chimney cap screen getting plugged. w/pics

[Polarbear]

this pic of splits is typical of what we've been burning. Although occasionally a split not so checked gets in the stove of course. we have burned nothing but wood. no paper junk or cardboard. restarts are generally off hot coals.
I'm thinking the unseasoned wood and high and low stove temps are what's caused the plugged screen. My thought is to keep a better burn going and I'll have better stovepipe temps and maybe less condensation at the screen.

 

[Hogwildz]

Checked, while an indicator of wood drying, does not always mean the wood is as dry as it makes one think. From the end cuts from what I see, they look like they were fairly recently cut.
Burn hot, and load with a slightly hotter coal bed and temp than usual, this may help. The moisture from the wood is going to go up and out either way. Taking the above steps may help reduce some.

 

[oldspark]

And this is an honest question with no sarcasm or derision intended, but can you honestly say you have never ever had to clean your cap screen since burning "good wood"? Because if your answer is no, then I'll admit that I have been doing something horribly wrong for many years.

Add another thing to add to my "only person on the planet to have achieved this" I guess (as so many have pointed out to me) because I have never had to clean my chimney cap, with the old stove or the new one, but its just a trial run of 35 years or so.

 

[Hogwildz]

Yeah, I don't' want to banter the screen thing too much, but remember 99% of masonry fireplaces have no screen and PolarBear has a steel roof so there is zero chance he is going to set his roof on fire.
And this is an honest question with no sarcasm or derision intended, but can you honestly say you have never ever had to clean your cap screen since burning "good wood"? Because if your answer is no, then I'll admit that I have been doing something horribly wrong for many years.

One more thing, and this is just my opinion. I think screens give many the warm and fuzzys on safety, but they cause more dangerous problems with those who burn marginal wood. They are a designed choke point by not allowing those un-burnt particles to escape the flue which & once severely restricted accelerate the accumulation of flue creosote. All of us should be burning good wood, but it just does not always happen.

Yes, I can honestly say that other than the first year I burned this set up, I have never had a problem with the cap clogging. Now the first year, I did have to clean it mid season, as it was clogged badly. I was also burning wood that was cut the same year, and split a damn near just before going into the stove. It was dead standing oak, all dry outside and checked, but no where near dry enough. I knew it, and could easily tell by the weight of the splits as I picked them up. But alas, it was the only wood I had, so I burned it. At the end of the season, it was about 1/2 clogged again. Also due to the same wood.
Since, I have checked, but never had to clean the cap mid season that I remember. Somewhere on here are photos of what the cap looks like after a season of burning, prior to pre-season cleaning for the next season.
So short answer, since I have been burning truly dry wood, no I have not had cap screen clogging issues, and usually the entire system when cleaned, is about a mason jar worth of coffee grind looking soot. Sometimes less than that depending on what wood I burned that season.
There will be a minor thin coat of creo on the screen at times when cleaning for the season, usually about the same as is on the underside of the cap etc. Not clogging.

The one issue the cap screen has recently, is it is rotted very thin, and will be replaced after this season.
I found some 3/4" opening galv screening, and will be making a new one to fit.

Just a side note, the roof is not always the issue of embers & flyash, but more the surrounding area, woods, ground covered in leaves etc. Unless the roof is made of cedar shakes or similar, I don't see many roofs having an issue of embers, fly ash etc. If the roof is cedar, then yes, embers should be a concern kept in mind. Nothing goes up like some real old, dry cedar.

 

[Motor7]

So you guys don't clean the cap at all during a routine sweep? I was not saying clean it because it was clogged, but there is always some build up on my cap, even the Windbeater. I get about 2 quarts of fine black powder when I sweep twice a season, but I admit I burn standing dead wood CSS the same year and I do expect what I find. When I did burn 2 year seasoned, & have a screen(different stove/setup) I always had some build up on the screen that I clean routinely just like I do the flue.

It's going to take a year or two, but I now have the time and equipment to get way ahead on wood and got a head start this season. A 8x50' open wood shed is also going up next to the basement, so I am curious to see how cleaning routines change as wood gets drier.

 

[Treacherous]

So you guys don't clean the cap at all during a routine sweep?

My Sooteater does the job for me on any needed cap cleaning.

