help with chimney--

[ceresone]

Ok, here's the problem, and i've discussed solutions here before--and there wasnt any! i have a chimney built in a unheated garage, with cleanout. cinder, or as we call them, concrete chimney block. up about 6 feet, the liner starts, the red square,tile liner. opening for stove is inside the house, opening thru a solid rock wall.proper height above obstructions, and all. and, as i've described before, we cant use it because liquid creasote pours back inside. for reasons yet undiscovered,. now, my question that all this was leading up to-- we wanted to use a double walled pipe inside this, connected to the sove--BUT, can you think of any reason i couldnt use plain ordinary black metal stovepipe?sure would be cheaper---

[big rockpile]

Is this in the Liner? If it isn't it will get too hot and crack the Block.Or the Stove pipe will just rust out very fast.

big rockpile

[The Paw]

If you are getting liquid creosote running back, I would guess that creosote vapours are liquifying when they hit the cooler temperature of the cinderblock chimney. Either that or you have a massive build-up of creosote on the inside of the chimney which is melting as the hot smoke exits.

Is the cleanout for the chimney below where the pipe from the house connects? If so, the liquid would run down there rather than back into the house...

My concern about putting a single wall stovepipe inside the chimney, is that if you have a build-up of creosote that comes in contact with the hot stove pipe, you could ignite a chimney fire.

Quite honestly, it sounds like you need a professional cleaning of this chimney along with an appraisal of the best course of action.

if you are going to spend money on a double walled pipe, why not demolish the old chimney and start with a clean, spankin' new pipe that is properly installed?

[ceresone]

yes, it would be inside the liner--rusting out--and the heat worries me--but isnt the cley liner made to withstand heat? or--will it just be too concentrated. the double wall pipe is a couple hundred bucks for one section-so you see my problem-

[big rockpile]

Truth is thats what I did.I had problem with my Liners cracking and I just put Double Wall Pipe in.I'll never do different again.

big rockpile

[ceresone]

thats what i needed to know--thanks, rock

[ceresone]

No, this is a brand new chimney--least it was when i started having problems. I only used it the first year because of the creasote. some ran into the garage, but most ran out of the pipe connected to the chimney. the local fire chief came out--and we removed the catalyc(?) converter, to see if it was preventing a hot fire from getting to the pipe--no difference. and, i'm not speaking of a drop or two--i had probably a gallon on liquid creasote run onto my floor. i wondered if the unheated portion below the flue opening was causing my problem--i even wondered if filling this area with sand would help--untill a very nice person pointed out that this filling with creasote would effectevly create a bomb, with a spark. just trying to find a cost effective way to use the chimney again.

[boonieman]

What kind of wood are you burning? Some woods like pine can create a lot of creosote. If pine is all you have available, you can usually get around it by building a hot fire occasionally. Don't wait untill the creosote builds up too heavy though, or you risk a chimney fire. My stove has a bypass around the catalytic converter, not sure if new stoves have this or not. I go thru the bypass once or twice a week to fire it hotter and burn off most of the creosote. Do you have a chimney cap? Do you think maybe it's water coming into the flue? If it does that it comes out black kinda like creosote when it drains out.

[ceresone]

wood is dry split oak. and yes, chimney is capped--one of the type that has openings around the side. to be honest, this chimney has everyone stumped--but i'd really like to be able to use it

[Cabin Fever]

If you have that much water/creosote draining back out of the chimney the wood you are burning is not thoroughly seasoned (oak needs two years to dry after it is split) and/or you are burning too cool of a fire. The fire must be hot enough to warm the chimney all the way up, water vapor will not condense on a warm chimney.

I had a block chimney similar to your's. It was completely on the outside of the house and it started at the basement level. It was about 20 feet in height and outside....I had the type of problem you are describing only once. It was on a cold night (-20ºF temp). I filled the woodstove before going to bed and turned the air control way down so the fire would last all night. The fire did last, but it was not hot enough to keep the 20-foot chimney warm at -20ºF. The water vapor from the wood condense inside the chimney, trickled down the liner and found its way inside the house. And I was using very seasoned oak! Since then, I never turned the damper way down and burned a hotter fire....the problem never reappeared.

With your set-up, I don't understand why the moisture dosent just trickle down into the bottom of the chimney.....I'm wondering why the water takes that 90º turn into the house? The only thing I can think of is the water vapor is condensing before it even enters the chimney...it might be condensing inside the "cold" rock wall...but you'd have to be buring a real cool fire or real green wood for that to happen.

[Boss Cooker]

What size is the chimney flue? And, what size is the vent pipe on your stove? Could be the chimney is too large for the stove vent. This will slow down the draft and cool the smoke. This will cause a lot of creosote build and it will drain to a low point. Copperfield Chimney supply has a stainless flex liner with an insulation wrap that is easy to install. With the liner, your flue temp. will be hot enough to cure the cresote problem. You would need a chimney cap for the liner also. It would be the cheapest way to solve the problem. Check their website for information. I have installed several of them.
And, don't forget to keep it clean.

[Ross]

I agree you have a wood problem more than a chimney problem, but Boss cooker has a good point too. The Clay should be rated for the heat but it's either too big and chilling or you're trying to put too much water up the chimney with a damped down stove. I use a clay lined chimney with my wood furnace and it only once trickled watery creosote in and it was a situation much like Cabins.