Princess PE-32, my second year. Stove pipe, blower, stack height, shields, and damper type questions.

[moresnow]

Inspect your cap. It may have a spark arresting screen that is plugging. Very, very common issue with your exact results. Sometimes difficult if not impossible to see from the ground.
May as well sweep the pipe entirely. Clogging/restriction can occur much quicker than one would expect.
Pull the connector pipe off the stove and clean out the stove around the bypass assembly and behind the catalyst.
likely you just need normal maintenance. Good luck.

 

[stoveliker]

I agree with the cap .

A leaking flue may exacerbate buildup because air being sucked in will cool flue gases.

 

[RDPRDP]

Update: I arrived at the building yesterday, and I've attached a picture and video of the ouside when I'm reloading, and the cat is not engaged. While the comments might be 100% accurate (spark arrestor), this video to a person like me suggests there is little to no blockage. I also took a picture of the stove pipe from the bypass last night, and it was clean as a whistle. Now, in regards to the cap, I don't have a factory spark arrestor, but I have a bird arrestor home made cage, that probably has the same impact. The installer arrives tomorrow, let's see what he says. I like the comment about the leaking flue potentially sucking in cool air.

For anyone who says I should get rid of the cap, how am I supposed to deal with snow coming down into it when I am not around (only visit once per week). I get a lot of snow over the season, and the cap either will be on, or off permanently as I have no reasonable access to it at anytime of the year.

thanks,
RDP

 

[Highbeam]

Oh yeah, my money is in that silly screen being clogged. Can’t you just remove the screen and put the cap back on?

 

[RDPRDP]

Oh yeah, my money is in that silly screen being clogged. Can’t you just remove the screen and put the cap back on?

I can, but will require scaffolding to get up there to do it, and that is without snow to deal with in the spring. If I try to do it now I have tons of snow to move to put in the scaffolding. 20 feet deep under the roof at the moment! Very hard roof to deal with!

If I could push out the screen and the current cap from the stove that would do it, but then I would be capless untill the spring. I also could damage the roof when the cap and screen fall down after being pushed out.

I need a helicopter.......

RDP

 

[BKVP]

I can, but will require scaffolding to get up there to do it, and that is without snow to deal with in the spring. If I try to do it now I have tons of snow to move to put in the scaffolding. 20 feet deep under the roof at the moment! Very hard roof to deal with!

If I could push out the screen and the current cap from the stove that would do it, but then I would be capless untill the spring. I also could damage the roof when the cap and screen fall down after being pushed out.

I need a helicopter.......

RDP

Just find a kid with a drone. Fly up, get a good look and get some "possible" contributing evidence.

BKVP

 

[kborndale]

Binoculars work well for chimney screen inspection.

 

[RDPRDP]

Final report: Stovepipe was clean, except at the very top where the homemade spark arrestor/bird screen was. Once the build-up was removed all issues with smoke coming into the room during reloading were resolved, and the box comes up to temp easier on initial start-up as well.

Interestingly, even with my pipe freshly cleaned I never hear any sucking/wooshing sound at the air intake on the back of the stove as others have reported. I guess my next project to add some height to the stack might provide the extra draft needed to hear that sound.

Q: My chimney cap is about 40 years old, my installer says there isn't really any improvements in tech over the years to have me go as far as considering putting in a new one. Would you all agree?

thanks,
RDP

 

[kborndale]

Tech hasn't really changed, but the size of the mesh on the screen varies, get a cap with a 3/4" mesh, the finer ones plug up easier.

 

[RDPRDP]

Tech hasn't really changed, but the size of the mesh on the screen varies, get a cap with a 3/4" mesh, the finer ones plug up easier.

Just to confirm, due to creosote build-up issues on my current handmade spark arrestor/bird screen that it will be removed completely, leaving me just with the chimney cap, which I understand normally doesn't come with any screen at all. If I'm wrong about chimney caps and screens please let me know!

thanks,
RDP

 

[Tron]

My chimney has just the cap, nothing else.
Distance between the end of the flue and the cap is maybe 2-3" or so.

