Is this chimney cap safe ?

[stovexxx]

Hello everyone,
I would like an opinion about my chimney hat,
that is, after having found about 10 ppm monoxide I am analyzing everything
my doubt,
I think I should add some concrete elements to give more space for the smoke to come out,
or shorten the steel flue pipe,
could this be the cause of a slight presence of monoxide?

 

[stoveliker]

I do think it's a bit restrictive, but draft reversal (leading to CO and other stuff coming out of the air intake) can happen regardless of the cap imo.

Especially at the end of a burn when the flue cools down.

Also,.I have noticed 10 pm or so CO in my basement whenever I take out ashes. I sift coals, move them to one side,.scoop ashes out into a bucket. When done I immediately take the bucket outside.

It takes a bit of time to sift and scoop. Draft is sufficient to suck any fly ash up the flue, so I guess the CO comes from the bucket while scooping.

 

[stovexxx]

I do think it's a bit restrictive, but draft reversal (leading to CO and other stuff coming out of the air intake) can happen regardless of the cap imo.

Especially at the end of a burn when the flue cools down.

Also,.I have noticed 10 pm or so CO in my basement whenever I take out ashes. I sift coals, move them to one side,.scoop ashes out into a bucket. When done I immediately take the bucket outside.

It takes a bit of time to sift and scoop. Draft is sufficient to suck any fly ash up the flue, so I guess the CO comes from the bucket while scooping.

thanks, in my case monoxide comes out during normal operation, i made sure that it is not something that heats up near the stove, i removed the concrete cover, above the chimney and my monoxide detector says 0 but i am thinking of another further problem, the chimney is lower than the top of the roof, it is the one on the left in the photo so, i wonder how much and how i should extend it

 

[stoveliker]

We have the 2-3-10 rule.

A chimney must project at least 3 feet above the roof on its shortest side and also be at least 2 feet above any roof structure that is within a 10 foot radius of the chimney.

I would for sure get it above the ridge line; wind can curl down over the ridge pushing exhaust back into the chimney.

 

[kennyp2339]

after having found about 10 ppm monoxide I am analyzing everything
my doubt,

Under 8ppm of co is actually normal for inside a home, I'd first be leery of the meter calibration before going nuts with pulling things apart

 

[stovexxx]

Under 8ppm of co is actually normal for inside a home, I'd first be leery of the meter calibration before going nuts with pulling things apart

yes, you are right,
but it is not a paranoid crisis,
it is real, when the stove works well,
I feel the clean air,
when instead I feel something strange,
actually the monoxide detector detects up to 15 ppm.
My wife does not feel anything,
but I do,
and also my son,
who is 18 years old.

 

[stovexxx]

And here we are,
this is the situation,
the metal rod is ten feet (3 meters)
and the flue should rise at least 2 feet
or more.
I wonder if adding a piece of pipe,
2-3 feet, without a cap, is a valid test,
or without a cap could I still have cold air descending in the flue?

 

[stoveliker]

Cold air can always descend in the flue regardless of the cap.
But if you see CO during normal operation (when the flue is warm) it's more likely that it is wind curling over the roof ridge I think. Adding height will help then. It's fine to test with a cheaper single wall stove pipe extension on top, but this should be replaced with proper chimney later on

 

[stovexxx]

Merry Christmas! Can this hat be good or too closed?

 

[stovexxx]

after adding 30-40 centimeters of pipe something happened, if you see my first photo, after 3-4 inches, in the flue pipe, started a light and thin layer of creosote, well now with temperatures just enough, at the first fire that creosote has disintegrated, this makes me think that indeed, I had cold air in the flue that went down even during operation hope this can help others

 

[kennyp2339]

I check our multi gas meter at the fire house to set the factory set parameters, the meter will alert to elevated co levels at 34 ppm, meaning that we need to ventilate and find the source of the issue at that number or above due to prolonged exposure effects.

 

[stovexxx]

@kennyp2339
In the past I have done various tests, sometimes I had over 30 ppm CO and I couldn't tell if something was wrong. Now I can tell if something is wrong even if there are only 10 ppm CO
I have become more sensitive and don't know if this is good.