Slammer Install Help

[HisTreeNut]

Hey...

My friends bought a house a little while ago and were trying to use their wood stove [ a High Valley]. They had a couple of fires in it but the stove was not drafting well and was very smokey while burning (in the stove as well as a strong smoke smell in the house). They asked my wifey if we knew anyone to come take a look at it. We did not but being a nice guy, I said I would come take a look at it. I figured since they bought a couple cord of "seasoned" wood and the house/stove was new to them, that the chimney needed a light sweep, the wood was damp, and they needed a quick lesson in stove use.
Never got to checking their wood...why do you ask?
I checked their chimney first because it was getting dark and I wanted to make use what little light there was.
I hopped on their roof, looked down their chimney and the first words out of my mouth were, "Oh my God, you are clogged!! !" The chimney was open for about 2' down and it was pretty much solid creosote the rest of the way. I brushed out what I could (round brush in a narrow rectangle chimney...I made it work though). As I brushed out the chimney, I saw something silvery at the bottom and figured it was a flex liner of some kind that fell. I got inside and our friends and I pulled out the stove. The shiny thing I saw was a giant piece of creosote...that also was when I discovered it was a slammer install. I looked at them and said that , "You are so lucky you did have a chimney fire..."
They are panicking a bit and checking with a friend of theirs about finding someone to fix it. I told them I would contact some buddies (aka Hearth.com) and help them out as best I could.
I have attached a couple of pictures of the stove.

Questions:

1) It looks to be a Model 2500 Catalytic (before I download stuff for them). They have a binder full of paperwork for the house but nothing on the stove (no home inspection done...I asked...but we can rant about that in another thread).

2) Anyone know of a good chimney place in the Mountains of WNC? It can be like pulling teeth to get someone to come out our way (The place I used for my install no longer does wood installs).

3) If they were to attempt to put in a liner themselves (he is mechanically inclined but has never done something like that before), Best place to purchase a liner? Also...outlet on stove is about 8" around but the chimney looks to be about 8" by 18" maybe? I am getting some measurements later today.
Conversion kit to go from one to the other? Is there enough net area for the stove to properly draft and such?

5) Best chimney cap?

6) Behind the stove is a fair amount of creosote on the brick. Best way to clean that up?

Thanks for the help...appreciate you all so much.

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[bholler]

You will probably need to go with a rectangle liner. And it will need cleaned well

 

[jetsam]

bholler means that the old chimney needs to be completely cleaned before you can even put a liner in it. If you line it dirty, you can still have a serious chimney fire outside the liner.

He could avoid a rectangular / oval liner by going with an insulated 6" liner and a new stove, which may be a good idea anyway.

Note to the old owners: When creosote is gushing out of your chimney and running around your fireplace stone and UP THE WALL, this may be a sign that something is really seriously wrong...

 

[HisTreeNut]

My friend is buying a brush...the old owners of the house never really used the stove because they couldn't get it to work right either [my wifey somehow knew them also]. That creosote crawling up the wall was behind the surround. The insulation on the surround will need to be replaced also unfortunately.
What's the best way to clean that up besides paying a professional?

 

[begreen]

So glad you checked it out for them. It sounds like they were very close to having a serious chimney fire. Given the degree of buildup, it may be best to bring in a pro, especially if there is stage 3 creosote. Everything must be cleaned including the smokeshelf before installing a liner.

Has the stove itself been checked out? If it needs work, (cat and gaskets) they might want to consider selling it for $2-300 and putting that plus the money saved on repairs toward an insert that takes a less expensive 6" liner. An 8" rect liner + stove adapter is not going to be cheap. They can get a good, new ~2 cu ft insert for around $1200.

And yes, check their wood out for moisture content too. That may have contributed to the black mess in the chimney. And one last thing - make sure they have a good working smoke detector and CO monitor in the room.

 

[EbS-P]

Tyvec suit, respirator, goggles, wire bush and a vacuum with a good filter. It’s gonna be messy and smelly. Maybe some yoga to beforehand to loosen up. Is the damper and or damper frame still In place? If it is it will make cleaning more difficult. They removed mine when the liner was installed. Seems like this is the initial stage of a new install. Give it some thought to when where and how this project is going to be finished.

 

[begreen]

If there are stage 3 creosote deposits, it's going to take a bit more work and chemistry to remove.

 

[jetsam]

My friend is buying a brush...the old owners of the house never really used the stove because they couldn't get it to work right either [my wifey somehow knew them also]. That creosote crawling up the wall was behind the surround. The insulation on the surround will need to be replaced also unfortunately.
What's the best way to clean that up besides paying a professional?

