Today, I noticed some black carbon/soot flakes resting on the snow on my deck. I know it had to have come from the chimney, but wanted to know if it was from a chimney fire or some sort of detaching of soot from the chimney.
How does the cap look? Might be , some flakes fell off the cap. If you had a chimney fire, cap will be discolored, maybe even warped.
Thanks, Dave. The cap is a dull sooty black. I think it was some of the suspect oak I burned yesterday. Still too wet.
Yes, typically that stuff comes from the cap. If your cap is one with the wire mesh screen, then if you can put the cleaning poles together without the brush and just tap the cap, most of it will fall off. If you can get up top, then use a wire brush.
That's a darn good idea Sav. I wish I would have thought of that when I was burnin the old stove because I definately needed to keep a much better eye on the cap and it would build up. Was up the other day with the new stove and just climbed back down.
Thanks Locust. It can save a lot of work and is easy to do this way. One just has to make sure it is only the cap. If chimney needs it, then clean it too.
Thanks for confirming it is the cap, Dennis. The stuff was so thin and light that I had thought it most likely wasn't from a chimney fire? Still, I wanted to find out exactly what it was.
