Expert: James Ball - 1/14/2011

Question
QUESTION: We have a wood burning stove that we use every year.  This year, however, after 2 months of normal use, it suddenly started dripping creosote on the outside of the pipe and of course making the house smell terrible.  After this, we gave it a thorough cleaning and then tried it again.  We ran it for about 5 hours with no problem and then when we opened the damper (I guess it is called, to let more air in) after about 20 minutes, it started leaking again.  Seems the hotter it got, the more it leaked.  When we closed the damper, it stopped.  Also, of note, the crimped ends of the pipe are up and the smooth ends are down.  Some of the drips seem to come from these connection points, but some are coming from above or right at the ceiling connection, it's hard to tell.  This stove was here when we bought the house and are just trying to get it working correctly and safely.  We don't have a local chimney sweep and cleaned the pipe ourselves.  Any special tricks to cleaning it that we might have missed?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks so much!

ANSWER: Hello Reneh, the male ends of the pipe should be facing down (into the one below it) towards the stove, do you have or can you get the owners manual, it will tell you how to burn your stove but most you will need a thermometer and should burn between 300-600 depending on the stove, by not burning it in this range it will build up very quickly and drip.
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


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: So if the pipes are upside down, does the piping need to be replaced?  It is just weird that it was working fine for so long and recently started leaking.  Is it okay for that creosote to drip back into the fire, won't it catch the inside of the pipe on fire?  We also recent had about 4-6 inches of snow that stuck around for 4-5 days (which is abnormal for Texas), could this have any impact?  What kind of thermometer do I get?  Thanks again for all the help.

ANSWER: Welcome back Reneh, find a certified sweep and have them take a look, you can find them on line google "Woodstove Thermometer"
again with out seeing the set up, I really can't tell what is going on. you should not be producing that 3rd stage creosote (drip) as that is the unburnt by produces of combustion, so the stove needs to be burn hotter and the pipe direct switched. and yes it could be that your system in not use to that kind of cold
James

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I checked that website and there is not a certified sweep within 50 miles of me (Zip 75411).  There is not a chimney maintenance for dummies website or anything that you know of?  Can we possibly just flip the existing pipe? The pipe is long enough.  Also, if we flip the existing pipe, should we seal the connections with wood stove gasket/crack sealant?  Like I said before we have used it for 3 prior years with no problems and the people before us used it also.  When we bought they house they had a chimney sweep guy come out and they inspected it, everything seemed fine.  I tried to call the same company but they are no longer in business.

One other thing.  When it first started dripping it was rather thick and then last night it seemed to get thinner, almost water like.  Any ideas?  I really do appreciate all of the advise.

Answer
Reneh, if you can flip the pipes do it if they need to be replaced then do that too (must be stove pipe not galvanized) and you will not need to seal them if they are that way.  MAybe check your surrounding areas towns 25 miles away and research. you might also find a wood stove store in your area?
That "drip" is 3rd stage creosote and it drips when it gets hot and accumulates when it has time to build up (not enough heat going up the chimney, cold chimneys, improperly sized chimneys..etc.)
A certified sweep will know all of this at a glance (or at least a good one would...like me) did you try to find a regular chimney sweep in your area?
good luck and keep me posted
James