Using a ZeroW and camera as an endoscope for chimneys?

[heavyhitterokra]

All a chimney does is draw warm air. It may, or may not have a damper. Usually, any problems with a chimney not drawing air will be either the damper or a build-up of creosote at the very top of the chimney opening.

Sometimes, a damper mechanism can wear out or break, leaving the bottom of the chimney blocked. This can usually be seen from inside the stove or fireplace from below using a flashlight.

More common, would be the fact that creosote collects at the top of the chimney as is cools off and comes out of suspension from burning green wood or from burning an oxygen starved fire.

Oftentimes, Chimney Swifts will build mud nests inside the top two feet of the chimney pipe. Sometimes, this will clog a chimney.

Also, squirrels sometimes build a nest in a chimney top. It's possible a raccoon or possum may have fallen down the chimney as well. That's why a good spark arrester comes in handy during the off-season.

Have you checked the top of the chimney for any obstructions (soccer balls, etc.?)

I usually clean my chimney at least twice per year. Once in late Autumn, from burning a smoldering fire on warmer days. And again in late Spring, for the same reason. A smoldering fire builds creosote very quickly and will form a ring at the very top of the chimney where the smoke tends to form an eddy current as it slowly rises against the cold air outside. Build up from this creosote ring will eventually shrink the opening to restrict the flow of air.

I just use a wire chimney brush from up at the top of the chimney. I have my fiberglass sections marked, so I know when I've reached the damper. I found the damper height by using a tape measure. It is very important to go down below after swabbing the chimney with the bristle wire attachment and clean all the fallen suet, debris, and creosote from where it has collected at the damper.

On multiple stove outlets like yours, it is sometimes possible to drag this debris out from below, using a modified garden hoe after removing the bottom section of stove pipe where it leads to the main chimney.

One time, my dad had the bright idea of lowering a shop vac hose from the top of the chimney. (His chimney also has multiple stove outlets, some are underground.) After spending half a day trying to retrieve the 30' feet of duct-taped vacuum hose from where it hung up on the first elbow, we never tried that trick again.

[heavyhitterokra]

This is the URL to an awesome chimney creosote cause site. I highly recommend reading it if you burn wood to heat your home. www.hearth.com/talk/threads/creosote-pictures.3954/

[macmex]

That thread is an "oldie but goodie," Ron. Thanks. I posted that on Facebook in the Homesteading Edu group. It contains some really valuable information. There are a good many people who are new to wood burning heat and would benefit from that information.

[heavyhitterokra]

I've burned wood for heat all my life and still learn something new every year. It's fairly easy to understand how they developed the internal combustion engine if you own an airtight wood stove. Every morning, it reminds me of the old days, when you'd have to pull the choke cable on cold mornings until the engine warmed up on the older cars.

On a wood stove, There is so much to know about intake air, chimney draft, how far to turn which damper and when to turn it, that it takes a lot of years to master it all. You learn to recognize different sounds, odd smells or weird vibrations, your brain learns to diagnose the problems and how to prevent them in the future.

You learn what types of wood to use on which days and for different reasons ... There's a lot to learn. I don't know if anyone could ever know it all.

[macmex]

Ron, I didn't get started with wood stoves (not really) until I was 22 years old. Then, after a year, I hardly got to use one again until I was 40. Since then, I've used one almost constantly, as our main source of heat. You're absolutely right about all there is to learn. It's amazing.