Water dripping out of cleanout door

[jeremiah77]

We fired up our old stove for the first time about 3 or 4 weeks ago, connected to a new block chimney, and we have water dripping out of the cleanout. It looks like sticky creosote but it isn't all that sticky - just black. See attached picture - it looks like a lot in the picture, but it isn't that much.

The chimeny is about 30' high, tops out about 4' above the ridge, is lined with 8x13" flue tile and is insulated with vermiculite. We try to run our stove at a steady, fairly hot temperature, but we don't get great burn times and our house is well insulated, so we only need to fire it up a couple times a day. Thus, it does cool down periodically. The stove has a 6" flue, so the flue tile is definitely on the big side for our stove... We are also on the top of a hill, so we are wondering if perhaps the chimney is too cold at the top and the steam is condensing before escaping the cap? But we are not experts by any manner of means.

Any thoughts of what is causing this and how to deal with it? I ask because we are about to put down hardwood, and this is clearly not a situation that can continue.

 

[oldspark]

Are you keeping track of your flue temps while you are burning and what is the wood like that you have?

 

[raybonz]

We fired up our old stove for the first time about 3 or 4 weeks ago, connected to a new block chimney, and we have water dripping out of the cleanout. It looks like sticky creosote but it isn't all that sticky - just black. See attached picture - it looks like a lot in the picture, but it isn't that much.

The chimeny is about 30' high, crests about 4' above the ridge, is lined with 8x13" flue tile and is insulated with vermiculite. We try to run our stove at a steady, fairly hot temperature, but we don't get great burn times and our house is well insulated, so we only need to fire it up a couple times a day. Thus, it does cool down periodically. The stove has a 6" flue, so the flue tile is definitely on the big side for our stove... We are also on the top of a hill, so we are wondering if perhaps the chimney is too cold at the top and the steam is condensing before escaping the cap? But we are not experts by any manner of means.

Any thoughts of what is causing this and how to deal with it? I ask because we are about to put down hardwood, and this is clearly not a situation that can continue.

Welcome to the forum.. Looks like you may be burning wood that's a bit on the wet side and your chimney is too big for the stove giving you a lazy draft.. The steam rises up the chimney and is condensing in the flue more than likely..

Ray

 

[jeremiah77]

Yes, we keep track of the flue temps and try to keep them between 450 and 550 or so, though sometime we are closer to 650.

We are burning maple and oak, all seasoned about 8 months is full sun and wind, which we know is not enough time, but it is what we have to burn this year.

 

[jeremiah77]

We fired up our old stove for the first time about 3 or 4 weeks ago, connected to a new block chimney, and we have water dripping out of the cleanout. It looks like sticky creosote but it isn't all that sticky - just black. See attached picture - it looks like a lot in the picture, but it isn't that much.

The chimeny is about 30' high, crests about 4' above the ridge, is lined with 8x13" flue tile and is insulated with vermiculite. We try to run our stove at a steady, fairly hot temperature, but we don't get great burn times and our house is well insulated, so we only need to fire it up a couple times a day. Thus, it does cool down periodically. The stove has a 6" flue, so the flue tile is definitely on the big side for our stove... We are also on the top of a hill, so we are wondering if perhaps the chimney is too cold at the top and the steam is condensing before escaping the cap? But we are not experts by any manner of means.

Any thoughts of what is causing this and how to deal with it? I ask because we are about to put down hardwood, and this is clearly not a situation that can continue.

Welcome to the forum.. Looks like you may be burning wood that's a bit on the wet side and your chimney is too big for the stove giving you a lazy draft.. The steam rises up the chimney and is condensing in the flue more than likely..

Ray

That is kind of what we were thinking. I suppose we just live with it, making sure to collect the water before it drips down the outside of the chimney, and we will burn better wood next year. Not much we can do about the size of the chimney now - it was built to take a stove with an 8" pipe originally, but we changed our minds on our stove.

 

[LLigetfa]

You could always put in an insulated SS liner to reduce the size. You don't mention what stove you have or if it uses dedicated outside air. Using dry dedicated outside air instead of humid indoor air can reduce the amount of condensate in the flue as well.

Lastly, you could simply run the stove hotter and send more heat up the flue.

 

[raybonz]

We fired up our old stove for the first time about 3 or 4 weeks ago, connected to a new block chimney, and we have water dripping out of the cleanout. It looks like sticky creosote but it isn't all that sticky - just black. See attached picture - it looks like a lot in the picture, but it isn't that much.

