How to stop embers from my chimney burning my cratch cover

[Hevs]

Hi all. 

I am new to boating as a live aboard and I had my first winter onboard 2022-2023.

 

I have just had my cratch cover replaced as it had preexisting holes burned through it by embers from the chimney.

 

These got progressively worse / there were more after my first winter. 

 

How do I stop this from happening again? 

 

The fitters reckon this is a common problem so I hoped the hive mind would be able to recommend things that I can do.

 

Thanks for your help in advance. 😊

[Alan de Enfield]

We have never had that problem - what are you burning ?

[Ewan123]

I wonder whether a different chimney might help, one that doesn't have a flat cap that an ember might bump into and lose upward momentum. Perhaps one of the ones that turn with the wind like this one Narrowboat Chimney Bird Cowl - Smokie Joes.

Only speculating mind - I've not had this problem, but then our chimney is halfway down the boat.

[Ex Brummie]

First, make sure you keep the chimney swept. Second, do not overload the fire; which fire do you have and what do you burn?

If the fire is too small for your requirement and you overfire it then you will get sparks. Another solution would be to fit a flue draught stabiliser so that the fire does not roar up the chimney.

[blackrose]

Asbestos cratch cover?

 

But seriously, as a last resort I wonder if there are any fire resistant materials like welding blanket material that you could get a new cratch cover made from?

Edited August 9, 2023 by blackrose

[Chris Lowe]

you need a spark arrester.

[Tracy D'arth]

Stove is in the wrong place.

[MtB]

My stove was in the exact same place as the OPs for 30 years and never had this problem.

 

And I'm not one to spare the stove when it gets cold! I run mine hard. 

 

Very odd. 

 

Hevs, what make and model of stove do you have?

 

 

 

 

[matty40s]

Some people think that a fire must go out every day and then get relit, with subsequent paper/kindling/wood flying up chimbly as they try to super heat the cold boat quickly.

Rule of thumb....keep your fire in from October to April...

 

I have never seen a scorched cratch cover so either you need to work out when your damage is occurring, or who is smoking fags outside your boat.

[MtB]

10 minutes ago, matty40s said:

I have never seen a scorched cratch cover so either you need to work out when your damage is occurring, or who is smoking fags outside your boat.

 

That's an interesting possibility. Were the holes all on the same side? The pontoon side opposite the stove? 

 

How does the OP actually know it was embers from the stove? Perhaps it is just an assumption.

[matty40s]

I have seen people smoking outside their cratches, on a pontoon, chatting away and flicking ash onto their own cratch, so this isnt just a guess.

[MtB]

2 minutes ago, matty40s said:

I have seen people smoking outside their cratches, on a pontoon, chatting away and flicking ash onto their own cratch, so this isnt just a guess.

 

I can't imagine fag ash alone burning holes. Stubbing them out on a cratch cover could though. 

[Hevs]

22 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

We have never had that problem - what are you burning ?

 

I was burning coal, kindling and logs.

[Hevs]

21 hours ago, Ex Brummie said:

First, make sure you keep the chimney swept. Second, do not overload the fire; which fire do you have and what do you burn?

If the fire is too small for your requirement and you overfire it then you will get sparks. Another solution would be to fit a flue draught stabiliser so that the fire does not roar up the chimney.

I burn coal, logs and kindling in a squirrel stove. I find it to be the opposite - the stove and the boat doesn't get very warm in the winter. Not as warm as other boaters describe it. 

I have swept the chimney twice and used a brick to clean it once due to the fact there is tar in the chimney that I am trying to get rid of. I have been buying materials that are specifically for multifuel stoves so I don't really understand why the tar is build up in the first place. 

[Hevs]

18 hours ago, MtB said:

My stove was in the exact same place as the OPs for 30 years and never had this problem.

 

And I'm not one to spare the stove when it gets cold! I run mine hard. 

 

Very odd. 

 

Hevs, what make and model of stove do you have?

 

 

 

 

I have a morso squirrel stove fitted around 2018.

Edited August 10, 2023 by Hevs
Spelling

[Hevs]

16 hours ago, MtB said:

 

I can't imagine fag ash alone burning holes. Stubbing them out on a cratch cover could though. 

