A bit paranoid, but...what does a rain cap/spark arrestor look like post Flue Fire?

[clemsonfor]

It heats it up foe that first half hour of the fire!! Everyone knows that! If you heat it up one good time during The day it helps reduce creosote!!?????

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

And this accomplishes exactly what?[/quote

I guess I'd like to think it helps burn up a bit of crap that gets stored up with my long slow burns.... I could be wrong. With ACS I literally watch the flakes fly out of the chimney upon a hard fast burn. I just got my brushes and I've ran 2+ cords of pine already this winter and haven't turned on the electric baseboard yet. I'll reply with a sweep waste volume later.... hopefully by Monday.

What's wrong with my method exactly?

 

[BrotherBart]

I have just never understood doing the old "burn the crap out of it the next morning" thing with EPA stoves. Even in the old days all it could be doing is setting fire in the pipe to accumulation from the night before. Or trying to dry out sote deposited from the choked down burns that modern stoves won't let you do.

If I saw flakes in, much less flying out of these two chimneys I would be taking a long hard look at my wood and burning habits.

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

I have just never understood doing the old "burn the crap out of it the next morning" thing with EPA stoves. Even in the old days all it could be doing is setting fire in the pipe to accumulation from the night before. Or trying to dry out sote deposited from the choked down burns that modern stoves won't let you do.

If I saw flakes in, much less flying out of these two chimneys I would be taking a long hard look at my wood and burning habits.

Well I'm sweeping this weekend so I'll let you know. My stove runs at half mast most of the time, very low while at home.

I'll let you know if you are right about my burning habits for sure Bart. One thing I have fighting me is that I haven't swept this chimney since I bought the house and I'm unsure of what was in there already.... so it may not all be me. The real experiment would be next year I suppose....

 

[BrotherBart]

I wasn't picking on ya Rocky. I was questioning the concept. And it has been wood burning gospel for longer than I have been alive. A clean pipe could be saying anything from "Yay! The one a day blazer works." to that it isn't needed.

I have just never been able to make much sense of it.