water down chimney

cocobear

Hi all
I have a solid fuel stove, with a rigid stainless steel flue coming from the back of the stove which joins directly into standard flue liners in the chimney breast.
The problem is when I light the _stove I get water coming down the chimney and running down along the stainless steel flue which smells bad as its slightly sooty water.
I am a bit baffled by it really!
The chimney is swept did it myself, the chimney I'd drafting well
I think maybe one of the bends in breast is falling back and trapping rain water??????

MicktheMan

Problem might well be flue gas condensation in the cold flue which is running down the flue.

cocobear

MicktheMan wrote: »

Problem might well be flue gas condensation in the cold flue which is running down the flue.

What can I do about that? And what causes it?

MicktheMan

cocobear wrote: »

What can I do about that? And what causes it?

Combustion gas condensation is usually caused by a flue liner with a temperature lower than the dew point of the combustion gas. As the hot gases rise through the flue they cool and eventually condense on the flue liner as it hasn't heated up yet. This generally happens when the stove is lit initially and flue is cold.
I'm no expert but you may find some answers here (do a thread search for "condensation" maybe)

moy83

Have you a cowl to stop the rain at the top of the flue ?

Boiled-egg

I had the exact same problem. Check the cap. I had a crack on mine. Ended up Relining , recapping and while I was at it I also created a soot box so the flue that exits the stove has no physical connection to the chimney. Worked a treat.

cocobear

moy83 wrote: »

Have you a cowl to stop the rain at the top of the flue ?

No I dont it's on my to do list
Due to the situation of the chimney, the height of the chimney and steep slope of the roof it's a disaster to get upto.
Ladders and scaffolding are out, it a job for a boom lift.
Hence the delay in doing it!

cocobear

O

Boiled-egg wrote: »

I had the exact same problem. Check the cap. I had a crack on mine. Ended up Relining , recapping and while I was at it I also created a soot box so the flue that exits the stove has no physical connection to the chimney. Worked a treat.

Yes I suspect the problem could be on the cap
Possibly water getting down between the outside of the flue and the cap, along with water
Getting down the flue opening itself

John Graham

I have the same problem as cocobear - sooty water coming down the outside of the flue of a wood burner. The stove is burning continuously and we seem most likely to notice the problem first thing in the morning. The stove will then have been throttled down all night, so the flue is probably fairly cool. The chimney is lined and the installer has been back and assured me the liner is intact and in good order.

The advice I had was that water is probably getting in the chimney cap, outside the flue, but I haven't yet had a chance to look at it. However I am puzzled by the fact that, over the recent dry period, when there has been no rain at all, there have been quite large flows of water on a couple of days and none on others. Is it possible that there is moisture/water lying in the fabric and that a flow of condensate is occasionally triggered by a particular set of factors such as outside temperature and flue temperature? The house is very old, built of stone and rubble, and I'm certain there are plenty of voids in which water could be held.

Because the flow was occurring in dry weather I wondered whether it might originate in a leaking water pipe, but I have pretty well ruled that out.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Tullogher

Assuming you are using sticks.

If the Sticks you are using in the stove are not seasoned and kept dry for a year you will get water running down the chimney

John Graham

Thank you, Tullogher. No, the sooty water is definitely flowing down outside the liner and flue. I am trying to spot any correlation between it and the weather at the time,

Tullogher

John Graham wrote: »

Thank you, Tullogher. No, the sooty water is definitely flowing down outside the liner and flue. I am trying to spot any correlation between it and the weather at the time,

Have you looked at the wet sticks issue?

If you have then you have to get the chimney cap ir flashing fixed