When I had the chimney cleaned this summer, I had the old half square clay cover replaced with a modern, stainless, screened cover. The draft has been fine for over three months then the stove seemed a little chokey. Draft seemed very sluggish then one morning I could hardly get the fire moving and kept getting smoke puffs into the room. I went on the roof and the entire screen was plugged with sooty ash. It was easy to fix the problem as the rain shield comes off with 4 wing nuts and a quick scrub with a wire brush brought everything brite again. Two conditions come to mind. First, we have been doing a lot of dampened burning because it has been just warm enough that a hotter fire is too much heat. Next, My Wif went into a frenzy of "First of the Year" cleaning and cleared out masses of old paperwork files and burned them over a week or so unbeknownst to me. The sluggish draft problem just started at the first of the year and I am hoping that the paper burning was the main cause. Or, are these screens prone to clogging and then require routine maintenance? I know that US Forrest Service spark arrester screens on my Wall tent stovepipe are constantly prone to clogging but they are quite fine. The Big Question is: Does anyone else have a screen clogging problem through the burning year that requires maintenance, or are my specific conditions the cause of my problem? Any insights will be much appreciated!
My screen never clogs...because I remove it for burn season. Then I put it back to keep animals out during summer.
Yes, this answer. Mine would clog too, & at the worst times. I was burning reasonably dry wood, but in warmish damp weather it didn't take long.
I never have a problem with buildup on mine burning dry wood, 24/7 if its below 45. I'd lean to it being the paper burning. How much smoke do you normally see coming out. Your cap and chimney looks pretty pristine. If it were creosote/gunk building up you would probably find a black stain being washed down onto your chimney by the rain.
Picture is after cleaning. No stains on the roof. Usually burn smoke free except on startup or brief period on reload.
I would blame the paper burning. Our old one would occasionally start to plug a bit but our chimney goes up the side of the house. So we just used the poles without the brush and tapped it on the side and the stuff would just fall right off. Eye covering is necessary and don't breath through your mouth at those times!
I was just up on the roof Saturday taking xmas lights down and checked out my screen and setup. Very minor build up on the screen thus far and I know I've been burning not fully seasoned wood.
metalcuttr I had close to the same cap on my chimney and it plugged up. I fixed it with metal snips by cutting a lot out from the 4 sides of the cap. I left enough in the corners to maintain structural integrity. I installed a finer mesh material in the spring after burning season was over to keep birds, bats, hornets out of the stove. I removed it again in the fall before burning. I am having the same problem you had and when I can get up to the chimney, I plan to modify the cap to keep it open.
My screen used to clog before FHC and cat stove.. hasn't happened since I figured out what dry wood was
I have not had a hint of the clogging since the paper incident. I am beginning to think that that was the problem. Fingers crossed!
