With a reminder from Mitch (his neighbors place had a bad flue fire the other day), it is shoulder season......which means sometimes daily "chiller killer" fires and in some instances over-zealous use of the damper in your flue pipe. These things lead to a constant "hot/cold" cycle in your flue, and that can lead to creosote issues for some users. We should all keep this in mind and give our flues a periodic inspection. If you are not capable of doing so, have a qualified person do it for you. Don't forget about your spark arrestor/chimney cap. This is an area that is often susceptible to clogging in damp and mild conditions. Also make sure the smoke detectors are all working in your house.....
Thanks, Oslo. I just have a genuine sympathy for people that have a situation like a flue fire. What's REALLY sad is probably 9 out of 10 of those fires are totally preventable........creosote is the main problem. Even a seasoned wood burner can overlook the fact that burning habits change with the conditions outside. I know it's like I'm preaching to the choir here, I just wanted to remind everyone of it.........
just to touch on a few things mentioned above; sholder season fires particularly in a non-reburn type stove are generally dampered back to keep the house below the roasting point while still keeping it comfortable. this type of fire is generally not going to be a clean one and will generally cause more rapid loading in the flue. remember draft is developed by the "delta T " between the flue temp and the outside temp, this means when its not so cold outside the dif temp will not be so high. draft will be sluggish and with the desire for a "not so hot" fire we are magnifying this issue. tis better to burn short loads with a fast hot agressive fire than to load up and choke down. allow the chimney to get heated up quickly use the wood quckly to heat the stove and then as the stove radiates as it cools it might just be the right amount of heat to sustain in the house at the desired level while being less likely to plug up the flue or deposit creosote. smoke and CO detectors; these devices have a lifespan generally of 5 to 7 years. check the date codes on the device to ensure they are not outdated as the detecting mechanism DOES have a usable lifespan but the alarm itself will work forever so dont take for granted that when you get an alarm when you press the test button that the unit is functional.
Good points. A regular inspection at the beginning, middle & end of burn season can save lots of heart aches.
Good idea Scotty. The recent NC30 install and burn in was all it took for me to realize the smoke detector works. Matter of fact, it worked several times. Fire extinguisher still shows a charge too. Just cleaned the cap and flue a few days ago after burning the new stove for a little over a week. I'm gooder for a minute or 2.
I burn by flue temps, I will not burn a fire with a cool flue, if the house gets too warm so be it, it really does not have to with hotter smaller fires. There is no reason what so ever to have a chimney fire.
My cap is not clogged, but I can see some crud in it on the lower 1/3rd. Is this chimney fire level territory? I burn pretty hot, and then let it die out this time of year.
I know what caused this...it was that unseasoned pine I resorted to when I couldn't get to my seasoned oak with the 2014 snowpocalypse around these parts.
How hot is your flue, there is no secret to burning clean, just good common sense and burning dry wood and tracking flue temps.
It's not uncommon in damp mild climates to get a little crud at the cap, but I've seen spark arrestors nearly clogged in some applications....that is a real problem.
I'm not there yet, but I think the problem came in from that pine I was burning. Junk! And unseasoned pine throws almost no heat until you have an established coal bed which takes forever.
Yeah, I know. I still remember having to go out to the front stacks and pull wood out of the snow and ice. I thought I might need to start burning some of the Oak in the shed that was supposed to be "extra". I did, but so far not much, and it looks like burning is mostly coming to a close very soon.
