Coal Stove Maintenance

I'm looking for somebody near Dundee NY to come look over my coal stove. I ran it all last season with no problems at all but this season the carbon monoxide detector keeps going off. It's going to be the coldest night here in NY and I had to shut the stove down! Anybody have names and numbers to give me?? Suggestions?

power vent? natural chimney?

They need to be cleaned every spring and the draft adjusted properly. have you cleaned the stove and pipes out?

Check flue pipe for fly ash and chimney (if you have one) for critters.

Thank you both...I have had the chimney taken apart and cleaned out and so far so good. In fact, the coal seems to be burning more uniformly now as well. My chimney from the stove pipe out of the side of the house has some strange type of vent on it and the gentleman that came and took it apart and cleaned it out said it needed some type of cap. I stuffed it with insulation and all seems to be going good now but how strange that it was not a problem last heating season?

kickincoalinNY wrote:My chimney from the stove pipe out of the side of the house has some strange type of vent on it and the gentleman that came and took it apart and cleaned it out said it needed some type of cap. I stuffed it with insulation

Very curious and has me suspicious of something.......Would you be able to post a picture of the 'strange type of vent' along with your flue pipe config from the stove to the chimney?

Yeah and you stuffed insulation in what, exactly?

Masonry chimney with terra cotta flue liner or SS liner? how high from thimble to top? Am very suspicious of cap. Pics would help.
Jim

Sorry the all uploaded sideways

The "outside chimney" picture where you see the shrubbery is an extension off of the bottom of the chimney that was just an open pipe. Maybe for clean out? It was not capped off and I was advised that it should be. For the time being I stuffed it with insulation (I have since purchased a 6"cap for it but not installed it because I'm just not convinced it's the right thing to do) and it seemed to help a little, but not consistently. The guy that came and cleaned the pipes also stuffed insulation in the chimney on the inside of the house. You can see that in two of the photos as well. Good idea? I don't know. It seems like that "double pipe" served as some type of fresh air intake but I have not had any additional problems since he did it so..... I also have not had any fewer issues. I started another thread in regards to properly running the stove because in all honesty, I'm not so sure I am doing that. But, I do have two co2 detectors and smoke alarm and a fire extinguisher handy. Just in case

You do need to cap off the bottom of the chimney on the outside. Leaving that open will rob the draft that is supposed to go through your stove.

It looks like you have a barometric damper. Since you have already experienced CO issues, I would cover the opening on that with foil until you get a manometer to measure your draft.

It's hard for me to tell from the other pic, but it looks like you have a 6" pipe from the stove going into an 8" pipe that goes through the wall? If so stuffing insulation between the 6" and 8" pipe is the correct thing to do. Blocking that gap will help all your draft come through the stove.

When was your flue pipe last cleaned, especially the horizontal sections?

titleist1 wrote:You do need to cap off the bottom of the chimney on the outside. Leaving that open will rob the draft that is supposed to go through your stove.

It looks like you have a barometric damper. Since you have already experienced CO issues, I would cover the opening on that with foil until you get a manometer to measure your draft.

It's hard for me to tell from the other pic, but it looks like you have a 6" pipe from the stove going into an 8" pipe that goes through the wall? If so stuffing insulation between the 6" and 8" pipe is the correct thing to do. Blocking that gap will help all your draft come through the stove.

When was your flue pipe last cleaned, especially the horizontal sections?

I will pull the insulation on the chimney on the outside of the house and install the cap. I will leave the insulation on the inside between the 6" pipe and 8" pipes and I will cover the damper and check the draft with a manometer. I just had the pipes all apart and cleaned up this winter...about 3-4 months ago so that should not be an issue. I will keep you all posted. Your guidance is GREATLY appreciated! I am very glad I found this forum!
Judy