wood stove question

[4seasons]

Does the chimney have a cleanout?

EDIT: Also need to make sure you have stove to wall clearance at the back of that. And is that sitting on carpet?

You definitely want a clean out on your chimney. Otherwise all the creosote will fall to the bottom creating a huge chimney fire hazard.

Get rid of all that wood and carpet around the stove. I prefer brick or rock but they also sell fire proof paneling that would be cheaper and quicker to put up.

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[STLfirewood]

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That's kind of a shaky looking setup there, I think. I don't really think that piece of insulated stainless is doing much for you? I would want clearance from that little piece of black stuff right at the wall. Yes it's not very long, but it's also where all your combustibles are. I think I would have first stripped everything off the concrete until I have necessary combustible clearance, then simply come out the wall with an 8"-6" adaptor, then 6" to the stove. All stove pipe. You can use double wall stove pipe to reduce clearances, but I don't know if you can get it that you could come out of the wall with.

Does the chimney have a cleanout?

EDIT: Also need to make sure you have stove to wall clearance at the back of that. And is that sitting on carpet?

I was thinking the same thing. I’m going to strip the wall and get rid of the double wall. In the store trying to piece it together it made sense. When did I got it home it didn’t work so well. No there is no clean out on the chimney. The clearance to the back says it has to be 12”. I have the stove set at 18” right now. It’s not on carpet it has one of those hearth pads under it. That pad is sitting on carpet.

Thanks for the help.

Scott

 

[STLfirewood]

Ouch!

I heat about 2200 sq ft, gas everything, my bill is usually $35-40.
Garage is heated with gas, house with wood, gas backup.

My minimum bill from the gas company is around $40-45. My gas bill for the Sqft. Is actually a very good price around here.

 

[NSMaple1]

I'm not sure I would leave the carpet there either even if there was a pad under the stove. And you might be able to use a T instead of an elbow above the stove to create a clean out. I'm not your insurance guy though....

 

[STLfirewood]

You definitely want a clean out on your chimney. Otherwise all the creosote will fall to the bottom creating a huge chimney fire hazard.

Get rid of all that wood and carpet around the stove. I prefer brick or rock but they also sell fire proof paneling that would be cheaper and quicker to put up.

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How would I install a clean out on it? Can I not just take it apart every few months and clean it? I have a hearth pad that the stove is sitting on. Will thatnot work?

Thanks Scott

 

[MountainHigh]

Like others have said, a clean out is essential. Not sure how you'd install a clean out on it without seeing what the chimney looks like from the back side - the back side at level where the chimney footing starts is where the clean out should be. Even a natural gas flue on a tiled chimney has a cleanout.

You said you've "inspected" the clay liner and it looks ok to you, but have you looked down the inside of the chimney from the top with a strong flashlight to inspect the tile all the way to the bottom? Can you see all the way to the bottom? Is it black at the bottom? If so, it could be filled with creosote and that's not something you can leave there. OR, if the chimney was never used for a wood stove, it might be clean, but you definitely need a clean out when burning wood. I clean about a gallon or two of soot every year from my chimney when burning 24/7. You have to be religious about getting that crap out of there.

 

[Mustang71]

I have seen plenty of masonary chimneys without a clean out door. I have been doing this a while but it's pretty easy to tell if a chimney is good or bad aslong as you inspect it from top and bottom. If the bricks and tile at the top look good and it looks clean and solid all the way down its probably good. At the bottom there shouldn't be any clay or motor chunks in it. It should be clean and solid to be called good. You wouldn't want any creosote to build up at the bottom of the chimney and ignite. Yea you can clean it every few months and that may be your best bet without an actual clean out.

 

[MountainHigh]

So with no clean-out door at the base of the chimney, after the first top down chimney brushing which causes the loosened creosote to fall to the interior base of the chimney, how is he going to clean it out? Go in through the thimble and poke and prod in the dark with a very long vacuum hose to try to get down to the base?

 

[4seasons]

So with no clean-out door at the base of the chimney, after the first chimney brushing which causes the loosened creosote to fall to the base of the chimney, how is he going to clean it out? Poke and prod in the dark with a very long vacuum hose?

