solid fuel flu glowing red hot

[king.module]

morning all

i've just installed a french 1920s log burner in the fireplace of our house - it's lovely but unfortunately we had trouble getting a flu the correct size (3 1/2 inch) so i had one made up at a local stainless steel exhaust garage (top job too).

anyway we sparked it up the other night and once it was burning properly the flu got so hot it glowed red - now there's nothing near it that can burn but i was wondering does this happen on other peoples stoves and more importantly if this contravenes building regulations because it obviously could be very very dangerous

 

[Dirk]

I've a wood burner myself as have all the members of my family.
My flue has never glowed with the heat. I spoke to my father in law who said he had the same problem when he got his over 25 years ago.
The manufacturers said he was either loading the burner up with too much fuel in one go and/or was leaving the air control devices open too long, causing flames to roar up your flue like a blow torch (sounds painfull)
Hope this helps.

 

[shaggy]

I once had a pot-bellied wood burner that glowed red if I filled it with really dry timber such as off-cuts of joist ends etc. Not the flue pipe, but the bottom of the stove glowed and wood stacked alongside started to smoke. It was ok with tree logs because the moisture content was higher.

 

[king.module]

thankyou gents i can relate to all that

- the stove is only small with the flu exhaust 4/5 of the way up so you can easily fill it up to the flu (it's a top loader)

- yep def. left the air holes open so the flames go up the flu

- yep the wood is very very dry - 90 year old floor boards

so that is causing a problem.

what about building regs? anyone know if the flu needs to be 'protected' by heat resistant enamel Etc ETc...??

 

[shaggy]

The dry wood is why it's burning that hot but how much stock have you got? If you start buying logs then you won't get it that hot. I would just regulate the quantity of wood you put in it. Once I'd had a wood burner I never wanted anything else. My current home has a multi-fuel stove with back boiler - absolutely brilliant.

 

[king.module]

lol @ stock - never heard old floor boards called that

got quite a bit as i've saved it up over the last year or so for this very purpose - like you say i'll just regulate it with logs - but i tell you what it makes excellent fire lighting material - drop a lighted piece of paper in and it's away

and yeah it is totally brilliant - the heat it kicks out is amazing much better than an open fire with the same amount of fuel - i'm a convert