Vent Cap or no?

[tm84p]

Hey I am running a CB5036 and when I set it up i noticed there was no vent cap for the chimney. I asked the guy we bought it from but he said 90% of the customers that buy from him leave it open. Seems kind of odd to me and I'd imagine you'd be losing a lot heat with rain water coming down that chimney flue and into your fire box. If anyhow has any experience with this or if you should or should not put a cap on the chimney. Tks.

 

[jeeptj19992001]

no vent cap, no problem 4 years

 

[savageactor7]

We had our inside, center of the house, civil war era chimney totally removed and rebuilt a number of years ago. The old timer mason was adamantly against any kind of chimney cap. Claimed they created more problems than they solved...I brought it up like 3 times, it became a touchy subject. In the end my wife asked me what did I know about chimneys compared to a guy that's built them for 50 years.

As for "to cap or not to cap"... I don't have a dog in that fight but we've been burning for many years without a cap and have no complaints...and CNY is where the clouds come to die.

 

[ray benson]

Some chimney info. http://www.nyguild.citymax.com/chimneysafetytips.html

 

[tm84p]

Those are both good tips but what I have is an OWB with an 8 foot high (about 20 ft from ground level) metal flue.

 

[mga]

matter of preference.

just be sure any cap you put on allows enough to breathe properly.

 

[mga]

We had our inside, center of the house, civil war era chimney totally removed and rebuilt a number of years ago. The old timer mason was adamantly against any kind of chimney cap. Claimed they created more problems than they solved...I brought it up like 3 times, it became a touchy subject. In the end my wife asked me what did I know about chimneys compared to a guy that's built them for 50 years.

As for "to cap or not to cap"... I don't have a dog in that fight but we've been burning for many years without a cap and have no complaints...and CNY is where the clouds come to die.

our house never had a cap on it and we never had problems either. but, i put one on anyways about 2 years ago. the thought of rain and/or snow falling inside of it bothered me.

 

[Geez]

This is my second year with my OWB. I have about 6 feet of insulated chimney, with a reducer to make it match up to the stack hole on the boiler. No vent cap because I haven't run across one that fit yet. This spring when I shut down and cleaned the boiler up, I put a pail over the stack to keep the rain out. A few weeks later I opened the door up and noticed the grates were wet. So I pulled the grates and found water pooled in the bottom. Thought sure I had a leak because I had the pail up there. I dried it out and monitored it. Sure enough it came back.
Longer story short, it wasn't a leak. Turns out water was apparently running down the outside of the stack and following the reducer in. I pulled the stack and capped it. No more water.
So, if that much water leaked in the joint, how much can come in an 8" hole?

 

[WVwoodsman]

This is my second season heating with an owb and I am running a 6 foot double walled stainless stack. I decided to put a stainless cap on mine to keep rain out. In the summer time when it is not in use I put a bucket over the cap to keep animals etc. out. I would say it all boils down to personal preference. What ever you do, you can't go wrong.

 

[abohac]

I have one but that's only because I didn't want water running in there during the summer (could have just put a pail over it). The thing actually causes smoke to be directed down and on you. Save 60 bucks and go without it.

 

[tanker]

Mine's been on 4 years now,c.b.5648 and I like it.It keeps the water out and uup to this year,all critters but my screen must be gone,4 sparrows in it when I fired it up this week.

 

[LTREES]

I bought a cap cause the dealer I dealt with said some one had a slight lean to the pipe and water got in the unit and rusted some thing out quick. So, for $80.00, I think, I bought one. i don't think a cap will redirect the smoke downward. I think that deals with the pressure. Just my $.02

 

[bassman]

I only fire in winter so in the off season a 2.5 gallon metal pail covers the top.

 

[beerman6]

I bought a home depot el-cheapo square one to cap my round stack It keeps the rain out.

 

[thebeerman_2000]

I have a block chimney. I live in a very windy area. I was constantly fighting downdrafts when the South wind blew. I took my cap off and rarely have a problem since.

 

[Scootermsp]

Cb 5036

I have a 5036 as well and just have the standard 8' stack. Don't see a need for it. If it rains that much I will have steam. It's so hot in therewater won't be around long enough to cause a problem.

 

[Jaberwky]

Vent cap - yes, chimney cap - no

I think you are really referring to a chimney cap. Our CB stoves have a vent cap that I think you want to use. Can't imagine a dealer saying you don't need it. In terms of the chimney cap I don't run one either but been considering a spark arrestor. I'm getting nervous that sooner or later a stray spark or three might land on my woodpile and cause some serious heartache.

 

[Blazin]

No cap on my CB5648. I have 8ft of metalabestos pipe on it, and never have had any issues yet. I just throw a pail over it in the off season. Like someone else mentioned, a cap has a tendency to push the smoke down instead of letting it go straight up, like mine does 70% of the time...