PICS! Cleaned Chimney For First Time This Season ('07-'08) - Needed It Bad!

[woodjack]

Do you have to go on the roof to clean the chimney and cap? My pro sweep used a vacuum and never left my living room. I'd like to do it myself, but don't want to buy a special vacuum. It would be hard to get on my roof. It's a steep angle and metal roof.
I can hear my girlfriend now as I tumble off the roof, "Honey, did you hear something fall on the roof".

(It's the small chimney in the middle of the roof - Is my chimney high enough?)

 

[kolbyTheDog]

What type of chimney pipe are you using?

Selkirk Metalbestos 6" double wall class A.

 

[jtp10181]

woodjack - doesn't look like your chimney meets the 2ft / 10ft rule. It needs to be 2 ft taller than anything within 10ft.

And yes to clean the cap good you do need to go on the roof, also if your sweep had gone on the roof maybe he would have noticed the chimney is not tall enough.

 

[woodburn]

That's an unbelievable amount of creasote! Thanks for sharing pics.

 

[Redox]

Yeah, that was scary. I don't think I'd let it get that bad in the future. Even the old Fisher wasn't that bad...

 

[Hogwildz]

My cap looked like that last year, guarantee the wood your burning ain't dry or ready.
But, sometimes ya have to burn what you have. Just clean it more frequently.

 

[woodjack]

So the sweep charges me $175 and doesn't go on the roof - so I don't even have a good cleaning. . . other than my wallet?
Yeah, I just got the house and I don't think it meets the 2 foot/ten foot rule. Are there any exceptions, like for a metal roof or special caps?

 

[Hogwildz]

So the sweep charges me $175 and doesn't go on the roof - so I don't even have a good cleaning. . . other than my wallet?
Yeah, I just got the house and I don't think it meets the 2 foot/ten foot rule. Are there any exceptions, like for a metal roof or special caps?

The way your roof is near the ground, you can make a chicken ladder with a platform to easily reach the chimney and clean it & the cap. If you walk directly on the metal panels, you chance, denting or creasing them.
Measure for the 10-2 and if need be add another length to get ya to acceptable height. With the metal roof your prolly ok in theory, but why chance it for a few more feet savings?

 

[berlin]

I think the thing that you have to keep in mind, guys, is that 90% of that accumulation was at the top foot or less of the pipe, doesn't surprise me at all and seems quite normal, you will see much more liquid creosote accumulation on caps with the spark screen and in certain climates, expecially windy ones. strong winds in many parts of the country can cause cold air to actually blow into part of the cap cooling it considerably and allowing liquid creosote to form extensively on the spark screen. not a terribly large chimney fire danger as most of the pipe appears to be light soot, with perhaps a very thin layer of crusty creosote.

 

[burntime]

I have a 6 inch liner and a regular cap and I am in Wisconsin. The first 3 weeks I was burning it too cool and the cap looked like that. Since then (2yrs ago) it is mostly clear. We have had 60 mile (seriously) winds this winter and Mine is still clear. Could the spark arrester cap have too small of holes? Maybe cut ot open more? Reguardless that is a lot of gunk for a season in my opinion. Like I said before, I maybe have a coffee cup and I do mine mid and end season from Oct (very little) until April at the latest. We burn 24/7 from November 20th or so until April 1st here give or take.

 

[glassmanjpf]

Those pics are scary. I agree with burntime. I think your cap has way to much mesh around the cap. Is that home made? I usually wrap my cap with mesh to look like that in the Spring after I'm done burning to keep the birds out. While I'm burning my cap has two 2 inch strips around for exhaust to exit. I never see any sparks coming out , height is 2 stories high.

Keep and eye on those pipes and I would see if you can remove that mesh while your burning.

 

[kolbyTheDog]

I do live across from a corn field so I get some pretty strong winds whipping against my house. So as one poster noted, it is possible the winds cool the flue gas up at the cap more than normal.

I got the cap and chimney pipe second hand and the wire mesh was already on the cap so I just left it as is. It had been used with a freestanding fireplace that had been converted to a gas log fireplace. Gas logs probably put off a lot less or zero creosote? Maybe I should take the wire mesh off during burning season when all the birds are away.

Stove is running great now. No more smoke pouring back in the room when I try to start a fire or open the door to reload.

 

[Hogwildz]

I do live across from a corn field so I get some pretty strong winds whipping against my house. So as one poster noted, it is possible the winds cool the flue gas up at the cap more than normal.