 

[oldspark]

So you guys don't clean the cap at all during a routine sweep

Never had to do any thing with it, in 30 years I just removed it when I cleaned the chimney and put it back on when done.
I burnt dry wood and watched flue temps, the chimney only had about 6 feet sticking out of the house, that was a block chimney.

 

[Fred Wright]

Yup, the OP's photo is identical to our situation the first year. Had no wood to start and bought a delivered load of supposedly cured splits. Half-cured was more like it.

We'd been having the usual issues you'd expect with partially dried wood... poking splits to keep 'em burning, starting multiple fires per day because the darn stuff wouldn't burn very long.

The SheWolf's CO detector went off one evening... we found a slight smoke leak at the wall thimble.

Came to find the cap screen was completely clogged. Got the extension ladder out, cleared it with a wire brush and pressed on. Three weeks later the screen was gobbed up again. Hardly no creosote buildup in the DuraPlus flue, just the cap screen kept clogging.

That was three years ago, enough time to get our own wood CS&S and dried. I had to clear the screen a couple times last year. We're now on 2-year-old wood. Haven't had to clear the screen at all this year. Good cured wood made a world of difference.

 

[Hogwildz]

There will be minimal to light build up on my screen, about as much as is on the underside of the cap. And yes this gets cleaned during the next year's pre-season cleaning.
Being the tallest and coolest part of the stack, I expect to have some minor build up on these parts, and any stack that protrudes outside the old masonry portion of the chimney.
Two quarts 2x a season quite a bit if creo, but not the worst I ever heard of. Sounds like your aware of your wood dryness or slightly lack of, and you doing what you gotta do to heat your place, so no faulting that.
And your keeping an eye on things, and cleaning as needed, which is what everyone should do.
Even with the driest wood, I believe your going to have a slight build up come cleaning time, which is normal.
Once you get your wood moisture content down, you may find you need to clean once a season prior to the next burning season, and the amount your finding after cleaning may drastically reduce.
We all been there, and most learn the lesson of needing drier wood than we first thought was dry enough, and learned was not.

 

[tcassavaugh]

Pics first. Here is the cap. Pic taken with cell phone through binoculars.
View attachment 121611 View attachment 121612

I think that taking a photo, with your cell phone, using your binocs was a quite resourceful idea. pretty good pics too. I can't add any more to what has already been discussed. good, dry wood is normally the answer to 99% of burning issues. when that is fixed, the problem seems to disappear.

 

[Motor7]

Spark that surprises me that you have never cleaned your screen, your wood management must be top shelf. Hog, yep that makes more sense and yep you describe my tactics spot on. I did get 1/3 of my barn built 3 years ago, but since I was building my log house alone, I didn't have time to stock it with firewood. The house is done and I got quite a bit of firewood in the dry this year, but hay takes up most of the barn so the top of the "que" list is finish the 80x6o' barn this summer, then the wood shed up at the house which looks like this right now:

It's a work in progress, and I really want to burn 2y year css because I know it will make a big difference in several areas. PB, sorry for the side track...Charlie Mike

 

[Hogwildz]

More pics of the house please!

 

[Motor7]

Hog, below is a teaser pic, but if you have oh say a lot of spare time(case of beer or several pot's of strong coffee...or both...beer first, then coffee), this is the entire build thread with pictures...110 pages:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/156451-log-house-project-begins.html

I always tell folks there were three of us building it,- me, myself and I....lot's of reality show type of in-house fighting

 

[oldspark]

Spark that surprises me that you have never cleaned your screen, your wood management must be top shelf

Besides burning dry wood I have always monitored my flue temps and the interior chimney helps also.
Love your house!

 

[jatoxico]

Hog, below is a teaser pic, but if you have oh say a lot of spare time(case of beer or several pot's of strong coffee...or both...beer first, then coffee), this is the entire build thread with pictures...110 pages:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/156451-log-house-project-begins.html


I always tell folks there were three of us building it,- me, myself and I....lot's of reality show type of in-house fighting

Cool place Motor.

 

[Soundchasm]

well I'm hearing you guys say this is a rookie mistake and my wood is to wet. ugh! Funny thing is the MM is telling me otherwise and the burn no hissing foaming etc. I've burned alot of wood in my life and understand CSS is important. This is supposed to be the winter to get ahead on the wood. access to dead ash here in s/e mi is easy. I should be able to get it started for next year etc.

