Should I be concerned about ice forming at the top of my chimney for my furnace?

Question

Michigan here with temps falling to ZERO. On the downwind side of the chimney cap ice is forming and slowly making a huge icicle.

Answer 1

Number one: You didn't say what you were burning with: Gas: Oil: what fuel?

This is simply condensation from the heat, your getting extra condensation from the fuel your using. If it were wood, I'd say the wood is to "green" you need dryer wood.
This has been an exceptional winter, with the wind, the below zero wind tolerances. Special care has been needed to care for the heating of a house.

Check with your fuel supplier and see what they have to say. This could be corroding the inside liner of your chimney and making it easier for the cement grout or the liner to crack, allowing the fumes, smoke and even the fire if there were a chimney fire, to enter the house, mine burned down this way.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Furnace Chimney Cap

Answer 4

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RE:
Should I be concerned about ice forming at the top of my chimney for my furnace?
Michigan here with temps falling to ZERO. On the downwind side of the chimney cap ice is forming and slowly making a huge icicle.

Answer 5

My fiancee works for a propane company here in Massachusetts and he said for one thing if you have your furnace going it shouldn't do that. Secondly with the chimney being that cold at the top it takes longer for the byproducts to exit the chimney and if it takes too long it can back draft down the chimney back into your house and cause the harmful by products to fill your home.

Questions he said to ask yourself:
#1- Have you recently been in vacation with the furance shut off?
#2- Is your chimney lined with clay? If so this may not be a problem at all.
#3- If not...call a chimney person in your local yellow pages.

Good luck!

Answer 6

If you are heating with gas, then the byproducts of the combustion are carbon dioxide and water vapour. The water vapour will condense as soon as it hits the outside air. Since the icicle is downwind the swirling effect of the wind is causing condensation on the downwind side of the flue where it will freeze.

We have the same thing in Toronto and we just had the furnace replaced and a metal flue liner installed. I would not be concerned unless falling ice is a hazard.

Answer 7

Concern is a good word for when your combustion appliances start acting in unusual ways. Without full information I will take a stab and guess that you have a masonry chimney (brick). First Concern that comes to mind is whether your chimney is drafting properly or if the ice buildup has the potential to block it. Local fuel supplier can check this for you if you have a maintenance agreement with them it may even be free.
2nd concern is why all of a sudden has your chimney taken to decorating itself in ice. First theory is that something has changed. this is not the first Michigan winter to hit Zero degrees nor I assume the first heating season your heating plant has had to operate in it so the culprit seems to be in or near the chimney.
This leaves only a couple of things to attract our scrutiny as there really is not much to a chimney except a hollow tube to guide combustion gasses out of at a desired height/location. What can skew that operation is when it comes out anywhere else but that desired location such as through cracked or failing masonry joints/ flue liners etc., or if there has been a sudden change to the chimneys’ elevation (or in some cases the elevation of objects within 10-20 foot of the chimney outlet, any new buildings?). Yes quite likely you need a new chimney liner.
Now as for why..... the heated exhaust gasses flowing up your chimney are saturated with waste moisture left over from the burning of a carbon based fuel. This moisture, or condensate, is slightly acidic and is being carried along with the super heated exhaust gases up your chimney flues. Once those gasses begin to cool then the vapor converts back to its liquid state, discovers gravity, then "rains". Optimally this occurs after it has left the inside of your chimney. But on cold days, and cold startups where the chimney has not been used or warmed for a while this cycle can (and will, every time) occur until the heat transfer from the exhaust plume to the masonry is minimized either by attaining near equilibrium in temperatures (warming up) or by increasing the speed of exit from the confines of your chimney (draft established, or mechanically assisted).
Modern efficient heating systems have more problems with this than those old monster fuel wasters and smog pumpers solely because they are more efficient. It goes something like this. In grandpa’s day, that boiler got fired up in October and ran non stop until the trees showed buds in the spring. The chimney only experienced that warm up cool down condensate acid bath twice a year once when it fired the first time and again when it shut down in the spring.
Depending on where you live in Michigan your heating system is designed to handle temps lower than zero (if it was properly sized) and on an average zero degree day your chimney gets cool enough to allow condensation to form 10 or more times a Day. And the more efficient your system the higher this occurrence can be. The solution is a properly sized chimney flue made of a material that will heat to temperature quickly to minimize the condensate production as well as be resistant to the condensates corrosive nature. Hence a stainless steel chimney liner properly sized for the BTU load of your chimney (heating plant + Hot water heaters). The good new is that it is not that expensive and if you have any kind of mechanical skills (i.e. you have used a hammer and nail in the past and there was minimal swelling afterwards), Are comfortable with heights (Did not need to call 911 after climbing the ladder to install the Christmas lights) this is a project that can be done at home with the help of a couple friends/family members. A liner kit with all the trimmings runs less than $ 200 anywhere in the US of A and can be installed in a day. If you do not fit the above description (I.E. you paid attention in class and learned there was always someone else willing to have swollen appendages to get your project done if you paid them enough incentive… Economics 101…) a contractor can install this for you for $750-$1500 (wide range due to the diversity of factors making up Economics 201)

Answer 8

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Answer 9

This can be dangerous from the stand point of the ice falling and causing damage or hurting someone. Another concern is if it closes down the ventilation from the furnace it can cause flue gases to enter the house, which is not desirable as it may kill you.

Answer 10

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