Soot on the Snow

[Donna]

Hello All,
Well, here in Quebec, we have had cold snap after cold snap.....The last 5 days it has been -24+c...down to -28c two nights in a row, with the daytime highs being only a wee bit warmer than that.
I have been running the VC Resolute Acclaim hard, and it has been doing its best to win a loosing battle in this 100 year old badly built house. I am burning very good wood, mostly apple and maple, dry and seasoned, with fairly big splits and rounds, big enough that I can just get them in through the top-loading door.
Last night the hubby said....there is soot on the snow in front of the house.....Huh???
Out I went and sure enough, there was a sprinkling of delicate black soot on the front lawn, and a small bit on the roof.
The previous day it had been very windy. My thoughts, wind blowing some off the cap screen or the cap itself.
We clean our chimney three times a year, beginning, middle and end of the burning season, so I know it has no more than 2 months of burning on it.
Normal? Ideas?
A Happy New Years to everyone, keep a flame on the log.

 

[roberth42]

Hey we are in Quebec as well and know all too well about the cold snap we have been in!
I find that if I push the stove hard and run at high temps I will see black soot on the snow as well!
I think it is normal.

 

[oconnor]

It's possible you had some small area of creosote light off and this is the remains, or paper from a relight. It happens.

 

[stejus]

I get this as well. I bet this happens after starting up a new load. During long burns i suspect the stove pipe cools down promoting soot. You reload and the first 15 minutes there's a lot of heat and draft rushing up the pipe and this sends soot flying out. I am burning well seasoned wood and it happens so I wouldn't worry too much about this.

 

[Hogwildz]

Don't sweat the small stuff, your doing fine.

 

[Donna]

Thank you for your re-assurance. I figured it was something normal-ish. However with the winter we are having, the thought of something going wrong with the set up was not a plesant prospect.
Bad enough shoveling off the brand new roof due to ice jams......don't get me started.....laughing.
Cheers!!

 

[Hogwildz]

Thank you for your re-assurance. I figured it was something normal-ish. However with the winter we are having, the thought of something going wrong with the set up was not a plesant prospect.
Bad enough shoveling off the brand new roof due to ice jams......don't get me started.....laughing.
Cheers!!

While your up there shoveling, it never hurts to just check the cap and top portion of pipe to make sure they are not getting too much build up inside.

 

[Swedishchef]

Hi Donna,

Where do you live in Quebec?

As others have stated, don't worry too much about the small loose flaky stuff you found. I have some also. Especially since my stove has a bypass damper. I leave it open until my flue temperatures reach 300-400. I can sometimes hear it roaring due to the strong pull. That is when I find some soot in the yard.

Happy burning

Andrew

 

[Donna]

I live in Otterburn Park, on the South Shore of Montreal, near Mont. St. Hilaire.....beautiful spot, despite the politics.

 

[Swedishchef]

I know the area, very nice place indeed (despite the politics ). I have flown to the airport in St Hubert a few times and have stayed near Otterburn Park.

 

[NextEndeavor]

Mine will sometimes do that as well after a reload. If I leave the bypass open a while and crack the door open the draft will become so strong that we hear a significant vacuum noise. Sometimes there can be small embers fly off (only seen at night) the chimney top and a few small pieces of soot found in the snow. We get very little creosote now days compared to year one so hope a little soot is normal.