The fact that the stove isn’t drawing as well as it should (after tweaks and some stovepipe cleaning) has been leading me to explore/consider deeper problems, areas. Yesterday it was pulling nicely, today not so much.
I swung the cleanout door at the bottom of the chimney open, where the stovepipe liner takes a 90 going up, and after fiddling a little with the pipe’s supports, creosote crumbles starting falling out and if I’m not mistaken, put my finger through the decaying metal of the bottom of the 90…. Smoke began billowing from the stove top, RED FLAGS!!!!!
I need to let this fire run it’s course, then I can have a look. It hasn’t been cleaned for a long time and I believe between build up of gunk and the moisture it collects in summer has worn out/begun clogging/rotting the line (and this disrupting clean from firebox to chimney top)!
The J-tube was pulling past it, though I was noticing less flow. The new stove construction likely jiggled a variety of things, bringing the fix up to the front. Keep you posted, man am I eager to straighten this out!
DeedleDoodleDaily 