What’s causing this?

[jaykay]

Stove England 24-ACD /50-SHW24

We started burning and it slowly started to leak. We thought maybe it was our wood, but we were told it’s seasoned and it splits like butter (oak wood). We thought it was the temperature. Our stove gets to 300-450. Runs on the colder side at night. The pipe is about 250-300. I let it get to 400 when I load up new wood. But again it gets around 200 at night… Now we have a cat stove but the previous owners removed the catalytic combustor and housing unit. So we are waiting for the housing unit ( could be up to 6 weeks, it’s an OLD stove) we leave the bypass damper open and mess with the lower dampers. I know we will be feeding the stove some wood a lot and we realize that’s the price we gotta pay till we get the housing unit.We aren’t really sure what’s causing it. Could it be our cap is rusted? The uh “netting” or whatever has some brown to it when I zoom in. I attached a photo for reference.

 

[begreen]

From the looks of the top, the flue gases are too cool and creosote is starting to build up. There most likely needs to be an insulated liner in the chimney.

What stove make and model is this?

PS: Never accept that bought wood is fully seasoned. It rarely is. Always test a few pieces by resplitting them in half and testing with a moisture meter on the freshly exposed face of the wood.

 

[jaykay]

Engl

From the looks of the top, the flue gases are too cool and creosote is starting to build up. There most likely needs to be an insulated liner in the chimney.

What stove make and model is this?

PS: Never accept that bought wood is fully seasoned. It rarely is. Always test a few pieces by resplitting them in half and testing with a moisture meter on the freshly exposed face of the wood

England 24-ACD /50-SHW24
We resplit with one swing and the moisture meter usually reads around 12

 

[jaykay]

From the looks of the top, the flue gases are too cool and creosote is starting to build up. There most likely needs to be an insulated liner in the chimney.

What stove make and model is this?

PS: Never accept that bought wood is fully seasoned. It rarely is. Always test a few pieces by resplitting them in half and testing with a moisture meter on the freshly exposed face of the wood.

From the looks of the top, the flue gases are too cool and creosote is starting to build up. There most likely needs to be an insulated liner in the chimney.

What stove make and model is this?

PS: Never accept that bought wood is fully seasoned. It rarely is. Always test a few pieces by resplitting them in half and testing with a moisture meter on the freshly exposed face of the wood.

Also, our magnet thermometer reads 250-400 for single walled. How can we increase this? Especially at night…. To prevent that from happening

 

[bholler]

Also, our magnet thermometer reads 250-400 for single walled. How can we increase this? Especially at night…. To prevent that from happening

A properly sized and insulated liner would help allot. You are running a 6" stove into an 8x12 liner. That is going to be difficult to make work properly

 

[gzecc]

Id also guess you have an exterior (cold) chimney, and not seasoned properly wood. Most oak wood splits need 3 yrs (summers) stacked off the ground in the sun and wind to achieve appropriate seasoning for a stove. The warm air hits the cold brick and condensates. A insulated liner would help although you still need properly seasoned wood. Which means moisture content of ~20%.

 

[jaykay]

Id also guess you have an exterior (cold) chimney, and not seasoned properly wood. Most oak wood splits need 3 yrs (summers) stacked off the ground in the sun and wind to achieve appropriate seasoning for a stove. The warm air hits the cold brick and condensates. A insulated liner would help although you still need properly seasoned wood. Which means moisture content of ~20%.

Even tho we are using a moisture meter and it’s reading less than 20?

 

[jaykay]

A properly sized and insulated liner would help allot. You are running a 6" stove into an 8x12 liner. That is going to be difficult to make work properly

Now we have a liner inside our chimney. I don’t know if it’s insulated? We just bought this home a few years ago and this is the first we are using the stove.

 

[gzecc]

Even tho we are using a moisture meter and it’s reading less than 20?

Split a few fresh pieces then take a moisture reading. If you've done this then your wood is golden.

 

[jaykay]

Split a few fresh pieces then take a moisture reading. If you've done this then your wood is golden.

Yes. We split some the other day with one swing and tested the moisture. Could it be that since we don’t have the catalytic combustor in that it’s causing all this? ( again waiting on the housing unit the previous owners casually decided to take out)

 

[begreen]

That Englander was actually a decent heater in its day. However, it needs a 6" liner in the chimney to perform well. That will make a nice difference. The catalyst will help it burn cleaner, but it will also lower the flue temperature as a result of more efficient operation. The large flue will cool the flue gases down too much and creosote can and probably will continue to build up as a result.

 

[bholler]

Now we have a liner inside our chimney. I don’t know if it’s insulated? We just bought this home a few years ago and this is the first we are using the stove.

You have a 6" stainless steel liner run the full length of the chimney?

 

[jaykay]

That Englander was actually a decent heater in its day. However, it needs a 6" liner in the chimney to perform well. That will make a nice difference. The catalyst will help it burn cleaner, but it will also lower the flue temperature as a result of more efficient operation. The large flue will cool the flue gases down too much and creosote can and probably will continue to build up as a result.

That Englander was actually a decent heater in its day. However, it needs a 6" liner in the chimney to perform well. That will make a nice difference. The catalyst will help it burn cleaner, but it will also lower the flue temperature as a result of more efficient operation. The large flue will cool the flue gases down too much and creosote can and probably will continue to build up as a result.

We have a liner but I’m not sure if it’s 6inches. Is there a way to tell

 

[bholler]

We have a liner but I’m not sure if it’s 6inches. Is there a way to tell

Was it added after those pictures were taken?

 

[jaykay]

That Englander was actually a decent heater in its day. However, it needs a 6" liner in the chimney to perform well. That will make a nice difference. The catalyst will help it burn cleaner, but it will also lower the flue temperature as a result of more efficient operation. The large flue will cool the flue gases down too much and creosote can and probably will continue to build up as a result.

