Check out these chimney cap pics

[Deering]

Finally got up on the roof a few weeks ago to do my fall chimney inspection/cleaning. I have two flues running side-by-side up the same chase - a wood stove (Quadrafire) and a pellet boiler (Windhager). Both flues have rain caps.

I typically have to scrape off the rain cap from the wood stove. I burn seasoned wood and the Quadrafire is a clean burning stove that doesn't create many deposits in my chimney, but the cap gets cold from the wind and the flue gas tars condense on it. I was curious to see how the Windhager flue/cap was doing - I hadn't inspected it since I installed it last fall.

Can you tell which cap belongs to the wood stove?

 

[CaptainK]

I'm just going to put out a wild guess.... the bottom one?

That is quite the difference...

 

[velvetfoot]

Wow. My Quadrafire 2700i burned pretty clean..I think.

 

[BoiledOver]

Wow. Very dramatic difference. The cap on my EKO looked much like the upper photo at inspecting this spring.

 

[Deering]

Full disclosure: Here in SE Alaska we're pretty much stuck with burning softwoods (hemlock) so our tar loads are probably higher than you East Coast and Midwest guys would see. But my pellets are softwood too.

 

[BoilerMan]

I think that softwoods can be burned just as cleanly as hardwoods. Complete combustion is key in any fuel burned.

My gasser cap looks like the top one as well, light greyish soot, single sheetmetal SS homemade cover 24"x24"

Interestingly enough I have a Quadrafire 4300ACT as well with another flue just as you have and see very little buildup, haven't cleaned that chimney since I installed it 4 years ago, same 24x24 cap. Not much wood burned in the stove though...... just for fun in the living room, really like the stove, got it second hand.

TS

 

[Deering]

Agreed about softwood burning. The problem occurs when you have to throttle down the stove to moderate room temperatures. Then all of those volatiles in the softwoods don't get as completely combusted as you'd like. That's where pellet stoves/boilers shine. Or a wood boiler with a lotta storage.

The flue is generally clean, except for the exposed top 5 feet that get cold. But it's the cold cap that really builds up the condensate.