The chimeny is about 30' high, crests about 4' above the ridge, is lined with 8x13" flue tile and is insulated with vermiculite. We try to run our stove at a steady, fairly hot temperature, but we don't get great burn times and our house is well insulated, so we only need to fire it up a couple times a day. Thus, it does cool down periodically. The stove has a 6" flue, so the flue tile is definitely on the big side for our stove... We are also on the top of a hill, so we are wondering if perhaps the chimney is too cold at the top and the steam is condensing before escaping the cap? But we are not experts by any manner of means.

Any thoughts of what is causing this and how to deal with it? I ask because we are about to put down hardwood, and this is clearly not a situation that can continue.

Welcome to the forum.. Looks like you may be burning wood that's a bit on the wet side and your chimney is too big for the stove giving you a lazy draft.. The steam rises up the chimney and is condensing in the flue more than likely..

Ray

That is kind of what we were thinking. I suppose we just live with it, making sure to collect the water before it drips down the outside of the chimney, and we will burn better wood next year. Not much we can do about the size of the chimney now - it was built to take a stove with an 8" pipe originally, but we changed our minds on our stove.

It would be a good idea to clean your chimney often if you will burning wet wood of you may end up with a chimney fire.. I suggest you consider installing a 6" S/S flexible liner after a good cleaning maybe after the burning season.. This will drastically improve your draft...

Ray

 

[oldspark]

You could always put in an insulated SS liner to reduce the size. You don't mention what stove you have or if it uses dedicated outside air. Using dry dedicated outside air instead of humid indoor air can reduce the amount of condensate in the flue as well.

Lastly, you could simply run the stove hotter and send more heat up the flue.

Sounds like he is cooking it pretty good already.

 

[mywaynow]

I must inject my "green" observation here. How about the existence of a cap? I did not see mention of it. My oil furnace was dripping black water into the basement through the cleanout earlier this year. Rain was the cause. It took more than just a cap to rectify it, as I found detioration of the top tile liner. Since the burns are intermittent, it is very likely even mild rain is flushing out the chimney.

 

[SteveKG]

A chimney liner will do the trick, though it will not be inexpensive. But it will do it. Unless there is rain/snowmelt coming down the chimney. The gas expanding into the larger space of the chimney will cause this to continue to be a problem. A liner would be a permanent and immediate solution, otherwise.

 

[jeremiah77]

Thanks all, we were thinking a liner was the answer, but boy we would rather not spend the money! We'll probably do that in the spring after a really good clean, as suggested, and then hopefully next year with drier wood and a smaller liner we won't have the same problem.

Yes, we do have a cap, so it isn't rain or snow...

 

[raybonz]

Thanks all, we were thinking a liner was the answer, but boy we would rather not spend the money! We'll probably do that in the spring after a really good clean, as suggested, and then hopefully next year with drier wood and a smaller liner we won't have the same problem.

Yes, we do have a cap, so it isn't rain or snow...

If that is an inside chimney and your clay liner is in good shape you'll save alot if you choose to go uninsulated.. The liner isn't that expensive if you can do it yourself.. You only need to line to a Tee where you connect your stove.. I would have a certified sweep clean and inspect your chimney 1st though.. I had mine installed mostly because my liner was cracked from a chimney fire that cracked my liner (I didn't know I had a fire until a sweep and the ins. co. confirmed it).. I had my clay liner busted out and an insulated Ventinox welded S/S liner installed and my draft is better than it ever was and I was venting into an 8x8" clay liner (7" inside measurement).. Loads of liner info here if you search you'll find it and many have installed them themselves..

Ray

 

[laynes69]

Your picture brings out painful memories of last year. We had a 32' chimney that had a 7x11 liner that produced a gallon of water or more every other day. The house stunk and I would use a wet dry vac to try and keep up on it. We lined the chimney this summer and eliminated the mess. Best thing we have done.

 

[jeremiah77]

UPDATE

In case anyone is interested, we've also concluded that part of the problem is that the cleanout door is not well sealed, and is therefore sending quite a lot of colder, humid air from our house up the chimney, cooling it down and adding to the condensation process... We are fixing this small part of the problem.

A liner is really our only solution at this point, but unfortunately finances dictate that we wait until next year. The chimney brush is coming out in a couple of weeks, though!

FYI, the chimney is brand new (only a month old), so we know there have been no fires.