(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

How are chimney fires possible?

S

Sunny 5 acres

Member
A fire requires three elements. heat, fuel, and oxygen. In a chimney fire obviously heat and fuel are present. My question is how does a chimney fire pull sufficent oxygen through the firebox without the fire in the firebox consuming all the oxygen before it reaches the chimney? I am baffled how this is possible. Chimney fires go up so it is not pulling oxygen down from the top of the chimney.
.
 
When I have chimney fires, the fire pulls so much air through the stove damper, and around the door seal, it sounds like a semi truck in the basement! I run to the basement and close the dammper tight, then throw ashes around the door to seal it. Do NOT open the door!
 
I had to reply to this i was amazed one night we were working in a friends garage then noticed a chimney fire at his house another friend asked for a long tow chain i grabbed a ladder and of to the house we went my friend randy said this happens a lot at his house he burns a lot of wood. So up the ladder he went then dropped the chain down the chimney twice retrieved the chain at the bottom fule door on the out side the chain knocks off the soot and out went the fire. It was loud and scary
 
You havent been close to a chimney fire.The hotter it burns the more air it pulls in.Closing the stove up helps but wont stop one.It dose pull in air from the top because putting a steel plate on the top will slow a chimney fire.Smokes up the house but the fire has to be put out.
 
A seasonal reminder: A perfectly clean chimney can build up enough creosote in 36 hours to support a strong chimney fire if burned poorly enough. The answer: have a friendly chimney fire every day. Burn hot enough for a few minutes for the fire to carry up the flue and burn off the little bit that may be there. When done daily there will not be enough heat to be of concern to the pipe or chimney.
 
It can get hot enough to make a 5/16 chain to melt a link, and drop the bar attatched to it. The always seem to get air some where.

We now toss several zip lock bags of fire extinguisher powder down from the top.

We can no longer purchase asbestous gloves to hold the chain, and even with them with leather gloves inside the guys were getting burns.
 
Our rural Fire Dept. years ago sold what looked like large road flares that you put in the stove in case of a fire. Not sure how they worked. We never had to use them but I always wondered if they worked. Any one know about them?
 
Draft. It's the air that pulls the smoke up the chimney. Eliminate the draft & a chimney fire isn't possible. Course you can't use a fireplace that doesn't draw so it's a necessary evil.
 
(quoted from post at 07:26:13 09/18/11) Our rural Fire Dept. years ago sold what looked like large road flares that you put in the stove in case of a fire. Not sure how they worked. We never had to use them but I always wondered if they worked. Any one know about them?
Click to expand...
e used to have those as well. I believe that they worked by consuming the oxygen and starving the fire out. We went to the baggies of powder like Iowa Northwest described.
 
Three things
1. Keep the chimney clean
2. Make sure you have a way to cut off the air to the stove (harder with a fire place I know)
3. Burn only seasoned wood (never green) at a high enough temperature to burn off any creosote before it builds up enough to become a problem

There are thermometers you can get that install on your chimney pipe to indicate a proper burn temperature so as to minimize creosote build up.
 
If you have a well built air tight chimney and
an airtight stove that when you cut the drafts off the fire will go out you can control a chimney fire.Few stoves are well built enough to be truly airtight.
 
Most pipes SHOULD have a barometric damper on them... which will open when the chimney starts pulling a good draft.
Otherwise it's just going to pull right through the stove.

Rod
 
auto dampers are used on oil stoves and furnaces.They would feed air to a chimney fire and make it burn hotter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Deere 2020 rear wheel pinion bolt
Replies
4
Views
267
JIM MN
J
C
The Effects of Heat on Carbureted Engines
Replies
3
Views
853
CFS Carbs
C
Tom in TN
More about my New Holland 273 baler
Replies
8
Views
660
Mike(NEOhio)
M
K
How to rewire fuel pump when removing external resistor
Replies
1
Views
173
BarnyardEngineering
BarnyardEngineering
C
Basic Tuning of Carbureted Performance Engines
Replies
2
Views
887
CFS Carbs
C
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top