 

[kborndale]

No screen is fine as long as your not worried about wildlife getting in. The main thing is your wood though, dry wood produces less creosote. My cap has about a 3/4 inch screen. I sweep once a year and never have come anywhere close to it plugging up. You need to burn dry wood and burn hot on startup/reload.

 

[Highbeam]

Just to confirm, due to creosote build-up issues on my current handmade spark arrestor/bird screen that it will be removed completely, leaving me just with the chimney cap, which I understand normally doesn't come with any screen at all. If I'm wrong about chimney caps and screens please let me know!

thanks,
RDP

My chimney cap came from Simpson (duravent) with no screen. I installed it and passed inspection. On a different chimney I bought a cap with the optional removable screen and it plugged up quickly with brown crunchy stuff despite using a very low emissions stove and very dry wood.

In my area the bird problem is nearly non existent but the clogging with creosote is a very real problem.

 

[RDPRDP]

2025/2026 season update: Extended my outside stack by 1.6ft, and removed the hand-built bird cage near the cap., This was a good thing to do as my setup is now more stable, I get less smoke coming into the room on reloads, and obtain more draft (I'm hovering around the recommended total stack height, and have no bends along the way). This also brings me closer to being compliant with the 3-2-10 rule. It wasn't cheap to do all this, but as it's a noticeable improvement I'm happy with the results.

As I cannot keep from fiddling with this thing my project this year was to try and get longer burns without stalling during the shoulder season. I cannot do this in the winter as my log building is drafty and I need all the heat I can get (I reload every 12 hours during peak cold days, dial set to around 4:30pm). I've been monitoring other threads here about people with long burns, and there is no way I can go above 15 hours without stalling the cat. Therefore I decided to take a look at what my flap was doing (yes, I read all the BKVP warnings):

Cold stove:
Flap FULLY closed (touching the frame, only air going through the emergency round hole): 2pm on the dial.
Flap FULLY open (about a 45 degree angle, photo "179" shows this): 5pm on the dial. Turning past 5pm the flap does not open any further.

Hot stove:
Flap FULLY closed (touching the frame, only air going through the emergency round hole): 330pm on the dial.
Fap FULLY open (about a 45 degree angle, photo "179" shows this): 6pm on the dial (however, it might go higher if could move the dial past 6pm to about 630, but this is close enough, and I don't plan on messing with the set screw).

So, in my situation, when the stove is hot/operating, if I go below 3:30 on the dial, in a few hours the cat will stall. Therefore I can only get around 15 hours out of it with the dial just open to about 3:45/4pm (flap open just a hair).

Does this sound right?

There seems to be some damage to both sides of the frame the removable flap cover sits on, can I assume this has NO BEARING on safety or performance? I've added some photos to better describe this. The "flap box" welds also seems to be having some gaps where they connect to the main body of the stove. Also no problem/concern at all?


thanks all,
RDP

 

[Tron]

if I go below 3:30 on the dial, in a few hours the cat will stall.

I wouldn't say that. If it's hot and you're dialing down, the flap will close, yes, but that doesn't mean it's going to stay this way. Once the stove has cooled to adjust to your lower heat demand, the flap will open again to keep it at temperature (without a cat stall).

I can run mine at around 2:50 without the cat stalling, but that's about it. At 3:00 it certainly won't stall.

 

[stoveliker]

^^ That.
The flap moves when you don't touch it, during the burn. That's the whole point of the bimetal thermostat controlling the air. Dial down to 3.30 it may close b/c the stove is hot. But dialing up to 3.30 it will likely be open (to some degree).

Also, "less smoke in the house" to me suggests your draft is still marginal. That is consistent with it possibly stalling at a higher thermostat setting than in many other installs.

How tall is your flue now?