That Englander was actually a decent heater in its day. However, it needs a 6" liner in the chimney to perform well. That will make a nice difference. The catalyst will help it burn cleaner, but it will also lower the flue temperature as a result of more efficient operation. The large flue will cool the flue gases down too much and creosote can and probably will continue to build up as a result.

We have a liner but I’m not sure if it’s 6inches.

You have a 6" stainless steel liner run the full length of the chimney?

well we were told we had some form of a liner according to the chimney guy, but he also said we had a housing unit for our combustor but we didn’t… I’m looking at the photo I took the other day of our creosote and I’m questioning it. I just opened the clean out and saw brown like the color of the flue. Attached is the picture of our chimney with its creosote. Not sure what you can tell from this photo.

 

[jaykay]

Was it added after those pictures were taken?

I just checked our clean out and don’t see a liner, so I’m thinking our chimney guy is a little bit of a noobie or I am confused. This is our chimney from the top from the other day.

 

[begreen]

There is a clay liner in the chimney, but it is oversized for the stove and in a cold exterior chimney.

 

[jaykay]

There is a clay liner in the chimney, but it is oversized for the stove and in a cold exterior chimney.

So that’s why it’s cooling down.. would a newer stove be better?

 

[bholler]

What begreen said

 

[begreen]

So that’s why it’s cooling down.. would a newer stove be better?

No, it's a good stove if all the parts are there and in good working order. The chimney needs a 6" stainless liner, even if you got a new stove.

 

[jaykay]

No, it's a good stove if all the parts are there and in good working order. The chimney needs a 6" stainless liner, even if you got a new stove.

Gotcha. I’m hoping the parts come soon. Said it takes 4-6 weeks. Guess I can reevaluate once we get that piece and buy the combustor. I appreciate your help, truly.

 

[bholler]

So that’s why it’s cooling down.. would a newer stove be better?

It's cooling down because it expands about 3x when it enters the chimney. And your chimney has no insulation value to keep the temperatures up. A newer stove would probably be worse

 

[RockyMtnGriz]

I have one of those stoves. I inherited it with my latest house, as well as what I will call its "casual" installation. Begreen is right on target with my experiences. I've been gradually fixing stuff for years to seal this stove and chimney up. A fresh cat helped too, but it's a demanding little beast to run without a perfect chimney.

I'm surprised you're getting along as well as you are with your situation. IMHO, that stove tends to overcool its flue gasses, and needs a strong draft. If I let the magnet thermometer get below 325, except at the very end of a load, I'm heading for disappointment. I have an estimated 26' of 6x6 interior masonry flue. I wouldn't even try to turn it down for an overnight burn without the cat in it. Running the blower is also something I only do for a few minutes at a time and only if the stove is good and hot.

My thought is that anything but small, hot fires in that is going to make a real mess of your chimney until you get a cat in it (I've tried the bypass thing too), and though it might be worth a try on the existing chimney once you get a cat in it, based on the fact you've gotten by so-far, I'd expect to have to put an insulated liner in before you can like living with it.

Please keep us posted on how it goes!

 

[jaykay]

I have one of those stoves. I inherited it with my latest house, as well as what I will call its "casual" installation. Begreen is right on target with my experiences. I've been gradually fixing stuff for years to seal this stove and chimney up. A fresh cat helped too, but it's a demanding little beast to run without a perfect chimney.

I'm surprised you're getting along as well as you are with your situation. IMHO, that stove tends to overcool its flue gasses, and needs a strong draft. If I let the magnet thermometer get below 325, except at the very end of a load, I'm heading for disappointment. I have an estimated 26' of 6x6 interior masonry flue. I wouldn't even try to turn it down for an overnight burn without the cat in it. Running the blower is also something I only do for a few minutes at a time and only if the stove is good and hot.

My thought is that anything but small, hot fires in that is going to make a real mess of your chimney until you get a cat in it (I've tried the bypass thing too), and though it might be worth a try on the existing chimney once you get a cat in it, based on the fact you've gotten by so-far, I'd expect to have to put an insulated liner in before you can like living with it.

Please keep us posted on how it goes!

We get the housing unit uh here between 3-5 weeks now since it’s already been a week, but I will definitely keep you all posted.

We’ve definitely been feeding the dang stove which was expected. The only issue we have is at night. That’s when it decides to leak. Cause I can’t continue to feed it.

Once I get all the parts I’ll come back with an update. Assuming it’s still winter time 🤣 The previous owners MAY have used this stove but I didn’t see as much build up as we have on the crown and the chimney guy said it didn’t even need to be cleaned. The previous owners had burnt up wood in the stove so… not sure when they removed the entire housing unit in our stove but… I’m being optimistic that it will help.

We will probably put a liner in if it doesn’t help, but I’d imagine that’s really expensive to do so it may have to wait for a tax return… 😅

 

[bholler]

We get the housing unit uh here between 3-5 weeks now since it’s already been a week, but I will definitely keep you all posted.

We’ve definitely been feeding the dang stove which was expected. The only issue we have is at night. That’s when it decides to leak. Cause I can’t continue to feed it.

Once I get all the parts I’ll come back with an update. Assuming it’s still winter time 🤣 The previous owners MAY have used this stove but I didn’t see as much build up as we have on the crown and the chimney guy said it didn’t even need to be cleaned. The previous owners had burnt up wood in the stove so… not sure when they removed the entire housing unit in our stove but… I’m being optimistic that it will help.

We will probably put a liner in if it doesn’t help, but I’d imagine that’s really expensive to do so it may have to wait for a tax return… 😅

The cat alone will help some with cleaning up the exhaust. but you will actually have lower exhaust temps possibly making draft even worse