Category Archives: Home safety

Oct 02 5 comments
Heating, Home safety

Cleaning A Woodstove Chimney

We had really nice weather today, so when I got home from work, I took the opportunity to clean the wood stove chimney. If you use a wood burning appliance, the chimney needs to be cleaned at least once a year to remove any soot and creosote build up. It is important because creosote is flammable and creosote build up is a recipe for a chimney fire, which is really dangerous. In addition to yearly cleaning, the chimney should be inspected every two weeks during heating season.

Creosote is formed when wood smoke condenses on the inside of a cool chimney. This can happen if the wood stove is running too cold, or the chimney is improperly installed. A modern wood burning appliance should have no visible smoke when it is running properly. This means that all the smoke is being burning in the firebox, so it cannot condense on the chimney. Every wood stove has an optimum working temperature range. Our little Jotul F-100 works best at between 400 to 600 degrees F (204 to 316 degrees C). We purchased Condar Chimgard magnetic thermometer and placed it on top of the stove to check its temperature.

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In addition, a properly installed chimney is the engine that drives the stove. A chimney that is the wrong diameter will never heat up and will not draft properly. Similarly, a chimney that is too short will also not draft properly. Both of these conditions will cause the wood stove not to work properly. For our stove, Jotul specifies a 6-inch inside diameter chimney at least 14 feet tall.

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It is inevitable that some creosote will form on a chimney when the stove is first starting. That is why it needs to be cleaned every year. When the wood stove was installed, I replaced the old chimney with Simpson DuraTech Class A chimney. The stove connector pipe (goes between the chimney and the stove) is double wall Simpson DVL. The double wall connector pipe allows closer clearances than single wall pipe. I like both products.

To clean the chimney requires a little planning. First, there is a cast iron baffle in the top of the Jotul F-100 stove that needs to be removed and cleaned. I don’t know why, but there always seems to be some ash accumulated on top of this baffle. It is a pain to get out, but somehow is harder to get back in.

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Once the baffle is removed, I cleaned the stove thoroughly to remove all of the ash from the previous heating season. Then I placed a medium sized fan in front of the stove to create a strong updraft in the chimney.

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On the roof I removed the chimney cap by turning it counter clockwise and lifting up. Then with a six inch chimney brush I purchased at the local hardware store, I brushed up and down inside the chimney. The updraft created by the fan blows all the small soot particles up and out of the chimney. Anything larger will fall down against the updraft and end up in the back of the stove. I spent about 15 to 20 minutes on the chimney until brushing did not produce a cloud of soot from top of the chimney. I did not see any creosote build up on my chimney, only some blackish brown soot.

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Next I removed the stove connector pipe and took it outside to clean it out using the same 6-inch brush.

Then, when I am all done with cleaning the connector pipe, I put it all back together again. The baffle is a real pain in the rear end to get back into the top of the Jotul stove. It only fits in there one-way, and it is heavy. The rest goes together easily. When everything is all together, I cleaned out the stove one more time and declare the project done!

When you are cleaning the stove, it is a good time to check all the gaskets and seals to make sure the appliance is still functioning properly.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Jul 30 0 comments
Home safety

Fire safety and prevention

This is one of those things we hear a lot about, but really can’t be overstressed. To me is seems that almost all fires and fire related injuries are preventable. Like anything else, a plan is needed. A good fire plans should have three main points:

1. Fire Prevention
3. Limiting fire damage
2. Fire Warning and escape

Fire prevention is the most sure way to keep you and your family safe. Things that we take for granted like electricity, heating and cooking appliances are the most likely starters of home fires.

Fires starting from electric source can be due to damaged or frayed cords, over loaded outlets, old or underrated wiring, use of improper fuses, damaged appliances and so on. The National Fire Protection Agency oversees the National Electrical Code (NEC). Most electricians simply call it “The Code” or “Code.” The NEC is in place to establish a uniform standard for building inspectors to use when evaluating new wiring. It is the standard for electrical safety.

Christmas time is an especially tragic time of the year to have a fire, and yet, with all the Christmas lights and other decorations, overloaded outlets and extension cords are common. If an extension cord or electrical cord feels hot when in use, it is overloaded and its use should be discontinued.

Other areas where fires can start heating appliances. The furnace or boiler should be serviced once a year. Gas and oil fired hot water heaters need to also be serviced once a year. Make sure the chimney is clean and clear of debris. The rest of this stuff is common sense like don’t use your kitchen stove to heat the house, don’t put combustible material near your stove where it can come in contact with a hot burner. Don’t store flammable liquids inside your house. If you have a wood stove, make sure the chimney is cleaned once a year. Make sure your vent for you clothes dryer is clear of lint. Don’t leave burning candles unattended.


Paulthurst41 Thumb Kiddie Fire Extingusher
Limiting fire damage. Every house should have at least one medium sized all purpose fire extinguisher on hand. All purpose means all fire classes, which will be noted on the fire extinguisher as A B and C. These are dry chemical units which work well on any type of fire.

Fire clases:

A class A fire is combustibles like wood and paper. Water, dry chemical or CO2 will work on these types of fires.

A class B fire is liquids such as oil and gas. This includes cooking oil. Water will spread this type of fire around. Dry chemical or CO2 will work on these types of fires

A Class C fire is electrical. This is were an electrical circuit is still energized and there is arcing and sparking. Dry chemical or CO2 will work on these types of fires. If the electricity is turned off, this type fire usually becomes a class A fire.

If something catches fire on a stove, the best thing to do is put a cover on it. If the fire has gone beyond control, get everyone out of there and call the fire department. Smoke inhalation is the most common fire related injury and a serious risk. Nothing is worth risking your life over.


Paulthurst41 Thumb Kiddie Smoke And CO DetectorSmoke Detectors and other warning devices. Most states require that any residential dwelling have a smoke detector installed. I recommend there be several and most importantly, the batteries get changed twice a year when the clock change over for daylight savings time occurs. If you have a combustion type heating device (something that burns gas, oil or wood) in your home, it is very important to have a carbon monoxide detector. Carbon Monoxide (CO) results from incomplete combustion. It is odorless, colorless, and will quickly render someone unconscious and eventually dead. A combination smoke and CO detector is slightly more expensive but well worth the money. Plug in CO detectors are also available, either unit will work fine.

Make sure to have an evacuation plan, including a meeting place once out of the house. Practice your evacuation plan with your children to be sure that they know what they are supposed to do if the smoke detector goes off. This is very important. Often parents are injured or killed because they go back into a burning structure to rescue children because they are unaware that everyone is already escaped.

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