# Caulking the ash clean out door on chimney.



## johnsopi (Sep 2, 2008)

Caulking clean out door on chimney I've been doing this for a while. The thinking is if it sealed the cold 
air won't be pulled in. Do others do this?


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## granpajohn (Sep 2, 2008)

If you refer to an outside ash dump on masonry fireplace....
I sealed it with a closed cell foam weatherstrip, because the old thing is warped and wasn't mating well. Some previous owner tried to do something similar with ordinary mortar. Wasn't very good looking. 

Originally, I wanted to make sure insects and small animals stayed out. Now that I have the insert, I'm glad it's not as drafty. However, the thought did occur to me to open the outside air intake on the QF and let it suck combustion air through the ash dump. I was worried, however, that it would lead to a sooty odor, as well as cold air entering the house, and it would be hard to rectify after the fact.


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## budman (Sep 2, 2008)

Sealed mine with siilacone.


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## FN_9 (Sep 2, 2008)

Are you permanently sealing it?  I've been thinking about doing something about mine, but need access to clean out chimney.


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## johnsopi (Sep 2, 2008)

Just using painter caulk, so I unseal before the sweep gets there. I seal mine because I thought the cold outside would be sucked into the chimney cooling the smoke. Yes it is the outside ash cleanout door I'm talking about.


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## webbie (Sep 2, 2008)

Yeah, do it. Just about any caulk will do and can be removed - silicone, furnace cement, etc......just don't use phenoseal or epoxy or liquid nails......hard to remove!


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## Jfk4th (Sep 2, 2008)

I also sealed mine with a small roll of weatherstripping, I noticed the difference in the fire at my Dad's cabin right away.  I owe this to Mike at Englander Stove Works for the idea.


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## billb3 (Sep 2, 2008)

I had one that was just inches off the ground so it got a couple shovel fulls of mulch heaped up against it during the Winter and raked off in the Spring.
Can't say that it did much energy efficient-wise , that I could prove.  In theory ...


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## BrotherBart (Sep 3, 2008)

At the risk of not agreeing with the webmaster, don't use silicone. I did that one time and damn near needed dynamite to get that darn thing open again. Wrecked four box cutter blades to finally get it open.

After that I just packed the bottom flue tile with insulation since it is three feet below the liner turn into the thimble.


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## EatenByLimestone (Sep 3, 2008)

I seal it.  With regular old caulk.

Matt and boring that way...


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## stoveguy2esw (Sep 3, 2008)

a sealed clean out door can make a huge difference with an EPA type unit, they are naturally resistant to draw by nature. this can cause more air to be pulled through leaking cleanouts because of lesser resistance to the draw of the flue. this is air that rightly should be pulled through the stove but is not for that reason. another thing to think about is that this is COLD AIR which cools the flue on top of the lost pull through the stove. 

i recommend using sealed cell foam or similar (the stuff you shut in your windows to seal leaks there is perfect in most cases) oh , and thanks for the plug JFK


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