Chimney Sweep
Hiring a chimney professional
In checking your chimney, a chimney professional can check all of the visible components of the chimney for damage, needed maintenance, and fire safety. A chimney professional is trained to look for dangerous or questionable conditions that a homeowner could easily miss.
Creosote
One of the great misunderstandings in the world of woodstoves is how creosote fits into the picture. Contrary to popular belief, creosote is not an inevitable product of wood burning. Creosote forms when wood is burned incompletely, and is an indication of improper use, poor installation, or a poor wood stove design.
Woodstove problems: poor performance
Sometimes it seems that the stove just isn’t working as well as it used to. If there is no obvious problem, such as smoking, catalyst malfunction, etc., but it just doesn’t seem to be doing the job it used to, consider the possibilities in this article.
Woodstove problem: catalytic combustor
If your stove has a catalytic combustor, it is critical that it be in good working condition, as the efficiency of the stove depends almost entirely on the cat. ? In general, If you have followed the instructions for lighting the stove, waited until it is up to the correct temperature, and engaged the cat, within a few minutes the stove should be burning steadily, with little or no visible smoke exiting the chimney.
Woodstove problem: woodstove gaskets
Gaskets around doors, ash pans, air intakes, or between metal panels of a wood stove are critical to proper stove performance. Leaky or missing gaskets let air in in the wrong place, fouling the burn and often severely reducing burn efficiency.
Woodstove problem: cracked or broken glass
Under normal conditions of use, the stove glass will not crack or break. Causes of glass breakage are varied including that of improper glass installation.
Smoky woodstove: smoky on wet days in other rooms
Some stoves seem to work just fine except when it is wet out. If this seems to be the case, pay close attention to the weather when you have smoking problems. It is easy to confuse wind-related problems with rain-related problems.
Smoky woodstove: smoking on windy days
Some stoves seem to work okay except on windy days, or if the wind is coming from a specific direction. Chimney height should be considered as a possible cause. We will look at this and other possible causes.
Smoky woodstove: constant or erratic smoking
If your stove seems to smoke all the time, or erratically, consider these possibilities: undersized flue, blockages, multiple appliances connected to the same flue.
Smoky woodstove: smoky endings
If your stove seems to work okay once you get it going, but smokes when you are done using it, as the fire is going out, here are some possibilities.
Smoky woodstove: smoky startups
If your wood stove smokes when you first light it, but works properly after a few minutes, here are some things to consider:
