Have you ever had a chimmney fire

[pie eater pete]

Burned unseasoned hardwood for years without mishap, then lit fire with some well seasoned scotspine (found some undercover behind my shed) within two minutes I could hear it roaring, then the back door slammed and I could feel all the air being sucked out of the house up the chimney. Wandered across the road to have a look at the chimney, and there contrasting nicely against the night sky was 8ft of blue flame rocketing out of the pot with lots of pretty sparks. I got a metal bucket and loaded the burning logs in, took them out to the patio. Within a few mins all the flames were out, got the chimney swept and it's been fine ever since.

 

Ha nice description there Ed!

[Jesse]

just a thought for today i got up this morning feeling i,am having a good day etc "" so far i live in hope trying to stay positive etc

 

anyway i fitted my fire well over a year ago and opend the access hole in my register blanking plate whatever you call it thesedays and stuck my camera up took some picc,s to check the ash/soot build up in there and was very supprised to find hardly anything there

 

so stuck the hoover in there quick suck suck etc all done nice n clean now again i was just very supprised how little ash there was etc

 

i was always worried about chimmney fires etc with all the internet reading available but now my minds at rest etc well for me anyway how often should i clean it out please ?? as i would be greatful for any advice thanks

 

I just put my old empty cans of speckled hen in the stove each night, i have too , its the only way i can stop the house from burning down, have to make shore they are empty first:thumbup1: there's something in the tin which stops the flue taring up.read something once it had something to do with Michael Jackson. crist its blowin tonight, i'd better put some more tins on the fire:lol:

[MATTMOSS]

pour water on a open fire , the steam rises and puts fire out .

 

NEVER do this! As said above the steam could burn you and the ash bursts out and will fill your room and make a real mess, ive seen it done.

[Stereo]

We used to put tins on too. Must be something in it. Probably not very Eco though! I've got some stuff off eBay and it really works. You chuck a couple scoops on a low fire every few weeks and it makes the tar hard and brittle. Ideal for stove pipe on our esse which can get very tarry.

[County4x4]

My chimney is a big wide stone one, the problem being the bottom of the chimney get hot whilst the top doesn't, so the vapour containing the tarry residue condenses on the upper portion of the flue

 

Lining such a chimney, even without vermiculite, is better than no liner at all.

 

Sweeping a large chimney like mine does nothing more than drop all the crap onto the top of the register plate and all you get is a little brush waving about in a large cavity doing nothing.

 

The tarry residue at the top is quite thick and a brush wouldn't touch it, more like it would have to be chiseled off.

 

Putting in a liner would make the chimney a breeze to sweep, because your only sweeping a tube and not a huge cavern.

 

I,m going to vermiculite mine anyway, but in the case of big old stone chimney breasts, any liner is better than no liner

 

This is why unlined chimneys should have decent sized access doors in the register plate, so that we can get the correct sized brush into the chimney, and also, and just as importantly, so we can remove all the crap once the chimney has been swept, rather than leaving it sitting in a nice heap right above the stove cooking nicely and just waiting for some sparks to set it off!

 

I'm using power sweeping equipment on most lined chimneys these days - but it's well over £400 so probably not an option for the householder just doing his own chimney! The problem of the nylon flexi rods which are sold for sweeping liners is that they just tend to flex if the brush comes up against any heavy deposits, rather than pushing the brush through. "Normal" chimney rods are not always a good idea on liners - especially the cheap ebay liners which often just unwind themselves if you're not careful. The powersweeping kit is more like a strimmer head than a brush, and tends to make pretty short work of most build ups, without putting a load of pressure on the liner either sideways or in a linear direction - which can push liners off stove collars if they're not fitted right.

 

Gotta say I'd still recommend getting a decent sweep in - you'll generally pay him or her a lot less than you pay the window cleaner over a year - and you'll have peace of mind too. I did say "decent" sweep though - there are just as many dodgy operators in this game as in the tree game - including some big companies who really should know better!

 

Andy

[pie eater pete]

I try to dry my wood out in the oven before it goes in the firebox as I can't get it as dry as I want. Also have the air vents fully open for full temp to reduce deposits but wife doesn't like trying to cook when the temp has gone off the scale!!

[Dean Lofthouse]

especially the cheap ebay liners which often just unwind themselves if you're not careful.

Andy

 

Thanks for your input Andy.

 

What liner would you say is a good liner, I have been looking at the double skinned 914 stainless on both skins which is £36 a metre ish ??