Expert: James Ball - 12/2/2009

Question
Hi, I have black soot on the double wall piping from the surface of the woodstove up to my ceiling. I'm not sure if I just never noticed this before, or if it is normal. When I touched it the other night my fingers were quite black. Is this normal? Also, when the wood stove really gets cookin' there's a chemical smell for a little bit. Especially after not having a fire all summer. First one really stinks. But there's no smoke coming in the house or anything? Is this anything to be concerned about?

Answer
Hello Jolynn, no it is not normal to have smoke soot on the out side of a pipe, and not sure what the smell might be (dead animal? oil on the pipes?)
I would have a local Certified Chimney Sweep (www.csia.org, there you can look up by zip code to find one near you) take a first hand look at what you have they should be able to help.
Hope this helps
James