I don't smoke! So it's definitely not me. It is predominantly on the side closest to my stove, I can see black ash and scorch marks on the roof all around the chimney and I caught it once when it was going like the clappers at night time. The chimney was glowing orange and there with embers flying out. Some holes were about the size of the tip of my thumb, others tiny.

[GUMPY]

I've never had that problem but then I've never had one of those stupid cones on the top of the chimney.  I also operate on the October to April  principal.

I also never burn wood because of sparks and my choice of fuel is E-coal or Phurnicite.

Try them  it may solve your problem.

 

[Tony Brooks]

I, too, suspect the logs may be the problem, especially if they are not properly dried or are of a wood known to spark like chestnut, I believe.

 

Ditch the coolie hat, it will only drop tar onto the roof. When the fire is out cover the hole with a dog bowl or saucepan sans its handle.

Edited August 10, 2023 by Tony Brooks

[GUMPY]

Just another thought did you remove the register plate when you cleaned the chimney? If you didn't then there may well be a build up on top of it preventing decent combustion.

5 years is enough for a stove to develop cracks which could lead to excessive firing.

 

ETA as there is tar in the chimney ( normally from burning unseasoned wood )

I suspect you may have had a good old fashioned chimney fire where the tar burns itself 😱

Edited August 10, 2023 by GUMPY

[Alan de Enfield]

21 minutes ago, Hevs said:

 

I was burning coal, kindling and logs.

 

In 40 years of boating we never had 'your' problem, but we never burnt wood, we only used 'brillo-pads' of smokeless fuel.

 

What wood are you using?

Are you buying in correctly dried wood, or is it random bits you are 'picking up' ?

[Hevs]

9 minutes ago, GUMPY said:

Just another thought did you remove the register plate when you cleaned the chimney? If you didn't then there may well be a build up on top of it preventing decent combustion.

5 years is enough for a stove to develop cracks which could lead to excessive firing.

 

ETA as there is tar in the chimney ( normally from burning unseasoned wood )

I suspect you may have had a good old fashioned chimney fire where the tar burns itself 😱

That sounds very scary 👀🥺. I don't want to think too hard about what might have happened. Not sure what this now means for my flue though...

 

I haven't had the plate off yet. One of my jobs for the next few weeks is to reseal the chimney and the flue so I guess I'll find out. 

 

The stove had never been used when i bought it, even though it was fitted four years before. 

[Hevs]

8 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

In 40 years of boating we never had 'your' problem, but we never burnt wood, we only used 'brillo-pads' of smokeless fuel.

 

What wood are you using?

Are you buying in correctly dried wood, or is it random bits you are 'picking up' ?

I'm definitely not burning sticks I pick up because I read up on how it's important to have properly dried wood when I am burning it. 

 

Could it be the wood I am buying bagged from supermarkets?

 

I did notice that some of the wood had some very thick, dried sap on it. Not sure if that is normal or not.

[Hudds Lad]

Is your fire missing the baffle/throat plate above the grate? this would allow everything to shoot straight up the flue.

[tree monkey]

18 minutes ago, Hevs said:

I'm definitely not burning sticks I pick up because I read up on how it's important to have properly dried wood when I am burning it. 

 

Could it be the wood I am buying bagged from supermarkets?

 

I did notice that some of the wood had some very thick, dried sap on it. Not sure if that is normal or not.

 

We used to call bagged wood from supermarkets yuppie bags because only yuppies would buy it with more money than sense, plus all the crap would go in them.

 

Since the woodsure standards came in I doubt its wet unseasoned rubbish anymore but from what you are describing it sounds like softwood, nothing wrong with softwood I'm getting 20 tonnes deliverd soon, but it does spit, even properly seasoned, so I suspect this is what is causing your issue.

 

To echo others experiences, I never had blim burns in the cratch and I burnt 100% wood for 10yrs and the stove is located similar to where yours is

 

Oh and to add, when burning wood I used to sweep the chimney every week and it needed it, coal is easy in comparison 

Edited August 10, 2023 by tree monkey

[Hudds Lad]

1 minute ago, tree monkey said:

blim burns

many a tshirt and jumper in my youth suffered these