tar running down stove flue

conkerrigan

I was wondering if anyone could help me find a solution to my stove problem. What was a small problem has now got really bad... tar is running down my internal flue and smells really bad it can also sting your eyes.... iave single flues on inside of room about 3mtr lenght then out through the roof to a couple of 22dgr bends and up past the gutters all twin wall on outside.....

I only burn coal slack (good quality) and only sticks to start the fire...

Regards

Conor

chrysagon

u burning wet or semi wet wood?

gctest50

could be creosote ? it condenses on the walls of the flue

it can burn too , leads to a huge chimney/house fire

you can either keep the flue warm all the way to the roof or get a stove that burns the gases



http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/creosote_from_wood_burning_causes_and_solutions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaPkK3YDYsg

gctest50

you can get stuff to reduce/remove it in the meantime , this kinda thing :

http://chimneysaver.com/products/creosote-removal-products/

conkerrigan

chrysagon wrote: »

u burning wet or semi wet wood?

I had a bit of laminate flooring I burnt late last winter but problems only happening now for some reason....

conkerrigan

conkerrigan wrote: »

I had a bit of laminate flooring I burnt late last winter but problems only happening now for some reason....

Last years burning probably left a layer of creosote high up the in the flue and this years burning is now melting it and it's now dropping down.

Most likely you're running the stove for longer now the weather is colder giving more time for the upper parts of the flue to get hot enough to release the creosote.

conkerrigan

So how do I get it 2 stop leaking at d joints from here on in....

baby fish

sound like the joints are turned the wrong way. It should be female end facing up and male end inside of this facing down + sealed with fire cement. nothing will leak out if the joints are turned the correct way, it can only flow back into the stove. This could be the reason the joints are leaking.

even if they were the correct way I wouldn't be happy with all that tar and creosote, sounds like you will have a chimney fire soon.

It is recommended not to go over 1.5m of single skin flue over top of stove. this is because single skin will leave heat back in to the room, which is great for extra heat in the room but you do need some heat going up the flue to heat the flue and push the smoke+fumes out. If there is not enough heat going up the flue there is increased risk of the fumes condensing inside the flue creating tar and creosote. stoves are very efficient so there isn't much heat wasted going up the flue anyway - Your 3m of single skin will leave a lot of extra heat into your room but it reduces the amount of heat going up the flue, this could be part of your creosote/tar problem.

Are you burning the fuel at the correct temperature? I.e. is the air control set at the correct position, it might be tempting to shut the air down to the min and get the most out of your fuel, but this reduces the heat going up the flue even more and increases the chances of tar/creosote. a stove thermometer can be attached to the flue about 18inches over the stove to give an indication if the fire is burning at the correct temp.


How often do you clean the flue? At least once a year is recommended, it might be more with coal slack - I never used it.

How many years is this stove in use .