Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?
Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
Pages: [1]
1
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: More questions about creosote and chimney "cleaning"
« on: January 22, 2012, 06:43:08 PM »
Thanks for the responses.
Yeah - I would much rather not have the bend in the pipe, but that was the only configuration I could figure out because the chimney hole was too close to the wall. I suppose a straight diagonal might be a possibility, but that would require some fancy custom-job at the connections since it would be on an angle.
I'm not sure why there's no access to the attic -- I think the previous owner of this house did some of his own contracting work with a bottle in-hand.
I'm pretty sure there is an insulated section of chimney running through the attic, but even still I'm not sure how much to trust it since the rest of the garage is wood. How well do those insulated chimneys suppress heat from a chimney fire? I've seen an uninsulated pipe get white hot from burning creosote. How hot could I expect the outside of an insulated pipe to get?
Yeah - I would much rather not have the bend in the pipe, but that was the only configuration I could figure out because the chimney hole was too close to the wall. I suppose a straight diagonal might be a possibility, but that would require some fancy custom-job at the connections since it would be on an angle.
I'm not sure why there's no access to the attic -- I think the previous owner of this house did some of his own contracting work with a bottle in-hand.
I'm pretty sure there is an insulated section of chimney running through the attic, but even still I'm not sure how much to trust it since the rest of the garage is wood. How well do those insulated chimneys suppress heat from a chimney fire? I've seen an uninsulated pipe get white hot from burning creosote. How hot could I expect the outside of an insulated pipe to get?
2
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / More questions about creosote and chimney "cleaning"
« on: January 22, 2012, 12:35:57 PM »
Hi all! It has been an especially warm winter here in northern MN, so that means lots of smoldering and lots of creosote. I know that many of you basically burn the creosote out of your chimneys by making a super-hot fire once in a while... basically a deliberate chimney fire to clean it out. Even if I have just brushed out my chimney, that hard glaze still remains and I can get it to ignite if I want. But, given my set-up (see attachments) the idea of burning out the chimney scares me. In the garage the chimney turns red hot and embers shoot out the top - that part doesn't worry me - it's the part where the chimney passes through the attic that I'm worried about.
Although I set up the boiler, I did not build the garage, so I'm not sure what's going on between the ceiling and the roof. I assume it is some kind of well-insulated section of pipe, but there is no access to the attic, so I really have no idea.
So, I have a questions: Based on what you see in the photos, would you be wary of deliberately cleaning out the chimney with a hot fire?
Info on attachment: Aqua-Therm 275, 17 years old.
[attachment deleted by admin for space issues]
Although I set up the boiler, I did not build the garage, so I'm not sure what's going on between the ceiling and the roof. I assume it is some kind of well-insulated section of pipe, but there is no access to the attic, so I really have no idea.
So, I have a questions: Based on what you see in the photos, would you be wary of deliberately cleaning out the chimney with a hot fire?
Info on attachment: Aqua-Therm 275, 17 years old.
[attachment deleted by admin for space issues]
3
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: how much water have you added to your boiler?
« on: August 30, 2011, 11:49:53 AM »
I have an Aqua-Therm 275 and haven't added water in 5 years using it. (With the exception of the first year when I was figuring out the thermostats - I blew out the lot in an overheat and had to replace most of it!).
4
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: going on vacation
« on: January 24, 2011, 10:17:22 PM »
Here's what I do. I have a $15 portable hotplate. I plug it in and put it inside the firebox - even with the cord the door closes fine. I put the hotplate on low and close the chimney. I've set this up for two weeks before - I'm in northern MN so we had a few -25 nights during that time. When I come home the temp of the water in the boiler jacket is usually ~40-50 degrees. I also have electric heating strips on the exposed piping in the garage - they turn on if the temp gets below 35 degrees.
5
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Persistent chimney fires, even after cleaning
« on: January 24, 2011, 03:16:00 PM »
I have the low/high set at 120/160 deg F. Anything higher and I get the occasional overheating problems. As far as temps in the firebox, they fluctuate from extremely hot (every time I load it) to mostly smoldering during the day. I don't use it in the summer so I never get long periods of smoldering.
I've always figured additions to deal with creosote were good for fireplaces that are used now and then, but generally couldn't do much with the volume I burn in my boiler. I think that's what the local stove guy told me - bad information?
FYI - I haven't had a chimney fire since my first post, but I'll keep you updated.
I've always figured additions to deal with creosote were good for fireplaces that are used now and then, but generally couldn't do much with the volume I burn in my boiler. I think that's what the local stove guy told me - bad information?
