Another Chimney problem
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jatoxico
Minister of Fire
I'm gonna adjust the air in my stove again. Don't you have some wood to split or something?
So running the stove at setting 2-2.5 is hot, that setting should create constant flue temps above 700, burning dry pine which makes almost zero ash.
The flue system should be nice and clean. Heck, the door glass should even stay clean when running the bk at 2 or higher.
One goofy thing I remember about your install was like 20 feet of ceiling height so the interior black pipe run was really long. You have double wall so you should be fine but for the sake of troubleshooting we all should know.
I’m voting for the stupid smoke filter screen in your cap being plugged. If you still have one you now know why so many of us refuse to have one. They are removable unless you have a local law that requires it. You can often increase the hole size to the max allowed by that stupid local law for longer cleaning intervals but if you must have one then you must clean it regularly.
The flue system should be nice and clean. Heck, the door glass should even stay clean when running the bk at 2 or higher.
One goofy thing I remember about your install was like 20 feet of ceiling height so the interior black pipe run was really long. You have double wall so you should be fine but for the sake of troubleshooting we all should know.
I’m voting for the stupid smoke filter screen in your cap being plugged. If you still have one you now know why so many of us refuse to have one. They are removable unless you have a local law that requires it. You can often increase the hole size to the max allowed by that stupid local law for longer cleaning intervals but if you must have one then you must clean it regularly.
Ok. The sweep just left. I let him work on it since I hired him to do it I think he first place 3 weeks ago or so
The screen was just about completely clogged!! I was expecting a small screen but the holes were about 1.5”-2” and diamond shaped.
I have no possible clue how it could of clogged that fast
Good deal. I’m all for giving someone a chance to make it right if they are willing to.Ok. The sweep just left. I let him work on it since I hired him to do it I think he first place 3 weeks ago or so
The screen was just about completely clogged!! I was expecting a small screen but the holes were about 1.5”-2” and diamond shaped.
I have no possible clue how it could of clogged that fast
Couple of thoughts to consider:
1) Fast plugging screen may actually be a result of a 'good' flue install. By that, consider the creosote is going to condense out on what ever cool surface it touches first. With an uninsulated flue, that is likely some portion of flue wall a few feet above the firebox, and by the time it gets to the cap, there is much less material to condense out.
With a well insulated flue, the first cool surface may actually be the chimney cap. So everything starts to condense out right there. But given dozens of square feet of interior pipe surface vs a square foot or less of cap surface, you might never notice the accumulation on the flue pipe, where you notice it very quickly on the cap.
2) IMHO, the notion of a 'spark arrestor' screen is a fallacy. By the time you get a screen small enough to truly arrest 'sparks' or even small embers, you'd be up there every day or two cleaning it. I could easily see a 1/4 inch ember setting fire to dry grass/brush on the ground and likely that size or not much larger could damage or set fire to a roof. These are bird/critter screens at best. Once you get to that point, you might look into a cap which uses a convoluted path to keep birds and other animals out vs a screen. Same ultimate effect, but much less work keeping a fine screen clean.
1) Fast plugging screen may actually be a result of a 'good' flue install. By that, consider the creosote is going to condense out on what ever cool surface it touches first. With an uninsulated flue, that is likely some portion of flue wall a few feet above the firebox, and by the time it gets to the cap, there is much less material to condense out.
With a well insulated flue, the first cool surface may actually be the chimney cap. So everything starts to condense out right there. But given dozens of square feet of interior pipe surface vs a square foot or less of cap surface, you might never notice the accumulation on the flue pipe, where you notice it very quickly on the cap.
2) IMHO, the notion of a 'spark arrestor' screen is a fallacy. By the time you get a screen small enough to truly arrest 'sparks' or even small embers, you'd be up there every day or two cleaning it. I could easily see a 1/4 inch ember setting fire to dry grass/brush on the ground and likely that size or not much larger could damage or set fire to a roof. These are bird/critter screens at best. Once you get to that point, you might look into a cap which uses a convoluted path to keep birds and other animals out vs a screen. Same ultimate effect, but much less work keeping a fine screen clean.
AlbergSteve
Minister of Fire
X2.