I guess I'll remove the screen for the winter and keep the stove hot. Maybe the way I let the stove cycle hot and warm is part of the problem. Off to church. Merry christmas! PB

I'm not sure if I'd believe this story if anyone told me, but years ago I had natural gas heat in my first home - no FP. Came home NYE night and it was really cold outside, and inside. Furnace hummed but wouldn't start. Started taking things off it and found a starling wedged headfirst in the squirrel cage. Not dead. Took a while to get him out, but I did. Kept him in the garage overnight to recover, and he thanked me by crapping on practically everything in there.

Procrastinated on getting a guard because that roof was steep.

Next year, NYE again, and the furnace is humming but not running. You've got to be kidding me. Same thing, another starling!! Since I was still young, I did risk my life that spring and I got a cap on that thing.

 

[Hogwildz]

Hog, below is a teaser pic, but if you have oh say a lot of spare time(case of beer or several pot's of strong coffee...or both...beer first, then coffee), this is the entire build thread with pictures...110 pages:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/156451-log-house-project-begins.html

I always tell folks there were three of us building it,- me, myself and I....lot's of reality show type of in-house fighting

I got to about page 95. Done for the night. Excellent read. And nice build.

 

[Motor7]

I'm not sure if I'd believe this story if anyone told me, but years ago I had natural gas heat in my first home - no FP. Came home NYE night and it was really cold outside, and inside. Furnace hummed but wouldn't start. Started taking things off it and found a starling wedged headfirst in the squirrel cage. Not dead. Took a while to get him out, but I did. Kept him in the garage overnight to recover, and he thanked me by crapping on practically everything in there.

Procrastinated on getting a guard because that roof was steep.

Next year, NYE again, and the furnace is humming but not running. You've got to be kidding me. Same thing, another starling!! Since I was still young, I did risk my life that spring and I got a cap on that thing.

I never heard of birds down the chute in the wintertime....I have had them in the shop stove only in the sping/summer. That sure is odd, and twice no less has to be lotto type territory.


Thanks for the build comments, I still look around me at times and can't believe I got it all done and retained all my body parts in reasonable & still useable shape.

 

[Polarbear]

Welll we pulled the cap and cleaned it. I cut the screen to make bigger holes in a easy pattern. The screen and cap were not quite as bad as when I took the pics. We ran a brush up and down the pipe a couple times and pipe was clean. There was barely more than a cup of debris if that. Chimney service done for now.

We also processed 5 face cords of the same ash I've been burning. In fresh splits we didn't find a moisture reading above 18 percent or below 12 percent. On my way to 10fc CSS. I'm. HaHappy wood burner

 

[bag of hammers]

Motor7 - did pic of your place show up here before? The railing is very cool. Awesome place.

PB - glad you got the cleaning and inspection done. Peace of mind....

 

[Motor7]

Yes, I think I posted it a while back down in the cellar where the neanderthal smoke dragon slayers meet on a full moon...our sentry will challenge you, the password is "shrubbery" , wear dark clothing, speak to no one on your journey: Classic Wood Stove Forums (prior to approx. 1993)

 

[dstover]

I am having a similar problem, and it is NOT because of wet wood. I replaced my chimney cap last year and bought the spark-arrestor mesh strip specially designed for it by the same manufacturer. Now it clogs up so badly that I have to remove the cap and clean it every couple of weeks. Never had this problem with my last cap, which was basically identical except that it had a homemade screen instead of the "custom" accessory that seems to be a soot magnet. I'll probably have to replace it with a homemade one that has a wider weave. I'm getting REALLY tired of smoke in the house from a clogged cap! Mesh accessory looks like this:

 

[dstover]

Oh, and I forgot to mention why I want a screen for my chimney cap even though I have a steel roof. It's not just because I live in a wildfire-prone area. It's also to keep out birds. I found a finch in my stove once, looking out the window at me. My cat had been staring at the stove for a couple of days, so I finally had a look too. The bird made a full recovery but was REALLY thirsty after he got out of jail. I don't ever want to find a dead bird or bat in my stove at the start of the season.

 

[bag of hammers]

I don't ever want to find a dead bird or bat in my stove at the start of the season.

Or a squirrel. Poor buggers....