Major issue with wood-stove - Need advice!

[rswyan]

Tim,

I just went and took this picture... The horizontal is insulated/double wall o some sort, as i the part going through the cement wall. the upright is single wall.

Interesting.

I think the stove is at least 1/2" steel everywhere, it will be impossible to move I'm afraid and unused it does get cold when it is really old outside.

Wow ... that's pretty significant ... other than the cast door on the wood furnace here at the house, I don't think they used anything thicker than 1/4" plate ...

This unit looked about like your (unpainted, rusty) when I picked it up for a song 10 or 15 years ago. There was a crack in the plate near the firebox door which I welded which can still be seen. A little work with an angle grinder and a wire wheel and some black stove paint and Ford Red engine enamel and it looks halfway decent ... still need to finish plumbing it into the central heat duct work tho':

The lack of a way to make the firebox airtight is almost more than I can handle right now, so I'm shopping for a space heater thing to make TV watching and the small play space I'm doing for my youngest daughter more comfortable...

I love the idea of heating with wood...

Whatever works and makes sense ... :thumbsup:

 

[mbohuntr]

Many chimney fires happen during loading because the added draft of an open door, and dropping wood onto coals causes hot sparks to fly up a dirty chimney and light up the creosote. A clean chimney can't light off!


As for "putting it out", why are you doing that? It's not like a gas stove with a off knob. Just time it so you allow it to burn down to coals and close it up. The slight draft will allow it to burn to ash and you'll have nothing to produce smoke. Water on hot steel will crack your stove.


We always kept "chimney bombs" by the stove. These are nothing more than dry chemical used in fire extinguishers in ziplock bags. Sometimes the fire dept. will fill several for you for free Just open the door, throw one in hard and shut the door and dampers. The chemical smothers the fire. Don't open the door until your absolutely sure it's out.

I understand your situation isn't great, but the loss of your children from a fire is too terrible to imagine. I wouldn't use it until you can make it safe and have it inspected by a building / fire inspector. They are a great source of knowledge and advice until you get some experience under your belt.

If you insist on using it,(and even after you fix /replace it) please teach the kids about smoke detectors, make an escape plan, and run drills with your family. This way, they might not try to hide in a closet or under a bed during a fire.
The first floor is the easiest to escape from during a fire, get on the floor and crawl out as fast as you can. The smoke stays a few feet off the floor during the early stages of the fire.

Please be careful!

 

[newbury]

David -
There sure are a lot of safety police here with plenty of your money to spend.

It seems your on a concrete floor with plenty of room around the stove, (you moved the cardboard boxes right?) several smoke detectors, co detectors and fire extinguishers.

Most of the good suggestions have been given. One "tool" you might look into is a borescope camera to investigate "things", like your chimney. There's a lot of them for sale on Amazon and elsewhere for around $20.
One example NO IDEA HOW GOOD IT IS:Amazon.com: Dragonpad 10M 30ft Waterproof USB Borescope Endoscope Inspection Tube Pipe Camera: Camera & Photo
A 30ft Waterproof USB Borescope Endoscope Inspection Tube Pipe Camera that hooks up to a laptop.
These things have plummeted in price and I've been thinking of getting one to look at wire runs in my walls.

Keep it safe and keep your detectors working.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Chances are that chimney has never been cleaned, which is why the stove isn't drawing. It's full of creosote. I hope there is a dirt leg at the bottom so you can run a brush up it instead of trying to get to the top. The rest just needs to be taken apart to clean it. It's a lousy installation of a good idea, so you should think about improving it before too many more years.

 

[blueriver]

David ... Lots of good reading in this thread ... I use wood as 100% heat source ... Of course it gets cold here!!! Simply follow these guidelines... Keep the chimney clean ... Use dry seasoned wood ... Hot fires are best ... If u keep a good bed of coals the chimney will stay warm and will pull .. Your only problem I see is cleaning the chimney ... Gonna take a BIG ladder and someone to steady it while your arce climbs up the ladder to the top .. Please post a video!!!

 

[buickanddeere]

Bunged chimney from filling a large stove with uncured wood then checking the airflow down in an effort to make one low of wood last 12hrs.

 

[mbohuntr]

David -
There sure are a lot of safety police here with plenty of your money to spend.

Not interested in money, his or mine. Been through a couple of fires during my life, 2 took the lives of children of friends, 1 took the life of my sister. I don't give a **** about political correctness either. I watched a good friend and firefighter cry like a baby describing the process of finding and attempting the removal of little bodies after a fatal fire.

If you think taking risks with others lives to save a couple of bucks is cool, have at it. And live with the guilt.

