Plugged chimney cap

Sure, some yahoo organization is always willing to say stuff like that. Really though, to be safe, you should never burn anything. Instead of giving a turd about what the state department of LABOR has to say about your rodent screen, you would be wiser to inquire with your local permitting authority. This is an appliance that requires a mechanical permit with an inspection to accept liability.

 

Okay. If you took the time to look at the reference you would see that the "yahoo organization" referenced Washington Administrative Code, I.e. the bills that were passed by the Washington state legislature and signed into law by the governor. The law doesn't say you can't burn anything. Just says you need to use a spark arrester.

Perhaps it is more credible when it comes from a department of forestry?

"Heating Systems

The choice of heating systems will not affect the survival of your home in a wildfire, but it affects the extent to which your home is a fire hazard. Heating a building with a wood-burning stove or furnace increases fire hazards. The hazard increases even more when the chimney is not insulated and has no spark arresters. Spark arresters and regularly cleaned chimneys will greatly reduce the risk of starting a fire."

FirewiseVirginia: The Homeowner's Role

Different state but the gist is the same. Advising someone to remove a safety device without pointing out the the potential hazards could put them in a bad situation.

I agree that he should contact the local permitting authority but based on where he lives I'd venture to guess they'd require or strongly urge that the spark arrester remains in place based on the law referenced above and common sense.

 

Guarantee that if I ask, I will be told it is required. No problem, I won't ask, and will leave it on.

I just need to figure out how to clean it without going on the roof, or how to prevent the problem in the first place.

 

Are you able to clean from the bottom up? If you have a straight shot up from a clean out "T" you could probably run a poly brush up there and spin it around a couple of times to clean it from the inside out. Got any pics of your setup? I wonder if you're closing your damper too much and causing the fire to smolder thus producing more unburned gasses to condense when they reach the top. A good efficient fire shouldn't cause it to be blocked that quickly.

 

Bottom up with a Sooteater would do the trick if your chimney setup will allow it
EDIT: I see great mind think alike, Well Seasoned is just a bit faster

 

Not sure if the sooteater is easier than going on the roof. Using it would require removal of the stove baffles and several of the secondary tubes.

 

Hi bushpilot I cant add much except to say that up here we arent required to have the screen although we get bone dry at times. Most folks dont burn when that time of year comes around. Im chiming in because I wanted to report that sometimes I will see a bit of smoke at the tail end of a burn as well and it bugs the _rap out of me. This tends to happen when weve been out for awhile and have turned the stoves air intake down. I burn softwoods often well below 20% mc as I know you do so its a bit of a stumper. The only thing I can come up with is either the wood isnt as dry as we think or simply secondary combustion isnt happening.

 

and this may dissipate for many of us when the cold weather happens and draft increases? I was burning a small load of lodgepole during the afternoon today and was out and about doing yard work and noticed that even with a stove top temp of only 425f (or so) all I had was heat vapors and yet other times Ill come home from work after being gone 5 hours and see a little wisp of smoke.

 

My neighbor at the lake has a screen on his but he burns every bit of heat that he can out of a piece of wood. Guess what happens? Yup-he's up there unclogging the screen.

Myself, I would never use one (screened termination). Never!
That is, until one evening we were sitting around and a guest asked "Is that a bat hanging from your glass door on the inside of your wood stove?" Ha! Sure was. It was summertime and the screen went onto the cap within a week. In the four or so years that it has been on there, it has only acquired a bit of buildup. But then, I only burn the stove occasionally, not 24-7 as in your case.

The difference between my stove (epa) and my neighbors (non-epa) is that the wood I burn is at least 5-6 years old.

I will echo the feelings/suggestions listed above and say get rid of the screen. You are burning the stove using the secondaries (as evidenced by your pics posted) and the buildup will only continue. Is your wood as dry as you think? Probably, no?

 

mine has clogged a few times. When redoing the termination at the hunting cottage, the installer advised against using those small screens. Instead, they have been putting on the screens one finds on masonry chimneys - it looks like a large rectangle mesh cube over the stack. Or, it might look like a rodent trap.

 

Tube and baffle removal is easy on the 30...only need to take out the front two tubes

 

It's only necessary to remove the front tube for baffle removal.
However, to use a Sooteater, I think the 2 rear tubes would need to come out for access to the stove pipe. I'd probably just pull all of 'em, and clean the tube holes inside and out while I was at it.

 

FYI.... If memory serves, each tube on a 30 is clocked differently. When you pull them out, they should be reinstated in their original position. Front tube back in the front position, etc.

 

Yep.

 

Absolutely not any more credible than a four year old on the street or an environmentalist hugging a tree. You've got to learn to see past those lobbyist groups and other biased parties. If you can find a law, an actual RCW, requiring a screen or your local AHJ requires it then it is required. Everything else is just noise.

Remember, wood burners are the minority.

Small disclaimer, one of my jobs is to write code (laws) and I have found lots of people trying to make their "should" sound like a "must or shall". Guidance is way different than law.

 

I've witnessed the same wisps of smoke now and then when there should be none. I had a thought on this though...

Ever notice that when you have 3-4-5 pieces of wood burning, there's a magical synergy where they punch harder than they should be able too? They feed off each other and help each other. You notice the difference between the above mentioned load, and say just throwing one 12" round in the stove. Sure, the 12" round will burn (probably?), but you'll probably need full air, and only see flame and not secondaries( probably?). Yet if you split that same round into 4 pieces and criss-cross them, they'd burn like the devil, and much less air.

I think that may be why once the fire is kind of spent, the top wood (gone) is no longer sheltering/helping/magical synergy to the bottom wood/coal, and therefore the air ratio is too lean? Just one guys thoughts.