potential chimney fire :/ now what?

[kversch]

So I had what I had originally thought to be a run away the other day (talked about a bit herehttps://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/lope-liberty-scared-the-p-out-of-me-today-what-should-i-do.160699/#post-2159042 ) but it seems that it may be a bit more likely that it was a small chimney fire. (my first an hopefully last one) I was able to get it to calm down or go out opening the door on the stove and damper also pulling the fuel out of the stove ( I know not the best idea, but I felt like I had not other option at the time)

there were not flames or heavy smoke coming out the chimney outside. They only thing I really had was a very hot flue about 18-20inches about the stove read by a probe thermometer reading s 13-1400 range. temps began to cool after at most 10 min(seems like it felt like forever) after I stated removing fuel from the fire box and having the stove door open. I didn't see any smoke coming from the seams on the flue pipe or anything just hot metal/ paint smell. and a bit of the duravent sticker melting smell.

I am going to check my wood today to make sure I haven't gotten in to a wet section. everything is 2.5 years out cut split and stacked. some of the oak and locust I have might not be 100% yet. ill have to try to avoid using that.

thanks in advance for the help. Just a new guy on his second season still trying to get the hang of this all.

 

[dh1989]

My guess is creosote in the lower end of the pipe lit off. I've had it happen twice and just shut the air down all the way until it settled down. I check my flue regularly but a little light build up is inevitable unless you sweep it all the time.

 

[kennyp2339]

I've never seen a chimney fire without either flames coming out of the cap, or really dark smoke. I think you had a run away stove more so than a chimney fire.
I once left my by-pass opened, forgot about the smoke and was alerted by my detectors going off and also had high pipe temps and the classic metal burning smell, I think my flue gasses got up to 850 deg or so.
In my case it wasn't a run away stove, and it wasn't a chimney fire, it was just fire going up the black pipe from the by-pass being opened to long on a fresh load of dry oak.

 

[kversch]

My guess is creosote in the lower end of the pipe lit off. I've had it happen twice and just shut the air down all the way until it settled down. I check my flue regularly but a little light build up is inevitable unless you sweep it all the time.

is there any way I can tell just from taking the pipe apart and looking? I should see the tell tale chalky gray white ash correct? I just did a mid season sweep the end of December when we had a warm spell.

I've never seen a chimney fire without either flames coming out of the cap, or really dark smoke. I think you had a run away stove more so than a chimney fire.
I once left my by-pass opened, forgot about the smoke and was alerted by my detectors going off and also had high pipe temps and the classic metal burning smell, I think my flue gasses got up to 850 deg or so.
In my case it wasn't a run away stove, and it wasn't a chimney fire, it was just fire going up the black pipe from the by-pass being opened to long on a fresh load of dry oak.

this is more what i was inclined to think yesterday but on my other post I didn't get much thought that it was a run away. The fire in the box was definitely raging but in the heat of the moment I wasn't worried about getting my IR gun and checking the stove top temps just getting the flue to cool down some. We too were alerted by the detectors going off.

 

[webby3650]

I've had this happen before. I wouldn't call it a chimney fire necessarily, more like a stove pipe fire, lol. The stovepipe will get some build up in it, often faster than chimney. With the fire roaring and the bypass open, flames get sucked up the pipe, and it burns off this build up. It's a very quick and hot fire. Inspect the chimney just to make sure.

 

[CHeath]

I've never seen a chimney fire without either flames coming out of the cap, or really dark smoke. I think you had a run away stove more so than a chimney fire.
I once left my by-pass opened, forgot about the smoke and was alerted by my detectors going off and also had high pipe temps and the classic metal burning smell, I think my flue gasses got up to 850 deg or so.
In my case it wasn't a run away stove, and it wasn't a chimney fire, it was just fire going up the black pipe from the by-pass being opened to long on a fresh load of dry oak.

So for us new guys. What do you do to keep the temps down with super dry wood? I threw about 6 big sticks of ultra dry oak in mine once. Must have been 5% because it was really light and within 10 minutes she was hot as a firecracker. I had the bottom draft off and my slide draft on the top all the way off but it comes from the factory where you can turn it all the way off. I sweated it out for a few minutes but man I didn't like it. Had the hot metal smell all over the house.

 

[Dix]

Doesn't sound like a chimney fire, to me.

Glad things have settled down.

This was my experience in October with a run away, wasn't pretty, and at this point, I don't scare easily

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/pe-pacific-insert-scaring-me-the-moment.157121/