Some people just shouldn't run wood stoves

[Louise]

Hello, all - I had my second chimney fire last week and it's making me think that maybe I'm just not cut out for wood stove operation. When I moved into my house, I had a VC Encore (cat) with a single wall 2 story chimney. I overfired and warped the stove, then replaced the stove with a VC Encore Everburn; then replaced the single wall chimney with double wall from stove to the part that goes through the ceiling. Both chimney fires were with the everburn - one before new chimney, one after. With this fire, I used the fire extinguisher on the fire in the firebox and I squirted some up the chimney. Tried to clean all the fire extinguisher gunk out of the stove and broke off a piece of that stupid refractory stuff, too.

I don't understand why I had the second chimney fire, after installing double wall to prevent that. Maybe it's because I'm too nervous to burn the stove hot enough to keep the chimney clean - I routinely burned the stove between 400 and 500, and occasionally took it up to 600-650, but the smell of hot metal (which you always get with new pipe, I know) just makes me really uneasy. Or maybe when the chimney was replaced, I should have had the section that goes through the ceiling and attic cleaned again - but the fire started pretty low down in the chimney.

So, questions:

Is a 2 story run of chimney just a bad idea unless you're going to burn your stove at 700 or something?

At what temp should the stove routinely be burning?

Do I need to take the stove apart and clean out the insides (i.e., the part you can't normally see - like take off the lid, take out the damper, etc.) before burning again (if I ever get the guts to burn again at all)?

Too many variables, I know - sorry. Getting the chimney cleaned, of course.

Thanks, all!

L-A

 

[HotCoals]

With my cat stove in the shoulder season I can burn 30 hours or more on a load.
350F near the cat and 200f 8 inches up the single wall stack.
No probs so far!

Theses chimney fires you speak about..was there a roaring sound..almost like a jet engine?

 

[SteveKG]

It is difficult to tell what is going on without seeing the installation and your wood. The double-walled pipe is good, but I believe from your post that the second fire began in that section. My very first suspicion, assuming the above sentence is correct, would be the quality of your firewood. But.........I am not there so cannot really say.

If the installation allows it, I would encourage you to learn how to clean out the pipe, if you don't already know how. The equipment will be very inexpensive, $15-$25 for a brush and maybe $6 or so for each 4' section of flexible rod to run the brush up and down the pipe. You obviously should be cleaning the pipe often, at least until you figure out why the creosote is building up so rapidly and thickly.

I would also encourage you to try to find someone experienced and trustworthy to give you a hand figuring this out. Chimney fires are not only scary, they can be lethal. Perhaps you can hook up with someone in your area who is on the forum, or someone in a stove store.

 

[DonNC]

Im curious about the fire too. Was it the sound or did you go out and see flames at the top of the chimney.

What kind of fire extinguisher did you use? Water? ABC?, BC?
ABC can be a pain to clean up. Sweep, then vacuum, and clean out the fire box to see what you have left.

Im told the powder sicks when it gets hot so cleanup might be a real chore.

 

[ecocavalier02]

from my experience with the everburn i had nothing but trouble with overfires thing sucking air into the stove sounded like a jet engine had to plug the whole a few times. i just down right hated that stove and could never get it to work right. i just think the designs of the everburns are horrible no offense to people who love them. just had way to many things go wrong. i just dont think the stoves are built tight enough. to many doors and the refractory is complete crap. this may be your problem.

 

[BrotherBart]

With the everburn I have to wonder if all that happened is that you finally got the stove hot enough to lite off the reburn chamber. What were the symptoms that made you had chimney fires both times? The everburns do roar when the reburn is going.

 

[Jimbob]

......And yet ANOTHER sad neverburn story.....

 

[Louise]

To tell you the truth, I'm really not very good at telling how well seasoned wood is. I buy it from a guy whose marketing gimmick is "pay more for wood you KNOW is well seasoned and cut to the right size," which doesn't mean it IS well seasoned - as best I can tell, though, he seems to be straightforward and reasonable. I'll quiz him on how long the wood's been seasoned.

I heard the fire going in the chimney - I heard it catch right above the stove, actually, which puzzles me because that's where there should be the least amount of creosote, right? I'm familiar with the roar of the everburn kicking in - like one of you said, it's like a jet taking off. It might have started out as just the everburn, but I don't think there was just reburning going on. I heard a little roar and then the crackling on the inside of the chimney pipe, which I assumed was the creosote. I went outside and saw sparks coming out the chimney and that's when I decided it was time for the fire extinguisher and the hell with the stupid stove. There was a different quality to the roar, which is why I ran out to check the roof. I'd say with sparks flying out of the chimney, there was a chimney fire.

The fire extinguisher was an ABC type - it sprays a powder, which turns to a foam when it hits something really hot. I cleaned out the firebox and the area above/behind the damper where I could reach with my hands (that's where I managed to break off the corner of the refractory piece). I think probably not too much of the gunk got into the bowels of the stove because the stove parts were hot enough that the powder foamed up and plugged the openings from the firebox into the reburn area.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone - I'll look for someone in my area who can help me evaluate my set-up and figure out what I'm doing wrong, BEFORE I start burning again.

L-A

 

[Louise]

You know, this is silly, but it never occurred to me that I could clean the chimney myself - I thought you had to go from the roof and there's no way I'm going up there. ;o) What worries me about trying to clean from the bottom is that I think the very top of the chimney, where I probably couldn't reach and definitely couldn't see, might be where the problem is.

The last time I had the chimney cleaned (after the first chimney fire, before the chimney was replaced with double wall), the sweep told me there was a black (creosote) ring around the inside of top of the chimney that was at least one third the diameter of the pipe - he took the top piece off and down to the ground to knock the stuff out.

If anyone knows any woodstove experts in the Manchester, Michigan area, would you please let me know? The people I assumed would know something - like the people who installed the first stove and chimney, and then the person who is an authorized VC dealer/repair guy in this area - are either as ignorant as I was when I started this or they're not particularly ethical. I suspect the former.

Thanks again, guys.
L-A

 

[snowtime]

I think your wood is not dry enough. I also think getting to know how to clean your own chimney is the way to go. You will save a little but better yet you will be able to clean anytime you want. With your problems I would recommend you increase your cleaning the chimney to twice a year.
My recommendation is a piece of equipment called a sooteater. Its basically a weed whacker on the end of short flexible rods. You just need an electric drill to run it. This way you can clean from the bottom up. Just take anything thats in the way off or out of the stove then tape a piece of plastic with a slit in the middle over the stove door opening. Push your sooteater up and your good to go. My DW wants everything clean so I run an extension made from a piece of flexible drier vent pipe to my shop vac. The shop vac is outside so everything stays clean.

 

[Louise]

Thanks - I think you're right about the wood, and I'll try the chimney cleaning thing. At least I know how to run an electric drill! I have some wood from last season that I can burn when I get up the nerve again, after the chimney gets cleaned and I'll work on getting the equipment to do it myself. Just imagine being able to clean it as often as my anxiety level requires!

Thanks again!
L-A