Smelly water from chimney
We have a Vermont Casting Defiant Encore wood stove with catalyst. I’m burning oak that was cut split, stacked and covered with a tarp more than a year ago. I have had only 2 fires this year and have not used the catalytic combustor, I thought it might be creating the problem. I’d gotten the burn well into the normal heat range. Last night I slowed the fire to last the night. This morning I have acrid smelling water running from the chimney down the brick work behind the wood stove. We have not had rain for many days and we have a cap on the chimney. This water must be from the combustion. What is the proper way to burn the stove overnight?
Responses
The smelly water is a mixture of soot and condensation.
I suspect that the internal chimney channel may be too leger for your appliance and thus the smoke is not rising fast enough and is cooling in the chimney and the mix of warm air and cold chimney causes condensation which then runs down the chimney. Much like the water down your lemonade glass in the summer.
Read your manual and utilize the bypass damper system in your stove, The exhaust MUST stay hot to leave the channel and the channel must be propely sized for your system. What size is the inside of the chimney channel and the height of the chimney?
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