Our quadrafire is in our basement, which is a walk-out patio. The chimney for this is three storeys high on our large house. We burn this quadrafire often, but lately noticed soot on our patio, first and second storey window sills, etc. Is this normal? We also have some soot staining on the limestone that caps off the chimney, which is all brick. The quadrafire has a metal cap type thing on top, not the clay caps like our other chimney flues. Anyway, it seems abnormal to have soot on our yard, patio, window sills,etc. What causes this? What can we do? We've been using it this winter and last in our new construction home and next week this chimney will be inspected and cleaned. My husband uses wood he cut from logs from trees that have been dead awhile and the logs are seasoned about 9 months I think. Recently we have burnt seasoned wood we bought locally. I'm not happy with the staining on the top of the chimney on the exterior of our house or the soot everywhere outside. Please help! Thank you.
Soot on ground and windowsills from interior quadrafire 7100
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very likely you have a lot of moisture in the wood you are burning. Coupled with low heat burning you may have some build up in the flue system that blew out with the last fire. As long as it does not look like black popcorn you are ok as far as a chimney fire is concerned but definitely get it cleaned and report what the inspection revealed.
Drier wood and hotter burning should help.
Drier wood and hotter burning should help.
Ok, I can't seem to convince my husband that the wood he's been using isn't seasoned long enough. He says it looks exactly like the kind he bought locally.
He does burn it really hot.
I'll report back. Thank you.
He does burn it really hot.
I'll report back. Thank you.
I wouldn't think soot would be blown out unless you had a chimney fire, but maybe with a lot of creosote build-up on the cap screen, and high wind, it could be blown around. My guess is that your wood isn't dry; I doesn't dry much, if at all, until it is split and stacked in the wind. If it's Oak, it will take at least 2 yrs to dry sufficiently, even if the tree was dead when cut down. The tall chimney will allow any moisture in the wood to cool and condense before it can exit, resulting in creo deposits. Is it an exterior chimney? Insulated liner?
It's very rare to be able to buy dry wood. The wood should be dried to an internal moisture of 20% or less. You can get a cheap moisture meter at Harbor Freight. Then re-split a piece and jam the pins into the center of the freshly-exposed surface. But if the wood sizzles when put on a hot coal bed, or worse, moisture bubbles out the end, it's too wet to burn efficiently. Maybe that's why he's burning the stove hot, to get the wood to burn or to get enough heat out of the stove with the wet wood?
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
It sound like a wood issue, perhaps to change his mind a little ride to home depot or lowes is cant do the trick, buy a moisture meter <$35.00, cut a split in half and stick the meters probes in the fresh side of the split, if the wood is above 20%, then its to wet to burn cleanly
I'll buy a moisture meter.
He stores the wood split in stacks on top of palettes in our yard with a tarp over the top and sides. Is this not ok? Does he need to actually build a woodshed? I don't want him to stack it against the part of the house that has an overhang because of pests (we are in the middle of the woods) and bringing it inside would bring in so many bugs.
He stores the wood split in stacks on top of palettes in our yard with a tarp over the top and sides. Is this not ok? Does he need to actually build a woodshed? I don't want him to stack it against the part of the house that has an overhang because of pests (we are in the middle of the woods) and bringing it inside would bring in so many bugs.
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
I keep my wood stack open until October, then I cover them with a tarp, I sometimes take the tarp off and let the air hit the stacks on warmer days, but my stuff is over two years old and when I stack it by the house I already know that it's fully seasoned. If I was in your guys shoes i would def top cover, not letting the tarp(s) hang over the sides so the pile can breath, pull the sides down when a storm comes in
Pallets are good to avoid contact with the ground. I have my wood on pallets, top-covered only; Rain on the sides doesn't slow drying much, and wind will dry the wood even in winter (but much slower.) Wind is responsible for majority of drying so I never cover the sides of the stacks.The first couple of years, before I was ahead on wood, I even stacked in single rows for maximum air movement. As the wood dries, most bugs will leave, but certain kinds will hang out under the bark. Here, it's wood roaches, (which are not cockroaches) and I don't worry much if one gets into the house. I just grab him in a jar and toss him outside. If you bang the splits with bark together before bringing them in, they generally bail out and run away.
With sides you don't mean the front and back, I assume? Those at least need to stay open. The wood needs as much sun and especially wind as possible and more than 9 months probably. Let's see what the moisture meter says. However, bring some splits inside and let them come up to room temp before splitting and measuring the fresh surface.
A woodshed helps when the wood is dry to keep it that way. Where is it now and does it have some time to dry out inside before burning?
An easy way to check whether you are burning correctly is to look at the chimney. Smoke should be seen only for about the first 10 min after loading fresh wood in. After that, you should only see some heat waves and maybe steam depending on the weather conditions.
Yes, the chimney is insulated. It is an exterior chimney.
The wood is outside, stacked, on palettes (it's all split) and covered on the top and sides by a tarp. My husband brings some into the garage each week and stacks it on a metal firewood item we got from Eddie Bauer or LL Bean. He brings that wood into the basement and puts it in the small alcove for wood a few feet away from the stove.
I've seen smoke rising from the chimney more than ten minutes after the fire is lit.
I can't imagine we would have had a chimney fire without us knowing about it. I'll look up what chimney fires entail now, however, because I know very little about these issues. I'm so glad I found this forum.
The wood is outside, stacked, on palettes (it's all split) and covered on the top and sides by a tarp. My husband brings some into the garage each week and stacks it on a metal firewood item we got from Eddie Bauer or LL Bean. He brings that wood into the basement and puts it in the small alcove for wood a few feet away from the stove.
I've seen smoke rising from the chimney more than ten minutes after the fire is lit.
