Relax! It was in the OWB and lasted for about 10 seconds-if that...! 99 just doesn't want to lose that hot water yet so I'm still burning it.
Thats because we burn tires in 'em. Actually, there was very little smoke during the few seconds since it was hotter. The black smoke from someone's OWB may indicate the burning of something that they probably shouldn't be burning...
The first year I ran the stove was using what we now call "wet wood". The wood used now-a-days is 2-3 years old with the occasional older stuff. Lots of dead stuff when I scrounged it you understand. The sheer nature of the my OWB's function will create creosote. You know, burn awhile then shut off the air and idle awhile. This time of year, there is a lot of idling going on with the warmer temps outside. You know, now that I think of it, maybe it wasn't a short lived chimney fire; rather just a burn of the unspent gases caught in the stack and firebox? It started while I had the door open and was loading it, once I closed the door, I heard the roar. hhhmmmmm. I re-opened the door to let it burn off anyway, and like I said, it was very short lived.
My OWB burns off every now and then, I've installed 5 sticks of s/s pipe that puts my rain cap 20+ feet in the air and with the nature of the way these things cycle, my best guess is, it's to be expected.
