JohnRoss Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I was talking to a friend the other day who had this to say about sweeping the chimney. "Commencing 2012 one must have chimneys swept professionally at least once per year. The previous method of burning a "qualifying" log & getting a certificate from the manufacturer is no longer adequate. When we had ours cleaned a few months ago, I asked the sweep if this was true, and he confirmed it was the case." Does anybody know if this is now true? We sweep ours, flexible metal flue, twice a year and do use chemical logs beforehand..............................JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Another Sarkozy reform: to reduce youth unemployment, small boys and girls can now be sent up chimneys again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRoss Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 My conversation was due to a little incident that happened late the night before last. There is a short stub that sticks down below the rear exit port of our Supra wood burning stove that connects to the vertical flue running up the chimney, well I think ours caught fire. That is to say that the little bit of soot that accumulates there over time must have ignited. My attention was drawn to a faint roaring noise coming from the stove and having checked outside that there were no flames or excessive smoke coming out of the top of the chimney which might indicate a chimney fire I noticed on my return indoors that there was a cherry red spot on the side of the stub just a little larger than an old half crown. I closed the flue vent and the air intake vent on the Supra and the glow faded. The bottom circular plate which you can remove to empty soot out of the stub was very hot and I discovered that whilst it could be cooled by holding against it a wet cloth it would heat up again very quickly after the removal of the cloth. I tried this several times with the same result. Realising that this could spread to the flue further up I offered up a bowl of water to the stub which because the joint between the plate and the flue is not that good water must have seeped into the bottom of the flue and put out the fire inside. Sweeping the flue the next day the usual amount of loose soot resulted however on examining the stub section I found a veritable hard cake of soot and tar which must have been what had been burning. Normally the stub would contain a couple of handfuls of loose soot. I sweep the flue twice a year, once at the beginning of the heating season and again in the new year. I have been removing the circular plate also about twice during the heating season to empty out any soot that has dropped down but now wonder if I should do it more often?...........JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sid Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I've found some deposits in our chimney, a bit like lava. Apparently this is "creosote" (not the stuff we used to paint sheds with) and is caused by the fuel not burning properly. We often run our woodburner at a low setting for long periods, as it produces a lot of heat (as designed!!), but this can lead to condensation at the top of the flue where the flue doesn't get sufficiently hot, and the condensation may run back down and solidify. There have been other threads about the correct way of connecting flue pipes to avoid leakage. Sweeping removes it, and it's easier with a steel flue than with an open chimney. We were advised to run the woodburner on a hot setting at least once a day for half an hour or so and since then we've had no further problem. However, I now sweep the flue every 6 weeks or so over the winter period. It's not a big job and takes less than an hour.The said "creosote" is highly inflammable (or is it flammable ?? always confused me... anyway it burns very well!!) and this is what burns when you get a chimney fire. If you hear the roaring noise you should close the air vents to cutoff the supply of oxygen and it should stop. Don't ask me how I know this!! [;-)]You shouldn't try to put out the fire with water or sand, at the very least you risk cracking the cast iron stove body, or getting scalded. Just keep the woodburner door and vents closed tight. Sweep more often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassis Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I've had the same experience as Sid except shutting the flap between the wood-fired boiler and the main flue, and dousing the boiler after removing the wood, didn't stop it - possibly because the previous owners had a "regulator flap" in the chimney flue itself, above the boiler, which continued to let in air to the fire in the flue. The causes were also exactly as Sid describes, according to the chief of 20 or so pompiers who attended. Not an experience to be repeated and nothing to do with not having the chimney swept - entirely down to the boiler burning at too low a temperature for a long period of time and creosote condensing in the flue. Not a mistake I'll make again - I'll never let the boiler fire burn other than fiercely! We were lucky - no damage except to the flue. It could have been a lot worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Hey, Saussison, where on earth have you been all this time?The time you've been away, I think it must have been in another life when we used to exchange banter on here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardian Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 [quote user="sweet 17"]Hey, Saussison, where on earth have you been all this time?[/quote]Its Saucisson, not two s's. He won't understand if you don't address him (it) correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassis Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Bonjour à tous et toutes. I don't mind how I'm addressed, honest, as long as it's not "Hey, Fatty" as in my own deluded mind's eye I'm a lean, mean sausage love machine. Facebook is to blame - not enough hours in the day for Forums AND Facebook AND Firefighting. [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 [quote user="Gardian"][quote user="sweet 17"] Hey, Saussison, where on earth have you been all this time?[/quote]Its Saucisson, not two s's. He won't understand if you don't address him (it) correctly. [/quote]Ah, thank you, Gardian. Getting careless in my old age but it's always great when someone takes the trouble to correct me as, after that, I tend not to make the same mistake again! Make other ones but not usually the same ones [:D]Glad to know you are still that fun-loving, gregarious old sausage that we know and love, Cassis LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRoss Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 I think I know the cause of the fire in the bottom of the flue. Some days before this happened I burnt a chemical log and some of the creosote further up the flue most have, due to the chemical action of the fumes from the log, become loose and dropped down to the bottom of the flue where it caught fire. This might be a problem peculiar to back entry and not top entry stoves. I cannot remember now just how long the destructions said one should wait after burning the log before sweeping the chimney. In view of what you good folk and others in another place have said I think next heating season I will pay for a sweep to get the certificate just in case!...............JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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