Got home from work and fired up the stove.(F600 Jotul)....After about 10 minutes with the kindling going good and the temp up to a quick 300F...I heard a little crackling in my stove pipe towards the ceiling in the living room...Went outside to find Fine Black Flakes flying out of my stack. Ranging from small to the size of a quarter. Very thin and brittle. Only use a little paper to get things going....What is it and should I be concerned???? Mind you I had the whole stacked cleaned out in June and my Chimney guy said"After 2 years and 22 face cords this looks great. Just keep burning the way you are."...
Seems like you had a fire in your flue pipe. The "cracking" sound is the first indicator. The black particles are another. I clean my flue pipe twice each season. Once in early September, and again in January/early February during a mild morning. We burn 3 to 4 cord a season.
Within about 2 minutes after I sent this thread..Everything is back to normal...No crackling or Fine Black Flakes...Stove at 500F...Weird...
What kind of stove pipe do you have? Do you know the temperature rating for it? After the living room where does the pipe go? Vaulted ceiling or through an attic space? Did the pipe glow at all? More than likely if it was a quick flash fire through the pipe you should be fine, but of course worth taking a look at as soon as possible. How about a few pictures?
Quick flash fire through the pipe you should be fine,.......That's exactly what my Chimney guy said when I called him. Through the living room ceiling to about 2ft in the crawl space then straight out through the roof. He said its been happening to a few other of his customers over the last month. Because I have him out pretty regularly, he said not to fret it...
Every winter I find those black flakes all over the lawn. It happened a couple of weeks ago. I burn 3 year seasoned wood and I clean my chimney once a year and it seems quite clean. I'm not sure what causes it though.
My chimney guy who has been in the business for over 20 yrs told me it occurs when the starting temp from kindling suddenly spikes quickly. This in turn singe's the very thin layer of creosote on the inside of the stack. Flakes them off and out they go. The warmer the winter...the more it occurs. He said he was surprised it hasn't happened more to me...
I have seen a piece of burning paper fly up and start a chimney fire once. Cold day, cold stove and the draft took over. I put it out quickly. I would have it checked just to be safe if you cannot do it your self. I popped my clean out the other day just to be safe. For the hundred or so dollars it is a good piece of mind
I know a hundred bucks doesn't seem like a lot of money in comparison to the loss of a house due to a malfunctioning chimney pipe, but there has to be some room for good judgement. Dropping $100 every time something small happens adds up quickly. It was a brief event and he even spoke to his chimney guy. Here's a quote from a flex liner's product manual. The normal operating temperature for the ex liner is 1000°F (540°C) in the United States and 1200°F (650°C) in Canada. It has been tested for abnormal intermittent temperatures of 1700°F (927°C) for oil and 2100°F (1150°C) for solid fuels, should temporary appliance malfunction occur. http://www.mtlfab.com/media/Flexible_Stainless_Steel_Chimney_Liner_Instructions-L2589.pdf I can't believe that the OP's incident exceeded the limit as he follows clean burning practices and the event was very short in duration. Heck, one could even argue that his chimney guy accepted liability should something happen since he said not to worry about it.
To each their own. I can inspect and clean my own, so it is a moot point for me. If I could not, I would spend the $100 before I lost my house and contents to a freak fire. Odds are he is safe and I get that.
I have never heard any crackling like that, but I have found flakes out in the snow after high winds blew the flakes off my cap. Have you had any high winds lately?
I see flecks on the snow out on the lawn from time to time, and believe me I'm burning 4yr seasoned wood, and I inspect/clean my flues regularly. So it CAN happen. I'd suggest a spark arrestor for you, if you don't already have one. Those "quarter-sized" flakes can't get past a spark arrestor, and those big flakes (in the event of a flue fire) can cause big problems if they land on a roof or leaves in a gutter......
I've seen that twice on my setup. It's always after a really windy day. I've concluded it's stuff blowing from the cap because it's the only part of my setup that doesn't get cleaned. (Soot eater from bottom up. 25ft pipe) The crackling sounds from the ceiling would however prompt me to shut it down pronto and clean with a good visual before and after inspection. This is have not experienced before. Peace of mind is priceless, and no amount of fhc posts can prove what your eyes or your sweeps camera can. (Read: pay the sweep again....this is not time to cheap out. Eat Ramen. Count quarters. Get it done) Stay safe, inspect, assess, and go from there.