I got the cap and chimney pipe second hand and the wire mesh was already on the cap so I just left it as is. It had been used with a freestanding fireplace that had been converted to a gas log fireplace. Gas logs probably put off a lot less or zero creosote? Maybe I should take the wire mesh off during burning season when all the birds are away.

Stove is running great now. No more smoke pouring back in the room when I try to start a fire or open the door to reload.

Everyone has their opinion on chimney caps & the wire mesh on some. That wire mesh is to act as a guard against animals/birds etc., but more importantly, its also a spark arrestor. If you have flammable fields, etc near you, I'd think twice bout taking it off. Just check & clean it more often, & burn drier wood.

 

[gpcollen1]

I am glad a few chimed in to rebut those who think this is the scariest and most dangerous thing ever. Is it the proper way to maintain the system - no. Does he need to clean the cap and chimney more often - yes.

I will tell you that even when burning good wood I get this issues from time to time. It just needs to be maintained - and you can tell when the draft begins to become worse.

Cheers to those who only need to sweep once a year and get a thimble full of creosote...

 

[burntime]

Even so I wonder if I am wasting wood sometimes burning with too much air. Who knows, ultimately its safety first with my family

 

[Henz]

wow, your real lucky..I cleaned my chimney fo the first time a month ago. I burned all last year and never cleaned and then burnied 1/4 of this year before I cleaned..I had no where near that much buildup

 

[Tfin]

I am glad a few chimed in to rebut those who think this is the scariest and most dangerous thing ever. Is it the proper way to maintain the system - no. Does he need to clean the cap and chimney more often - yes.

I will tell you that even when burning good wood I get this issues from time to time. It just needs to be maintained - and you can tell when the draft begins to become worse.

Cheers to those who only need to sweep once a year and get a thimble full of creosote...

Well said. I've been burning since the end of last Nov.....sometime around mid Feb, I had the issue with smoke and smell coming into the room anytime I opened the door (with the flue and draft open of course). I went up on the roof and my cap looked exactly the same....mesh was really choked with creosote. Popped it off, and cleaned the mesh....the pipe has maybe an 1/8 to 1/4 of crap on the chimney wall. Put it back on and stove ran flawlessly again.

Burnt again last night (40's and heavy rain here in Maine) and noticed the ol' smoke and smell again.....I'm sure both the cap and chimney need to be cleaned again.

As the previous poster stated.....I don't feel the original poster's situation was as dire as some seem to think, being on the the very top section of the chimney that was clogged. Just more timely maintenance is needed is all.

 

[thechimneysweep]

My bet is the clogged chimney cap is what caused the heavy creosote buildup in the top section of the chimney below. The resulting sluggish draft would increase the residence time of the exhaust in the flue, allowing it to cool and cause heavy condensation in that low-temperature upper area.

The Master Sweep I apprenticed with was of the opinion that the need for spark mesh went away with the advent of baffled airtights. His theory was, any burning particulates that are lightweight enough to be carried past the baffle system and all the way to the top of the flue by the chimney updraft won't have enough mass to set fire to anything. His experience had resulted in a firm belief, which I share, that a spark mesh plugged with creosote presented the greater safety hazard.

Today, spark mesh is only required by code in mobile home installations. Many UL listed manufactured chimney caps don't incorporate any mesh at all.

I do think bird mesh is a good idea, but the mesh on the pictured cap is way smaller than it needs be to perform that function. I'd take some snips and turn four of the existing squares into one square.

 

[Highbeam]

The mesh in my Simpson cap no longer gets clogged with anything. I removed and trashed the screen early this year the first time that it plugged up with junk and the chimney beneath it was very clean. My draft was immediately improved and fire burned easier.

 

[mayhem]

I bet my chimney looks like that right now....maybe not that heavy I hope. First year burning with the new stove in the new house and I spent all year scrounging...lots of wet and/or green wood that sputtered away, especially towards the end of the year. Is there anyhting that can be done safely to reduce whats in there short of climbing up there with a brush? Any of those Creosote eliminators actualyl work effectively? I heard someone mention using TSP to loosten the creosote? Is that straight tri-sodium-phosphate or something else?

Right now I'm also burning slowly (not by choice), and have some smoke intrusion when I load (but not enought oset off the alarms), so I'm due for a cleaning...but we're in the middle of a really cold late April snap now...expecting possible light snow tonight, so I'm not done burning.