I was having a bit of smoke roll out a few weeks ago and the cap was plugged after two months of burning. It didn't have a screen but had a "bird band", a one inch band around the middle of the opening to keep birds out - I've now removed it.
![[Hearth.com] Another Chimney problem](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/237/237129-741aabfed5bb27296f6a9324fff02761.jpg?hash=wkvWamoi8g "[Hearth.com] Another Chimney problem")
![[Hearth.com] Another Chimney problem](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/237/237131-2405a238001f15463af957a8294705ed.jpg?hash=EJCYkvOLNj "[Hearth.com] Another Chimney problem")
That’s kind of what I was thinking. The screen has been recycled into the round bin. I’m thinking things should be good for awhile now.
Is there any possible way that he did clean it well and it just clogged that fast?
That is very crusty for just a couple months burning. Ours doesn't look like that even after a year or more. Could be the sweep missed it with bottom up cleaning. Keep an eye on it.
Ok. The sweep just left. I let him work on it since I hired him to do it I think he first place 3 weeks ago or so
The screen was just about completely clogged!! I was expecting a small screen but the holes were about 1.5”-2” and diamond shaped.
I have no possible clue how it could of clogged that fast
One would hope the sweep had skipped/payed little attention to the cap cleaning on his original visit? Otherwise you have a strange situation compared to most! keep a eye on it now that its freshly cleaned. See how it goes. Possibly getting a close up pic now will give you something to compare to in a few weeks?
They only like to serve it, not take it.You BK guys are so touchy.
With as many BK smoke & chimney issues being posted this year, and the poster owning a BK, technically, for this post it is a BK problem. Low and slow = clogged and fogged.
Another #BKMETOO movement in the makings.
.
If your wood is really that dry, your cat functional, your stat setting at 2+, and you’re not burning trash then it is practically impossible to clog a 1” screen in 3 weeks. Constant burning as you describe makes it even less likely.
No screen means no clogged screen.
They only like to serve it, not take it.
With as many BK smoke & chimney issues being posted this year, and the poster owning a BK, technically, for this post it is a BK problem. Low and slow = clogged and fogged.
Just one guy asked him to make this a chimney thread and not a bk thread.
Na, more people are being directed here becuase we are so awesome at helping people. Some people clog up BK chimneys, but not even close to as many running other stoves poorly. I see it everyday, and it’s rarely a BK...They only like to serve it, not take it.
With as many BK smoke & chimney issues being posted this year, and the poster owning a BK, technically, for this post it is a BK problem. Low and slow = clogged and fogged.
And rightly so. It’s not a BK issue at all. Rather a Lack of maintenance/poor cleaning job issue.
That was my thinking as well. The wood really is that dry. We keep it outside in a wood shed and then we bring in 1 wheel barrel at a time into a heated and insulated attached garage.
The wheel barrels we own are the biggest that you can buy as we own a large landscaping company so we bring a lot of wood in at a time. The wood sits in the wheel barrel and we use it over about a 3-4 day period. So most of the wood as sits in a heated garage for a couple days to dry out even more.
We do not run anything other then wood in the stove.
Right now I have the stove set at about 2.25 and it’s about 3/4 the way up the stove top BK temp gauge. This is probably pretty close to the setting we have been running at.
Also since we have been home most days except days we have been plowing customers accounts we have been putting in about 50% of a load and running it hotter then I think most people would and then letting the stove cool and house cool off for a few hours and then doing it over again:
Ok. The sweep just left. I let him work on it since I hired him to do it I think he first place 3 weeks ago or so
The screen was just about completely clogged!! I was expecting a small screen but the holes were about 1.5”-2” and diamond shaped.
I have no possible clue how it could of clogged that fast
How much crud came out of the chimney this time? A lot or was it just the screen that was plugged?
Can you see the cap with binoculars? It would be good to watch it for the next month or two. If it clogs up quickly then something may need to change. If it stays clean then one has to wonder if this was skipped the first time. Well I guess the sweep may need to change then.
FWIW, we went 6 yrs. with a 3/8" screen on our cap. It stayed clean year after year until a few years back when I had a run in with some wet maple. The screen is gone now, but it will be back if someone tries to build a nest in there.
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RandyBoBandy
Minister of Fire
Connecticut Yankee
Burning Hunk
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