On This Week's Show, 2020

Kenbo

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After receiving some feedback that the original "On This Week's Show" was getting a little graphic intensive and causing some folk's computers to bog down, I am starting a new thread with the newest shows starting in 2020. I hope you enjoy the posts.

 

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Mr. Peet

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Grounding the air system needs to be done on metal lines too, not just the plastic ones. My brother has several grounding points on his system. Going back to the house ground is good, however air is a poor conductor and can harness a charge, resulting in many possible shocks between the unit used and the final grounding point. He has each machine grounded, separate from the electric feed. Plastic dust line is grounded at each machine, to limit back charge to the user. Shop humidity is also key. Anything below 15% is just asking for it. I'm sure there is literature on the best humidity levels, just know with his shop, 15 is bad.
 

Mr. Peet

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Good job Ken. I'm glad you took the time to do this alternative show about your wood stove.

My family has had poor luck with the eco-fans. I wonder if stove temperature has been an issue. No one in the family has had more than 2 seasons with one of those fans. The company has been good, rebuilding or replacing as warranted.

Our fire squad usually deals with a dozen or more chimney fires each year. Cleaning could have prevented most of them. Damper control is a big deal. Too often stoves are dampered down too far, allowing cooling of the chimney, condensation and creosote, and sometimes tar.

I was called (non-emergency call) to assist an 80 year old man who was having issues cleaning a chimney for a 76 year old lady friend. She had an 8" x 8" square flue with a round hole that tapered from the chimney top to a 2" diameter hole in 18" of drop. It was like looking down a funnel. I chiseled the edges and pulled a 5', 20+ pound chunk of tar out of the chimney. After an hour, I finally broke a hole all the way down. I was only able to chase a 6" round brush. It was truly a hazard even after I was done. She also did not use a chimney cap.

She bought "seasoned" wood, that she failed to cover properly. So the wood was high moisture to start. She'd damper down, to allow just enough heat to have running water in the house, 40 -50 degrees house temps. Very sad. She'd leave her garage door open to allow the cold to keep frozen foods froze or just cold, lying on cardboard on the floor, to avoid running the chest freezer in the winter. This was just so frustrating to see. A little education could have helped so much. She made it two more years and pasted last spring.

Chimney caps are great but can have issues. Spend the money on a stainless steel cap. You will save over the life span of the cap a few fold. Clean the cap each chimney cleaning. Easy way is to pack it with newspaper and cardboard, place it in a cardboard box and drop it in a 55 gallon burn barrel (or outdoor fire ring) . Burn the box (from the bottom is best). After about an hour, use a stove poker to remove the cap and carefully observe for heat. A meat thermometer works great. I usually have the cap being cleaned while I am cleaning the soot from the chimney clean-out. By the time the soot is emptied, stove pipes cleaned and back in place the cap is cooled off. The set screws, run them in so they don't fall out when in the barrel, or pocket them to be cleaned separately (butane torch).
A common steel cap will fail after a few cleanings, often just 2-3 years while a SS cap can last 5-10 years. The cardboard burns hot enough to clean, cool enough to not warp or pop spot welds. If you have an oil unit sharing the chimney, the sulfuric content will shorten cap lives greatly.

One cap down side, if the chimney is not routinely cleaned, creosote and even tar can build up on the cap. At some point, the layering will run and eventually drip. The dripping can run down the outside of the chimney, or fall on the roof allowing a fuel load build up. If a chimney fire happens, the cap becomes a deflection shield for flames, onto the roof. The built up layers on the cap melt and ignite, and are deflected onto the roof and surroundings.

If you are by the stove, the sucking dampers create a freight train sound in combination with the chimney fire. You hear that, close your dampers, call for help as in anyone in the house, get a 3-5 gallon bucket of water started. If you have help, have them get everyone to the safe room prepared to evacuate and call 911 / emergency agency. While they are doing so, go outside and see if your cap is in place and fire deflecting. If so, tell the person on the phone to relay that information. Throw the water from the bucket into the stove quickly and quickly shut the door. This buys little time. There are many choices. Go back outside and grab a hose to wet your roof. I had a frost-free hose bib placed just several feet from the chimney. Another sad reason to assure you drained your hose in prep for winter, in case you have to use it.

