But should I be worried about this type of small crack?
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Crack!
I have found a few cracks in my chimney that I am about to hook up my wood stove to. I am not using a liner due to the ID of the chimney being only 4-1/2" x 8-1/2". From speaking to City of Portland inspectors, the dangers of not having your chimney lined lies mostly with carbon monoxide poisoning. However, I'm not UNcomfortable with this since I have carbon monoxide detectors and I will only being using the wood stove on an occasional basis. Like during those 5 really cold days in the Pacific Northwest.
But should I be worried about this type of small crack?
But should I be worried about this type of small crack?
That kind of crack shouldn't be a problem. You should see my chimneys! I have gaping holes in one where the bricks have crumbled and have had to tuck point the others because the mortar is shot. You can always stucco over it, especially if it won't be seen. I plan to put liners in ours. Some will have the ceramic insulation wrap and others will have vermiculite poured around them for insulation. Your inspector doesn't have a clue if he mentioned CO2 as a woodburning problem. The biggest problem is creosote build up on the rough interior causing a chimney fire and sparks passing through the cracks igniting a fire in an attic or between the floors.
ReplyDeleteWe are looking at installing a couple of pellet stoves in our place as well as 2 wood stoves. They use 3 inch ss pipe.
The CO2 thing probably has something to do with the height of the chimney in relation to the firebox. I had an old house that used the old coal fire place chimney to vent the gas fired boiler for the radiator system. The gasses didn't vent properly from the chimney, with one of the problems being condensation forming on the inside of the house. It sounds weird and unrelated I know and I only learned about it when I got my Firefighter certification.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, you do NOT want a flu fire so inspect and/or clean regularly.
You spelled Craic wrong!
ReplyDeleteYou didn't enable the comment moderation because of me did you?
ReplyDeleteGary- I probably had mentioned the creosote concern to the inspector earlier, and the carbon monoxide was the next concern. Thanks for the comment. I hope you can get those stoves installed soon. Brrrrrr.
ReplyDeleteBill- The height is an interesting factor that I hadn't thought of. I learned something new today. By the way, it's CO that's the danger, not carbon dioxide, which is what you exhale. I thought you would have learned that in fire marshall school.
Seamus- Have you been drinking?
John- Great to have you back! Yes, I admit you were creeping me out a little, but I've grown since. I'm not afraid of you anymore. But I'm still keeping the moderation on.