BS on the "never really used the stove", you don't fill a chimney with creosote by not burning. Though if the owner before the previous owner plugged the chimney, that would explain why the previous owner never got it to work right...

Will your friend buy an inspection camera, several kinds of brushes, possibly even chains, and chemical modifiers, and make sure the job is done 100%?

If he doesn't do it right, that chimney could still contain a lot of fuel after he lines it.

I would tell him to suck it up and hire a sweep.

 

[Carlv123]

If you need someone to come to Burnsville, call Tristans (828) 387-6153 .

I used them to correct an install from another company and they did a great job.

Hey...

My friends bought a house a little while ago and were trying to use their wood stove [ a High Valley]. They had a couple of fires in it but the stove was not drafting well and was very smokey while burning (in the stove as well as a strong smoke smell in the house). They asked my wifey if we knew anyone to come take a look at it. We did not but being a nice guy, I said I would come take a look at it. I figured since they bought a couple cord of "seasoned" wood and the house/stove was new to them, that the chimney needed a light sweep, the wood was damp, and they needed a quick lesson in stove use.
Never got to checking their wood...why do you ask?
I checked their chimney first because it was getting dark and I wanted to make use what little light there was.
I hopped on their roof, looked down their chimney and the first words out of my mouth were, "Oh my God, you are clogged!! !" The chimney was open for about 2' down and it was pretty much solid creosote the rest of the way. I brushed out what I could (round brush in a narrow rectangle chimney...I made it work though). As I brushed out the chimney, I saw something silvery at the bottom and figured it was a flex liner of some kind that fell. I got inside and our friends and I pulled out the stove. The shiny thing I saw was a giant piece of creosote...that also was when I discovered it was a slammer install. I looked at them and said that , "You are so lucky you did have a chimney fire..."
They are panicking a bit and checking with a friend of theirs about finding someone to fix it. I told them I would contact some buddies (aka Hearth.com) and help them out as best I could.
I have attached a couple of pictures of the stove.

Questions:

1) It looks to be a Model 2500 Catalytic (before I download stuff for them). They have a binder full of paperwork for the house but nothing on the stove (no home inspection done...I asked...but we can rant about that in another thread).

2) Anyone know of a good chimney place in the Mountains of WNC? It can be like pulling teeth to get someone to come out our way (The place I used for my install no longer does wood installs).

3) If they were to attempt to put in a liner themselves (he is mechanically inclined but has never done something like that before), Best place to purchase a liner? Also...outlet on stove is about 8" around but the chimney looks to be about 8" by 18" maybe? I am getting some measurements later today.
Conversion kit to go from one to the other? Is there enough net area for the stove to properly draft and such?

5) Best chimney cap?

6) Behind the stove is a fair amount of creosote on the brick. Best way to clean that up?

Thanks for the help...appreciate you all so much.

Sent from my VS835 using Tapatalk

 

[wncmtns70]

If you need someone to come to Burnsville, call Tristans (828) 387-6153 .

I used them to correct an install from another company and they did a great job.

Hi we live in WNC!! We might be able to help! 36 years in woodstove industry. I dont know if I can give you my number on here or not to help... we are in Old Fort, just outside of Asheville. You?

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[Ludlow]

the old owners of the house never really used the stove because they couldn't get it to work right

I am guessing they used it like crazy until it clogged. Then stopped. That is scary when the creosote is wicking out on the face like that.

 

[wncmtns70]

I know a guy who is a woodstove inventor and manufacturer who also cleans chimneys and is in the Asheville area. Try 828-527-3457. Ask for Roger.

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[HisTreeNut]

Hey Guys...
Thank for the replies. It's been a little crazy at work as 4 people have lost a parent or grandparent in the last week and an employee that was out on sick leave passed away over the weekend.

Anyhoo...to answer lots of question:

BS on the "never really used the stove", you don't fill a chimney with creosote by not burning. Though if the owner before the previous owner plugged the chimney, that would explain why the previous owner never got it to work right...

My wifey spoke with the folks our friends bought the house from. Take this with a grain of salt, but they said the people they bought the house from used it all the time. That's kind of scary. Regardless, our friends are working to get it fixed.

If you need someone to come to Burnsville, call Tristans (828) 387-6153 . I used them to correct an install from another company and they did a great job.

I will pass the info on to our friends. They had a builder they knew come by and he said they needed to get it fixed. Our friends called someone who was supposed to come this past Monday but they backed out last minute and have not rescheduled with them.

Hi we live in WNC!! We might be able to help! 36 years in woodstove industry. I dont know if I can give you my number on here or not to help... we are in Old Fort, just outside of Asheville. You?

We are in Burnsville which is about an hour from Asheville. Send me your contact info via direct message on the board, & I will pass the information on.

Thank you all for your help!