Chubby blowing smoke rings... is it my newly installed cap?

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keegs
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Post by keegs » Mon. Sep. 09, 2019 8:15 am

I recently had a few wood fires going in the Chubby with the secondary air ports open and had a few backdraft episodes resulting in a woooshing sound and a smoke ring coming out each of the secondary air ports. It happened twice over a three or four day period. I don't think it's NEVER happened before but I just had the flue cleaned and a cap installed and I'm wondering if the new (used) cap is causing any issues. I'm attaching a few images of it (the cap installed). Your thoughts?
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Freedom
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Post by Freedom » Mon. Sep. 09, 2019 8:31 am

Was there old cap the same height & the same overhang off the sides ? It may be catching a breeze & sending it back down . I had a cap that was too low & had a blow back on windy days . I put a taller cap on & no problems since with draft .

 
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keegs
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Post by keegs » Mon. Sep. 09, 2019 9:30 am

I didn't have a cap on it until this one was installed. Not sure what the distance should be from the outer rim of the flue pipe to the cap. My guess is this one's about 8-10 inches. This cap is home made.. bought it on CL. Could be why it was for sale ?? :)

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Mon. Sep. 09, 2019 6:13 pm

Me thinks it's that hand on top of the cap that's causing this situation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL


 
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keegs
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Post by keegs » Tue. Sep. 10, 2019 6:39 am

I don't know Fred.... I thought he'd come down after I paid the bill ...... maybe he's waiting for a tip? :)

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Tue. Sep. 10, 2019 6:43 am

Indeed K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol: Lots of variables there!! Bottom line--smoke rings are pretty KOOL!!!!!!!!

 
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Larry T.
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Post by Larry T. » Wed. Sep. 11, 2019 7:26 pm

Hi Keegs!
Try closing your secondary air this time of year. High humidity and no fires over the warm months may want you to dry out the chimney as it wakes up from a warm summers nap. A hotter fire may be required to reverse this situation. Best, LT !!

 
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Post by rberq » Wed. Sep. 11, 2019 8:27 pm

The guy who re-topped my (oil burner) chimney said his rule of thumb is, a cap reduces draft 20 percent.
If true, that could be significant if your chimney is marginal.


 
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Post by keegs » Wed. Sep. 11, 2019 9:21 pm

Thanks Larry and rberg,

There are a lot of variables here.... could even be the weather/pressure. So I'll muddle around with it some more and try to sort it out. CK

 
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Post by Hoytman » Wed. Sep. 11, 2019 11:39 pm

rberq wrote:
Wed. Sep. 11, 2019 8:27 pm
The guy who re-topped my (oil burner) chimney said his rule of thumb is, a cap reduces draft 20 percent.
If true, that could be significant if your chimney is marginal.
This is the very reason why my grandpa never put caps on the chimneys in this house...one is for oil, one is for wood. Originally the original chimney was the oil chimney, however, it was rebuilt for a wood stove and the room additions got the new oil chimney. I don’t ever plan on using the oil chimney ever again if I can help it.

Lots of old homes around here have no cap. Lots of old homes have a slate or stone cap of some sort...but is higher above the exit than modern caps. Just about all modern homes around here have a cap on them...and this past winter everyone my son and I looked at had huge chunks of ice hanging from them...with some dang near being closed off by the ice. Strangest thing I’ve ever seen...of course most of these homes where we seen all the ice dams were being heated by oil or gas/lp furnaces.

 
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Post by keegs » Thu. Sep. 12, 2019 7:43 am

Hoytman wrote:
Wed. Sep. 11, 2019 11:39 pm
This is the very reason why my grandpa never put caps on the chimneys in this house...one is for oil, one is for wood. Originally the original chimney was the oil chimney, however, it was rebuilt for a wood stove and the room additions got the new oil chimney. I don’t ever plan on using the oil chimney ever again if I can help it.

Lots of old homes around here have no cap. Lots of old homes have a slate or stone cap of some sort...but is higher above the exit than modern caps. Just about all modern homes around here have a cap on them...and this past winter everyone my son and I looked at had huge chunks of ice hanging from them...with some dang near being closed off by the ice. Strangest thing I’ve ever seen...of course most of these homes where we seen all the ice dams were being heated by oil or gas/lp furnaces.
We had a masonry chimney on the last house we sold. The buyers did a chimney inspection that found loose mortar between the liner sections and some cracks in the smoke chamber. The chimney/fireplace was about 15 years old. The guy that did the inspection recommended I put a cap on to stop any further weathering and explained that rain gets down into the flue and the freeze thaw cycle causes the mortar joints to break down. Made sense to me.

A few years ago at this place in Northern Maine, while we were away, a large woodpecker climbed down into the chimney and somehow made its way into the house. He flew around for a while apparently (pooping all over the place) and eventually came to his end in the basement. Poor guy.

The draft in the chimney seems pretty strong to me with the cap on. The house is on a slight elevation with open fields around. The Chubby is a pretty airtight stove and so my sense is that the chimney might not be heating up as readily with a wood fueled fire on top of a grate with few embers. I've only had two or three fires so far since the cap was installed. I'm not too worried about the downdrafts yet but if it persists I'll remove the cap. I have CO detectors on all levels.

Thanks Hoytman

 
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Post by rberq » Thu. Sep. 12, 2019 8:14 am

keegs wrote:
Thu. Sep. 12, 2019 7:43 am
The guy that did the inspection recommended I put a cap on to stop any further weathering and explained that rain gets down into the flue and the freeze thaw cycle causes the mortar joints to break down. Made sense to me.
My chimney was lined about 15 years ago with Supaflu, the process where they inflate a long cylindrical balloon down the chimney then pour some kind of cement around it. The mason said the same thing, when he was rebuilding above the roof -- that water had caused a lot of deterioration of the lining near the top.

In another year I'll probably give up lugging coal, and then the oil burner chimney will be used all winter. Maybe constant use will keep it more dried out. I thought brick chimneys were more or less forever, but a friend built a new house about 40 years ago and already had to have his re-topped same as mine.

 
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Post by Hoytman » Thu. Sep. 12, 2019 9:51 am

My explanation of what my grandpa said related only with regard to him and others allowing the chimney to fully breathe you might say.

It’s not that I don’t agree with having a cap. A cap does help shield the liner from rain and animals. I was pointing out that more modern caps are close to the liner outlet therefore they may cause a little back pressure and this could potentially increase inner temperature ever so slightly and therefore increase the draft some as well. Some of the older chimneys around here have a big slate rock covering them and are high enough above the liner/chimney outlet that it’s doubtful they would effect draft and they certainly don’t protect from animals. A cap can help some with down drafts too, some designs far better than others.

To me weathering is the biggest concern because we’re supposed to check out chimneys often anyhow.

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