I found a 50 degree difference in a flue after a simple fix

Had a call in a Victorian row house in Boston last month where the draft was terrible and smoke was spilling back into the room. I took readings and the flue temp at the thimble was barely 150 degrees, way too cold for a wood stove. Turns out the previous sweep had left a massive creosote dam about 3 feet up that was blocking most of the airflow. After a good scrape and vacuum I got the flue temp up to 200 degrees and the draft finally pulled right. Anyone else run into partially blocked flues that look fine from the bottom?

2 comments

2 Comments

diana558d ago

Man I used to think if you could see daylight through the bottom of the flue you were good to go. Had a buddy tell me about a similar situation in an old house where the draft was just lazy no matter what. After he finally ran a camera up he found this weird buildup halfway up that looked solid from below. Totally changed how I look at flues now. Stick a camera up there every time even if it looks clear from the bottom. You never know what's lurking in those old chimneys especially in old houses with all the weird angles. I had a coworker who swore by just doing a simple smoke test and calling it good. Took him showing me a flue temp reading that was way off for me to finally get it. Now I always check temps at different points not just at the stove connection. Makes a world of difference for catching partial blockages early before they turn into a bigger mess.

anthony1657d ago

Smoke test and calling it good" - buddy of mine learned that lesson when his flue caught fire mid-winter.