Whats going on here?

[KindredSpiritzz]

I woke up this morning to these paper thin wafers of creosote all over the yard and roof. Its not the first time this has happened altho never this much. I crawled up on the roof to take a peek around. I see the pipe needs to be cleaned again, which i will get to this weekend. It was last cleaned Dec 13th .
I dont understand how these thing wafers form, didnt see any hanging on the chimney cap unless they come from deeper down in the chimney maybe?
I doubt it was the result of a chimney fire since the pipe is still pretty dirty. My insulated SS chimney pipe is only 13ft high so my draft isnt the best.

Any thoughts on what is exactly going on here??

 

[Rob711]

I’m still new at this. Possible chimney fire? Someone more knowledgeable will be along shortly. Good luck

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

na, usually i think a chimney fire burns the pipe clean as a whistle. Least it did the last time i had one but that was on my wood furnace and flex liner.

 

[Rob711]

Glad to hear! I’m watching....

 

[bholler]

na, usually i think a chimney fire burns the pipe clean as a whistle. Least it did the last time i had one but that was on my wood furnace and flex liner.

It doesn't really look like there was a fire in that chimney but they absolutely do not always burn the pipe clean. That only happens if the fire is extremely intense

 

[bholler]

To me it looks like crap that was built up on the cap and got knocked off by wind. But it's hard to say. But that amount of buildup in that short time tells me something is not working right at all

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

But that amount of buildup in that short time tells me something is not working right at all

well the wood i burn is bone dry and seasoned for years so i know its not that. On the weekends i do tend to have smaller less hot fires when im here all day and my chimney is only 13 ft so i think thats an issue to some degree. I burn 24/7 so its on par with past experiences altho in the past i cleaned the chimney about once a month which looks to be the practice i'll have to start doing again. Kind of experimenting with how often i had to sweep it.

 

[bholler]

well the wood i burn is bone dry and seasoned for years so i know its not that. On the weekends i do tend to have smaller less hot fires when im here all day and my chimney is only 13 ft so i think thats an issue to some degree. I burn 24/7 so its on par with past experiences altho in the past i cleaned the chimney about once a month which looks to be the practice i'll have to start doing again. Kind of experimenting with how often i had to sweep it.

What stove are you using?

 

[bholler]

And by seasoned for years do you mean cut split stacked and top covered for years? Have you checked the moisture content? What temps are you running at?

 

[Squirrel]

I get the same flakes, though not that many, after a cold start in very cold weather (-20C). It takes a while for the cap to warm up enough to prevent condensation and it seems to turn black inside. Once everything is warmed up that thin layer peels off the inside and the cap shines inside again. Sometimes if it's real cold and windy the windward side of the cap will do the same, even with a hot fire going.

 

[begreen]

Did you start a fire with a bunch of cardboard or burn some junk mail recently?

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

And by seasoned for years do you mean cut split stacked and top covered for years? Have you checked the moisture content? What temps are you running at?

Drolet Austral stove. Woods been in a shed for a couple years, its dry, trust me. 400-450 magnetic temp gauge 18 inches up from the stove on the pipe. Havent burned any paper or cardboard in it . I cleaned the chimney tonight quick when i got home, maybe a coffee can of powdery creosote, not anything more than usual considering its been 2 months since i last swept it. I inspected the cap, didnt see anything on it that looked like what had laying in the snow. Like i said, i have seen that before but never that much which kind of concerned me.
Weird.

 

[ct_administrator]

I had something like this myself. I'll state that I'm no expert and this is just the info that made sense to me when I looked into it.

The stainless pipe and cap exposed to the freezing cold air contract when the stove isn't in use, then expand with the hot temp's running through. I saw this type flaking myself when I used the Rutland creosote remover powder a few times, combined with cold weather and wind. The creosote flakes showed up during the change in temps and weather.

Don't know if that helps. Best of luck with it.

 

[firefighterjake]

I get something similar to this . . . only much smaller in size . . . a few times each year. Generally I only see this after doing a reload or a fresh start fire (and yes, I often use newspaper) and it often seems to be on those mornings when a) it is wicked cold outside and b) I've got a dandy of a draft as the fire takes off right away and is roaring in no time.

 

[Winterpeger]

I also often wondered what the black flakes were myself until I purchased a soot eater and tried it out winter 2019. I took a picture of the chimney internally prior to sweeping and this is what I observed. I would assume there is a fine coating of ash, smoke residue and combustion by products that coat the double wall prior to entering the insulated portion of the chimney. You can see the coating coming away from the pipe above the temp probe. There is also a small piece adhering to the temp probe. I have found that when I have a robust fire going, opening the door will cause the flakes to rain down I’m assuming from the stronger than normal rush of air. Kind of like in days gone by taking a carbureted car out on the highway and opening it up to get the “carbon" out.