it. This was installed by a guy that has all kinds of certifications, so I trust his install. I'm just passed my first cord since it was cleaned.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Glad it turned out okay.

A level pipe can cause nasty things to happen and the smoke is one. As BeGreen stated, a 1/4" rise per foot of horizontal is required. We went 1/2" per foot and it works great.

 

[ChillyGator]

The runaway stove concerns me...do a gasket test with a dollar bill to check for leaks.