 

[tcreeley]

I haven't read all of this thread. From the look of the basement pipe where it enters the insulated pipe in the wall- I'd say the interior of the pipe is pretty dirty. To start with, I'd replace the interior basement pipe. I think the stove is fine. If you can't shut it down, insert a damper in the stove pipe. Avoid the horizontal runs. I'd replace the exterior stove pipe with Selkirk, Metalbestos. Get a pro or do it your self. All materials are available from Amazon if you want (research- go to Selkirk site). If that is a single wall chimney, it will always have back draft problems every time the weather changes. The open basement window helps to insure that the air pressure in your basement is not less than the outside air pressure. If it is, the draw is harder to get going. The insulated pipe helps keep the internal temperature stable in the flue, unaffected by temps.
Get your chimney pipe (inside and outside) cleaned if nothing else. A chimney fire could take your house. Once they get going, they suck air from every joint they can. (one is where your interior basement pipe enters the insulated wall pipe - get some furnace cement and fill the cracks every few weeks- cement falls out.) -Once you have a chimney fire you close everything down and call the firestation. You'll hear a dull whooshing roar until it burns itself out.
Is there bracing on the chimney? Does strong wind move it - or is it a vertical steel pipe that has been anchored? Hard to tell from the pics.

Good luck. As long as there is wood in the stove- consider the fire going. Embers buried in ash with a low draft can last days.


-We used to have a B/W tv. It was April and my wife and I decided to take the kids for a walk. The stove was out and we had set the small TV on the stove. We went out for an hour and came back to discover a lopsided tv that was slowly melting and sinking on the surface of the stove.
Nothing like experience to prompt you to action!
I love wood heat- started in 1973 with a sheet metal stove in an old barn we were renting while going to college. It glowed cherry every night- then we were frozen by morning! Nothing like the airtights that replaced it!

 

[PILOON]

It seems like there is more chimney height than what is needed??? I know sometimes it helps being a bit taller but wouldn't there be a limit?

I agree with you. I have forgotten the actual formula that masons use for chimneys but roughly it is based on a triangle where the outlet wants to be one foot higher at a given distance.
Like on a 12/12 roof (45 deg pitch) the outlet at 4 ft high would be 4 ft away from the roof so on a 4/12 roof a 4ft flue would be something like 5ft away from the roof and work OK.
My house has a 4/12 pitch, flue is halfway down the slope and about 2.5 ft below the peak and draws just fine. The chimney is a mere 4ft tall and in winter there is generally 4' of snow on the roof.
Draws just fine.
I had another house with a 12/12 pitch and the chimney was close to the bottom and about 3 1/2 ft tall and it also was fine.

The only time I ever have problems is when we have a mild nor-easter due to trees but in higher winds it is OK even NE.

I am convinced that his chimney is entirely much too high, probably 4-5 ft would be adequate .

There is a heat shield over the single thickness pipe=OK.
Going out of foundation is double wall insulated pipe=OK (suggests chimney stack is also insulated double wall)
Concrete floor =OK (vinyl tiles =no, but easily covered over with ceramic, even loosely placed)
He did say there was bricks inside firebox=Good.
The actual stove he said was like 1/8 steel.(not tin) just watch for welds cracking)
Main thing is to keep all combustibles FAR away. (like 2-3 ft)
Do add sheet metal screws to the pipe joints however.

I have built/installed a fair number of wood stoves with all being actually inspected by the insurance co's and none were ever rejected. As well 2 fireplaces were fabricated by myself with home made glass doors and passed inspection.

All in all I think there is a little over thinking here. For all we know his insurance might just give him the OK. (other than that high stack that has no braceing)

 

[MossRoad]

David -
There sure are a lot of safety police here with plenty of your money to spend.

It seems your on a concrete floor with plenty of room around the stove, (you moved the cardboard boxes right?) several smoke detectors, co detectors and fire extinguishers.

Most of the good suggestions have been given. One "tool" you might look into is a borescope camera to investigate "things", like your chimney. There's a lot of them for sale on Amazon and elsewhere for around $20.
One example NO IDEA HOW GOOD IT IS:Amazon.com: Dragonpad 10M 30ft Waterproof USB Borescope Endoscope Inspection Tube Pipe Camera: Camera & Photo
A 30ft Waterproof USB Borescope Endoscope Inspection Tube Pipe Camera that hooks up to a laptop.
These things have plummeted in price and I've been thinking of getting one to look at wire runs in my walls.

Keep it safe and keep your detectors working.

Mirror on a stick and a flashlight is a lot less money.