I came home yesterday, and naturally looked up at the chimney as i drove up to the house. The wife was being woodwoman, keeping the stove going. My smoke is usually black or grey,,but today it was pure white. Did she put a wet wood in and got steam? Is it supposed to be white and we were wrong the other times?
Whats that,,steam?
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Your instincts are correct - white that dissipates quickly is steam (or rather condensed water vapor, true steam is clear) this is good. When its really cold out you can see steam even when burning very dry wood, as water vapor is one of the natural byproducts of wood combustion.
Blue/black/grey that hangs around is smoke and a sign of incomplete burning. Seeing some at start up is fine but once up to temp you should never see significant smoke.
Blue/black/grey that hangs around is smoke and a sign of incomplete burning. Seeing some at start up is fine but once up to temp you should never see significant smoke.
The colored smoke will happen when you reload the stove but should clear up within a short time. This time of year it is very normal to see the white that disappears quickly.
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