Smoke seeping between pipe joints

[Sprinter]

Don't matter how long it has been dead standing or laying around dead even.

I just cut down a big alder snag that was dead for several years. It is still at around 35% moisture content and getting punky with being dead and moist so long. Bark is waterproof and the wood just can't dry until split open. With maybe a few exceptions like pine in very dry climates.

The screen serves a good purpose and will stay clear with good burning technique and dry wood, but you'll probably have to do some babysitting for a while.

 

[Alex m]

Again great info! Anybody have any experience with the moisture meter from harbor freight? I know there stuff is real hit or miss

 

[ddahlgren]

Hello,
I have a hearthstone II stove, with regular stove pipe inside the house and insulated security ss insulated pipe on the exterior topped with a cap and bird screen.

Today I noticed after just feeding the stove that a couple of the joints were seeping smoke. It was a small percentage of the smoke coming out the top of the stack. The stove had been burning for over a day but the temperature just dropped ten degrees when I saw it seeping out.

This type of pipe is just twist lock with no fasteners.

Any ideas why it started it and if I should be concerned?

There should be no visible smoke after maybe 10 or 20 minutes into the burn. Either your wood is not dry or you are running the stove so cold that the stack does not have enough heat to draft enough. Get a moisture meter and a probe type stack thermometer. The chimney needs to be cleaned if the screen is partially plugged my bet is the inside does not look any better than the screen does.

I have had some luck with splitting down larger splits to the size of a 4X4 and having them burn fairly good a few days later after standing them near the stove. Personally my thought in how long before wood is seasoned is a surface area to volume of wood problem. Big splits just take a long time because there is a lot of volume to a small surface area.

 

[Sprinter]

Anybody have any experience with the moisture meter from harbor freight?

Several members here have them and like them. They seem to be fine. You can look on Amazon and ebay also. No need to spend more than $20 or so on one. Get a 2-pin model.

 

[Alex m]

Made a hillbilly cantilever ladder.... Wife made sure my insurance was paid up before I started climbing. I lagged two 6x6 into the deck to keep the ladder from kicking out and also ratchet strapped the bottom of the ladder to the side of the deck (by the house). She was a little wobbly once I got to the top.

The screen was almost plugged. I removed the screen and will make sure my wood is seasoned better for next winter. Also going to invest in a moisture meter. I'm also going to try to get a higher stack temp as well.

 

[PapaDave]

Good on ya' Alex. Did you also run a brush down the flue while you were up there?
Got another fire going yet? How's it running?

 

[Alex m]

No brush.... If you would have saw the ladder set up you wouldn't have spent any more time up the than necessary. Lol. I clean it by taking off the bottom pipe on the stove. I just cleaned it about two weeks ago. Will do it again soon. Been thinking about buying one of those little inspection cameras. Would be nice to be able to look up the flue and above the damper on the ol hearthstone

 

[Alex m]

And yes I started a fire as soon as I got it back together. Running perfect with no leaks at any joints.

 

[Hogwildz]

Try not to put any unnecessary holes in the roof.
Do a google search on "chicken ladders".
Used them all the time on steep pitch roofs when I was roofing. No holes in roof and when hooked of the peak, no issues with the ladder moving anywhere.

 

[Alex m]

That's not the problem hogwildz. I can get that sane effect by laying a ladder with the pitch of the roof. Due to the pitch I have to have 3 sticks of class a (12 ft) so that cap is out of reach while standing on the roof. I leaned the ladder on the facia but had more ladder above the facia (unsupported) than below the facia.

 

[rwhite]

And that's why the sooteater is the miracle tool that it is!

 

[Hogwildz]

That's not the problem hogwildz. I can get that sane effect by laying a ladder with the pitch of the roof. Due to the pitch I have to have 3 sticks of class a (12 ft) so that cap is out of reach while standing on the roof. I leaned the ladder on the facia but had more ladder above the facia (unsupported) than below the facia.

Ugg, I don't even want to picture that in my mind.
Can't ya undo the lower section and drop the pipe for cleaning, then reinstall as a unit also?
I agree, check out Sooteater, that will keep you off the ladder, with the exception of maybe the cap.

 

[Alex m]

I am buying the sooteater. Will allow me to just take the bottom cap off my pipe where it t's into my stove rather than the whole bottom pipe and t.
I have cleaned several times from the bottom without a problem. Cleaning isn't the problem but the sooteater looks like it is worth the $

Yes the ladder was a hillbilly rig.... Only reason to be up there is to work on cap which I shouldn't need to do....

 

[Hogwildz]

You will still want to inspect and most likely clean the cap each year.
That is the coolest place and where the most creo forms. Although, once you get dry wood, it should not completely clog the screen.

 

[Alex m]

Copy that

 

[DanCorcoran]

Ok. Great advice. This wood had been down for over a year but was recently split.

Do a search on the "Wood" forum on this site for "seasoned wood". Spend some time reading the threads and you'll be amazed how many folks find that their "seasoned" wood isn't ready for burning. Then search the "Gear" forum for moisture meters and read how this inexpensive little tool can determine once and for all whether your wood is ready for burning. Just because the tree has been standing dead for 10 years, or bucked into woodstove lengths, the wood doesn't begin to dry enough for a modern EPA-approved stove until it has been split and stacked (and top covered in some locales). Then it takes anywhere from a year to 3 years to dry, depending on the species (oak takes the longest).