26
Saw a huge difference in draft after fixing a hidden offset
I cleaned a chimney in an old house in Burlington last month that had a weak draft for years. The owner said they always had smoke roll back into the room. I ran my camera and found a 30 degree offset in the flue liner about 10 feet up that was almost totally blocked. Came back yesterday after fixing it, and the draft test showed a pull of 15 pascals, up from just 3 before. Has anyone else had a simple offset cause that much trouble?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
masonbell5d ago
Wow, that's one stubborn chimney!
4
Hidden offsets are killers. Found one in a 1920s bungalow last year, just a slight bend. The fireplace would barely draw. Cleaned it spotless, no change. Finally scoped it and that little kink had decades of glazed creosote built up. After we rodded it out, the thing pulled like a jet engine. It's crazy how such a small thing can wreck the whole system.
1