My Husband's Horrible Holiday

[Vinca]

Hello DIYers. I just found you and thought I would share the story of my husband's miserable lot in life. It all started a couple of days ago when I came home from the grocery store, walked into the living room and smelled a fire. Yelled at my husband, who was occupied in the kitchen, and we soon determined the pipe to the pellet stove was plugged with something and it was burning. We shut down the stove, checked the exposed chimney in the attic and decided all would be well if we replaced the flexible metal pipe that goes from the stove up the chimney. So off he went. $15 a foot for the stuff after a search of the tri-state area to locate it. The next day I was gone in the morning and when I arrived back, there was my husband, head-to-toe soot with bleeding cuts on his hands from the edge of the metal piping (old and new). I found him in the garage swearing at the new pipe, unable to slide the old connector into the new pipe. Every attempt seemed to produce more cuts and more swearing. We dragged the whole business into the kitchen, considering it was only 25 degrees outside, and, eventually, got the parts together. It was a shame I somehow whacked my husband's nose with an end of the pipe. By the time we were done he looked like Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler." It took a couple of more hours to get the pipe/stove/chimney assembly together, caulked and insulated and another 45 minutes to sweep and mop up the crud in the living room. Today, I'm happy to report, we're back in business. Of course, today is "install the new dishwasher" day. Two trips to Home Depot so far and still haven't got the right parts. Tomorrow is likely to be another glorious day at the Vinca household. ARRGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

[Warpy]

1. If you can tap the outside of the pipe and hear an obstruction

just remove the existing pipe and take it out in the yard and knock the obstruction out of it with a broom handle or something. It's a messy job but cheaper and easier than replacing the pipe. Besides, you want to know what was in there. You might need a screen on top of the chimney to prevent birds and varmints from entering and building nests.

[NMDemDist2]

2. ahh geez

:hug: <------- for Mr. V

the joys of homeownership eh??

[Hassin Bin Sober]

3. Clean those pipes, people!!!

Prevent chimney fires.

I'm not familiar with pellet stoves as I have a regular fireplace. But I understand the same principle is involved. I've known a few people who have had chimney fires and they aren't a pleasant event. My in-laws almost lost their house. The fire got so hot it cracked the exterior brick.

I bought a brush and a couple six foot rods to clean the chimney myself. I have a flat roof with easy access so I can do it safely and easily. If you don't have access or feel safe on a ladder make sure you call someone out at least once a year.

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/chimneyfires
Chimney fires can burn explosively - noisy and dramatic enough to be detected by neighbors or passersby. Flames or dense smoke may shoot from the top of the chimney. Homeowners report being startled by a low rumbling sound that reminds them of a freight train or a low flying air plane. However, those are only the chimney fires you know about. Slow-burning chimney fires don't get enough air or have enough fuel to be as dramatic or visible. But, the temperatures they reach are very high and can cause as much damage to the chimney structure - and nearby combustible parts of the house - as their more spectacular cousins. With proper chimney system care, chimneyfires are entirely preventable.

Fireplaces and wood stoves are designed to safely contain wood-fueled fires, while providing heat for a home. The chimneys that serve them have the job of expelling the by-products of combustion - the substances given off when wood burns.

As these substances exit the fireplace or wood stove, and flow up into the relatively cooler chimney, condensation occurs. The resulting residue that sticks to the inner walls of the chimney is called creosote. Creosote is black or brown in appearance. It can be crusty and flaky ... tar-like, drippy and sticky ... or shiny and hardened. Often, all forms will occur in one chimney system.

Whatever form it takes, creosote is highly combustible. If it builds up in sufficient quantities - and catches fire inside the chimney flue- the result will be a chimney fire. Although any amount of creosote can burn, sweeps are concerned when creosote builds up in sufficient quantities to sustain a long, hot, destructive chimney fire.

Certain conditions encourage the buildup of creosote, restricted air supply, unseasoned wood and cooler-than-normal chimney temperatures are all factors that can accelerate the buildup of creosote on chimney flue walls.