I can't imagine we would have had a chimney fire without us knowing about it. I'll look up what chimney fires entail now, however, because I know very little about these issues. I'm so glad I found this forum.
Tiff: Welcome to the forums!!
Don't panick quite yet. My stove takes me about 20 minutes to get to proper operating temperatures. Only then will I see now smoke coming from outside.
That being said, I also have soot on my deck. It's very fluffy and black as coal. It happens from when I light my fire: I keep my bypass damper open for a few minutes and sometimes the fire starts roaring (literally hear it). This intense draft pulls off some of the light flakes from inside my chimney.
Grab a scrub brush and ask your hubby to start cleaning them come spring.
Andrew
PS. I only cover my wood come fall/cooler weather.
Don't panick quite yet. My stove takes me about 20 minutes to get to proper operating temperatures. Only then will I see now smoke coming from outside.
That being said, I also have soot on my deck. It's very fluffy and black as coal. It happens from when I light my fire: I keep my bypass damper open for a few minutes and sometimes the fire starts roaring (literally hear it). This intense draft pulls off some of the light flakes from inside my chimney.
Grab a scrub brush and ask your hubby to start cleaning them come spring.
Andrew
PS. I only cover my wood come fall/cooler weather.
Top covering is fine, but you never want to side cover because it traps the moisture with the wood. The primary purpose in seasoning wood is to drive the internal moisture out of the wood, not keep the external moisture (rain, snow) away from the wood.
In fairness to your husband, most woodburners think that their wood is dry enough. And his seasoned logs could very well be as dry as what he buys locally. If you've had a chimney fire, that chimney should be clean now, so the chimney cleaning won't reveal much. Testing that wood with the moisture
reader will give you a good idea of whether your wood is seasoned or not.
You don't need a woodshed to season wood. It just makes things easier.
In fairness to your husband, most woodburners think that their wood is dry enough. And his seasoned logs could very well be as dry as what he buys locally. If you've had a chimney fire, that chimney should be clean now, so the chimney cleaning won't reveal much. Testing that wood with the moisture
reader will give you a good idea of whether your wood is seasoned or not.
You don't need a woodshed to season wood. It just makes things easier.
From time to time I also get some soot on the snow . . . I suspect as Andrew said it is due to the strong draft and I've noticed it most often after using newspaper to start the fire. For me, it's no big deal . . . . as mentioned if you touch it or attempt to pick it up it just kinda of turns to a smudge of black.
We bought a moisture meter. Tested the wood in our garage and it registered between 8 and 16. So that's obviously seasoned enough, right?
Would burning a Duraflame log cause the soot all over our patio and windowsills? My husband said he burnt one of those a few days ago.
Would burning a Duraflame log cause the soot all over our patio and windowsills? My husband said he burnt one of those a few days ago.
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
Never burn a dura flame log in a woodstove, they are made with wax binders and can coat the stove, chimney ext, in other words those logs can ruin your stove. The wood is seasoned at 16%, when you guys tested the wood did you 1st chop it in half then test the fresh face side? also the meter probs need to be pressed into the wood face.
We didn't know you couldn't burn a dura flame log in our stove. How do we find out if it ruined our stove?
No, we tested the logs that were already chopped. Do we need to chop them smaller and retest? Sorry for the ignorant questions?
No, we tested the logs that were already chopped. Do we need to chop them smaller and retest? Sorry for the ignorant questions?
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
Yes, please re chop and test the fresh piece, wood holds moisture from the inside out, meaning the outside dries first but the center can still be wet, I'm sure that (1) log would not ruin the stove, just don't do it again, the duraflame logs are meant for fireplaces or outside pits, wood stoves burn much hotter, the logs can easily act like gasoline and cause a major overheat / overfire which will ruin your stove.
Seanm
Minister of Fire
Also you will get a more accurate reading if you bring it in unsplit and warm it by the fire (unless youve been nice and mild). Most meters are meant to work best at 70 f. I top cover loosely stacked, double row, wood is mostly dropped from standing dead, stacked on pallets and sometimes I drop the tarps down the sides and attach them with nails through the grommets. That part of the discussion has had lots of debate here and really is a locational thing. Some dont top cover during the summer but I do, due to frequent thunder storms with heavy down pours and a short drying season. whether you live in an area that is prone to have mild winters or like me in the Rockies you dont want to wrap your stack in tarps because as other have eluded moisture will get picked up from the ground. I have nice cold, clear, dry weather right now so will spend the 5 minutes and pull the tarps up from the sides of my stacks so it can breath and then drop them when the next storm roles in.
Wow, a 3-story chimney? Yeah, it probably roars, and I can see how that would blow some soot out. I shoulda caught that. Can you even get a low burn with that kind of stack height?
Seanm
Minister of Fire
Ive experienced this a few times a year and it was like you described. It wouldnt even sit on a finger but just go to ash as soon as I touched it. Thanks for clarifying. Its always bugged me a bit but Ive never had the signs of a chimney fire. Never had one and hope I dont have to experience it.
We tested wood a minute after my husband chopped it and it registered between 9 and 16% moisture level. The chimney sweep was out yesterday, couldn't clean the chimney because it is 50 ft high and he said he needed a taller scaffolding or lift and wants to do that in warmer weather. It was 10 degrees when he was here. He never heard of any of the problems we had. He said it was fine to burn in until he comes clean it in the spring. But, just now, we had more soot rain down all over our patio. I'm so upset. What on earth is going on?
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
The chimney just maybe plugged up from past burns, or the cap on top, when test the wood has been inside to warm up, a frozen log can give you a false reading. Normally burning wood should NOT be this frustrating, if you has a very tall chimney you might have a very strong draft also, again I feel for you guys, stay warm
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