If you have time and help, moving vehicles out of the way (driveway) of responders is nice (before they are there), letting neighbors know so they can help you or defend their homes and so forth. There are hundreds of things and ways to respond, what I mentioned are just possibilities and not necessarily deemed right by some authorities. Just like practicing fire escapes, you should practice for chimney fires. Having a SS flue liner is a very big positive move from the start.
 
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Kenbo

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Good job Ken. I'm glad you took the time to do this alternative show about your wood stove.

My family has had poor luck with the eco-fans. I wonder if stove temperature has been an issue. No one in the family has had more than 2 seasons with one of those fans. The company has been good, rebuilding or replacing as warranted.

Our fire squad usually deals with a dozen or more chimney fires each year. Cleaning could have prevented most of them. Damper control is a big deal. Too often stoves are dampered down too far, allowing cooling of the chimney, condensation and creosote, and sometimes tar.

I was called (non-emergency call) to assist an 80 year old man who was having issues cleaning a chimney for a 76 year old lady friend. She had an 8" x 8" square flue with a round hole that tapered from the chimney top to a 2" diameter hole in 18" of drop. It was like looking down a funnel. I chiseled the edges and pulled a 5', 20+ pound chunk of tar out of the chimney. After an hour, I finally broke a hole all the way down. I was only able to chase a 6" round brush. It was truly a hazard even after I was done. She also did not use a chimney cap.

She bought "seasoned" wood, that she failed to cover properly. So the wood was high moisture to start. She'd damper down, to allow just enough heat to have running water in the house, 40 -50 degrees house temps. Very sad. She'd leave her garage door open to allow the cold to keep frozen foods froze or just cold, lying on cardboard on the floor, to avoid running the chest freezer in the winter. This was just so frustrating to see. A little education could have helped so much. She made it two more years and pasted last spring.

Chimney caps are great but can have issues. Spend the money on a stainless steel cap. You will save over the life span of the cap a few fold. Clean the cap each chimney cleaning. Easy way is to pack it with newspaper and cardboard, place it in a cardboard box and drop it in a 55 gallon burn barrel (or outdoor fire ring) . Burn the box (from the bottom is best). After about an hour, use a stove poker to remove the cap and carefully observe for heat. A meat thermometer works great. I usually have the cap being cleaned while I am cleaning the soot from the chimney clean-out. By the time the soot is emptied, stove pipes cleaned and back in place the cap is cooled off. The set screws, run them in so they don't fall out when in the barrel, or pocket them to be cleaned separately (butane torch).
A common steel cap will fail after a few cleanings, often just 2-3 years while a SS cap can last 5-10 years. The cardboard burns hot enough to clean, cool enough to not warp or pop spot welds. If you have an oil unit sharing the chimney, the sulfuric content will shorten cap lives greatly.

One cap down side, if the chimney is not routinely cleaned, creosote and even tar can build up on the cap. At some point, the layering will run and eventually drip. The dripping can run down the outside of the chimney, or fall on the roof allowing a fuel load build up. If a chimney fire happens, the cap becomes a deflection shield for flames, onto the roof. The built up layers on the cap melt and ignite, and are deflected onto the roof and surroundings.

If you are by the stove, the sucking dampers create a freight train sound in combination with the chimney fire. You hear that, close your dampers, call for help as in anyone in the house, get a 3-5 gallon bucket of water started. If you have help, have them get everyone to the safe room prepared to evacuate and call 911 / emergency agency. While they are doing so, go outside and see if your cap is in place and fire deflecting. If so, tell the person on the phone to relay that information. Through the water from the bucket into the stove quickly and quickly shut the door. This buys little time. There are many choices. Go back outside and grab a hose to wet your roof. I had a frost-free hose bib placed just several feet from the chimney. Another sad reason to assure you drained your hose in prep for winter, in case you have to use it.

If you have time and help, moving vehicles out of the way (driveway) of responders is nice (before they are there), letting neighbors know so they can help you or defend their homes and so forth. There are hundreds of things and ways to respond, what I mentioned are just possibilities and not necessarily deemed right by some authorities. Just like practicing fire escapes, you should practice for chimney fires. Having a SS flue liner is a very big positive move from the start.



Very nicely written and thorough. Thanks for chiming in on the subject.
 

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Tony

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Ken, how did you chuck that thing up? I know you said it's a collet chuck but apparently I'm not thinking of the same thing. Can you show the setup?
 
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