Possibly?
I have always had a clean out and on a good sweep I can fill a 5 gallon bucket with the creosote. I wouldn't want to know how much junk would be in the bottom of a chimney after a few years of burning and sweeping.

 

[MountainHigh]

IF no clean-out and/or no other thorough way to keep the chimney clean and free of fire potential, I would not use that chimney. I would drop a new 6" SS chimney down to use instead.

 

[Marshy]

He'll just have to disconnect the stove from the thimble and reach in by hand and scope out the junk after brushing the chimney. Nothing crazy, just roll your sleeve up first.

 

[MountainHigh]

He'll just have to disconnect the stove from the thimble and reach in by hand and scope out the junk after brushing the chimney. Nothing crazy, just roll your sleeve up first.

So you're saying all brushed creosote in this chimney will not drop down any lower than the thimble? Never seen a chimney like that.

 

[Mustang71]

With out seeing the chimney it's hard to say how deep it is. If it does extend below that 8 inch tile then I'd remove a few bricks below and make a clean out that, would be pretty easy. If money isn't tight then I'd get a liner. It's probably the best solution.

 

[NSMaple1]

That 8" hole could be at the bottom of the chimney. We just don't know.

 

[Marshy]

So you're saying all brushed creosote in this chimney will not drop down any lower than the thimble? Never seen a chimney like that.

Like @NSMaple1 said, it could be the bottom of the chimney but, we dont know that. I've seen chimney that do not have any open area below the thimble. Growing up I watched my father clean his chimney for years having to reach inside the thimble and scope out the junk from sweeping it. It's not ideal but you do what you have to do. The benefit of not having a dead space below the thimble is it helps with draft. Where there is a large space below the thimble it will cool your flue gas.

 

[STLfirewood]

When removing the paneling on the wall I found a clean out. My house has a fireplace on the main level also. Do the chimney has two flues. In the wall in the basement there is aside chamber that slopes to the clean out. There is an ash door in the upstairs fireplace floor that goes to this clean out also. Does this make sense?

 

[Marshy]

When removing the paneling on the wall I found a clean out. My house has a fireplace on the main level also. Do the chimney has two flues. In the wall in the basement there is aside chamber that slopes to the clean out. There is an ash door in the upstairs fireplace floor that goes to this clean out also. Does this make sense?

Yes perfect sense. Sounds like you have a good setup.

 

[TimberWolf530]

OK, so I see a couple of things you need to address:

1. Check the recommended clearances in the manual that came with your stove. It should tell you what is acceptable with and without a heat shields. Next, get rid of the carpet around the stove. Install tile, or other non-flammable material instead.

2. The issue with an oversized flue is twofold. First, you will not get the proper heat in the flue. As the gasses cool on their way up, they will condense and form creosote. Second, you won’t get the proper draft. Your stove works like an engine in that it needs the correct amount of air in and out of it to operate correctly. Some stoves are more forgiving that others in what size they will accept, but going from a 6” round pipe to an 8” square flue is a much bigger jump than a lot of people think. Here is the math. The area or a circle is pi * radius squared, so a 6” round pipe has an area of 28.274 sq in. The area of an 8” square flue is 8 *8 = 64 sq in. This is more than 2 times the area your stove was designed to operate at.

You can probably get away with operating the stove for a while without the 6” insert if you install a spark arrester & make sure you check it frequently for creosote build up. Chimney fires are no joke, so get a 6”stainless steel liner as soon as you can. I would not burn until I fixed the clearance issues however, as those are an immediate danger as soon as you start to burn.

As is always the case, but of even more important in your situation, make sure your wood is properly seasoned. With an oversized flue AND improperly seasoned wood, you are taking a big gamble.

 

[MountainHigh]

Like @NSMaple1 The benefit of not having a dead space below the thimble is it helps with draft. Where there is a large space below the thimble it will cool your flue gas.

True, but in my experience, it only cools the flue air IF the base clean-out is not sealed 100%. I use plumbers putty or aluminum tape to seal around the edges of my clean-out, hence, the only air that gets sucked into the chimney is via the stove itself.

 

[NSMaple1]

Another thing to pay close attention to:

Now that you found a cleanout - make sure it seals tight when closed for burning. Otherwise the chimney will suck air through that rather than your stove & kill your draft.

EDIT: Someone snuck in ahead of me.....