FYI - I haven't had a chimney fire since my first post, but I'll keep you updated.
6
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Persistent chimney fires, even after cleaning
« on: January 20, 2011, 08:46:56 PM »
Can you elaborate on "ash-thol"? I'm not finding anything about it.
And, um... pop cans??? Maybe that's an inside joke - I'm not getting it
... Unfortunately anything like that has the potential to jam my ash auger, so I probably won't try that.
Indeed I might need to amp up my fan to burn hotter and cleaner. Thanks for the feedback.
And, um... pop cans??? Maybe that's an inside joke - I'm not getting it
... Unfortunately anything like that has the potential to jam my ash auger, so I probably won't try that.Indeed I might need to amp up my fan to burn hotter and cleaner. Thanks for the feedback.
7
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Persistent chimney fires, even after cleaning
« on: January 20, 2011, 08:06:07 AM »
Thanks for the replies. I have pretty close neighbors so I need to have a pretty tall stack in any case. And yes, I have a chimney made of the snap-together insulated kind. During the first chimney fire, on the sections above the roof, I could see the clamps at the seams turning red hot. The roof is covered in snow so I wasn't worried about anything catching, but still not good in terms of degrading the chimney, I'm sure.
Every day or two I let the fire burn furiously with the door open for a few minutes, presumably to burn off creosote. Perhaps I'm not doing this long enough, or wrong. I'm not sure what qualifies as a "hot fire" but this sure seems to be. I can clearly see that some flames make their way into the chimney, which is what caused the creosote to ignite recently.
Every day or two I let the fire burn furiously with the door open for a few minutes, presumably to burn off creosote. Perhaps I'm not doing this long enough, or wrong. I'm not sure what qualifies as a "hot fire" but this sure seems to be. I can clearly see that some flames make their way into the chimney, which is what caused the creosote to ignite recently.
8
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Persistent chimney fires, even after cleaning
« on: January 19, 2011, 01:00:11 PM »
I forgot to mention that... all the wood I'm burning has seasoned for ~1.5 years. It's unsplit, bark on. It seems well seasoned to me.
9
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Persistent chimney fires, even after cleaning
« on: January 19, 2011, 12:02:53 PM »
Hello all. This forum has been a great resource for me, and after ~4 years I am finally having a problem with my Aqua-Therm 275:
My wood boiler is in my garage; it has a 20-ft long, insulated stainless steel chimney. A few days ago I cleaned it with a chimney brush as I do every few weeks throughout the winter. This seems to get the chimney very clean, but there is always a very thin sheen of the hard, shiny black stuff left on the inner wall - it has always been there and it seems impossible to get rid of it all. A few days after cleaning I had a chimney fire. It started after refilling with wood - that point when the large, hot flare-up begins with the door open. It was scary but burned itself out after ~15 minutes (I blocked the chimney at the bottom).
The next day I opened the chimney and re-cleaned it - almost nothing came out. I've never had a chimney fire before I assumed because I was doing a good job cleaning it. Then, a couple of days later the same thing happened - whatever creosote left in the chimney ignited. Again it seemed like embers or flames from the initial "hot" fire made their way into the chimney, around the plate at the top of the firebox.
FYI, I burn only white birch (with the papery bark) which flares up quite a bit at the beginning. Any thoughts on ways to avoid these chimney fires would be welcome.
Best - Euan.
My wood boiler is in my garage; it has a 20-ft long, insulated stainless steel chimney. A few days ago I cleaned it with a chimney brush as I do every few weeks throughout the winter. This seems to get the chimney very clean, but there is always a very thin sheen of the hard, shiny black stuff left on the inner wall - it has always been there and it seems impossible to get rid of it all. A few days after cleaning I had a chimney fire. It started after refilling with wood - that point when the large, hot flare-up begins with the door open. It was scary but burned itself out after ~15 minutes (I blocked the chimney at the bottom).
The next day I opened the chimney and re-cleaned it - almost nothing came out. I've never had a chimney fire before I assumed because I was doing a good job cleaning it. Then, a couple of days later the same thing happened - whatever creosote left in the chimney ignited. Again it seemed like embers or flames from the initial "hot" fire made their way into the chimney, around the plate at the top of the firebox.
FYI, I burn only white birch (with the papery bark) which flares up quite a bit at the beginning. Any thoughts on ways to avoid these chimney fires would be welcome.
Best - Euan.
Pages: [1]