Warm and Toastie

It's in... or should I say it was!

The new stove worked perfectly when it was lit. Twenty minutes later smoke billowed out of the door of a secondary cleaning shaft which, as you can imagine caused a slight panic.
The sealing plate had to be removed from the stove to see where the leak could possibly be. The chimney pot, new seal broken, came off to give the smoke an access route other than into the house and torches beamed into both flues to see what had gone wrong. As suddenly as the smoke developed, it stopped, causing much head scratching and discussion as to the why.

Finally it dawned. The new flu liner comes from the factory covered in oil. As soon as the flu became hot, it started smoking as it burned. With nowhere to go upwards, as the chimney was effectively sealed off, the only route out was via the obsolete shaft. A normal chimney would absorb that initial smoke as they are completely sealed. This one just had to be different and have an open leg.

Panic over, the fire is lit and the dogs and I are enjoying the warmth and I'll have the boys company again for a while tomorrow, to seal everything off again.

As you may be able to see, Cocoa has already deposited a toy in the hearth; a worrying habit he has had since he was a little puppy! He drags a bed to the fireside, puts a toy close to the warmth and goes to sleep. Silly mutt!

Shame. I'll have to let it go out now or it will be too hot to work on tomorrow!