Cap clog

[hareball]

I decided last night after seeing 60 °F in the forecast for today that I would not reload this morning and do a cleanout in the firebox.
When I went to reload before bed I noticed some smoke rolled out...Had a bad feeling about that but just hoped it was wind gusts and the low pressure with the storm coming.
Just loaded up and got the fire going and sure enough the smoke filled the chimney then the firebox and then the house. I knew I was not gonna like this slotted cap.

All battery and electrical operated smoke detectors did their job but neither Co2's went off?

 

[cmonSTART]

Bummer. Were you able to get up there and clean it?

 

[hareball]

I made a call to the guy that helped me with the install and he is gonna stop by tomorrow and take a look.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

All battery and electrical operated smoke detectors did their job but neither Co2's went off?

Co's, not Co2. Carbon MONoxide, not Carbon DIoxide. two different criters.

Most Co detectors need a certain ppm for a certain time, before they will alert... you didn't have enough Co, for a long enough period, to trip the monitor.

 

[isuphipsi1052]

Just an FYI - Most CO detectors are set to alert at 35ppm...

 

[hareball]

Thanks guys. I've never used one so was kinda lost on why they didn't chime in with the smoke detectors.

 

[hareball]

Back up and running again! As suspected the cap was severely clogged. From now on I will be up on the roof once a month to do a sweep and cap check. I've been running 24/7 since November and have burned around 3.5 cords of less than seasoned hardwoods.

 

[cmonSTART]

Ya, that will do it. Glad its up and running again.

 

[moosetrek]

We've had it happen twice. Slow buildup until a blizzard hits, and there's just enough stuff to stick over the screen mesh. Easy fix is no screen mesh... is yours different, you mentioned slots?

 

[hareball]

Yup, she's slotted but also has the wire cage inside and thats where the build-up occurred. I was very tempted to leave it out being my pipe from stove to cap is only around 14.5' so I kept it in. I'll just make my way up on the roof once a month and maintain it until I find a cap like the one I replaced that didn't ever clog with over 30 years of use. This is the first year I've burned 24/7 though. I'm at around 3.5 cords this season and have never burned more than 2 cords a year.

 

[Motor7]

You won't need the screen cage in it during winter, so I'd take it out & replace in the spring before the Swifts start looking for a condo.

 

[moosetrek]

Yeah - defininitely put it back in spring; I had to disassemble my stove pipe 3 days in a row for the birds that kept getting stuck. Maybe the same bird a few feathers short of a pillow?

 

[hareball]

My second hearth has been offline for years and the cap has been gone for a long time. I've had 2 squirrels a few years apart end up in the wood stove!. They are not exactly happy to see me when I opened up the little stove to let them out LOL