wrote in message
oups.com...

I have a wood stove in my basement. I have a thermometer on the pipe
where it enters the chimney, and I keep it in the safe range.

After about 5 hours of burning, the chimney / flue gets extremely hot
about 12 inches over where the metal pipe goes in. It gets hot on all
sides, not just the side where the pipe goes in.

By "hot", I mean I can only hold my hand on it for a fraction of a
second.

I am pretty sure the chimney doesn't have a metal liner. I had a
chimney sweep guy clean it out in the fall, and he didn't say anything
about the liner not being up to the task of handling a wood stove.

Omissions:
1. Since you have a stovepipe thermometer, we can
advise better if we know what it indicates. Hot to the
touch is not an adequately precise indicator.
2. You should be aware that, in some jurisdictions
(e.g. Ontario, Canada) the fire code is retroactive, i.e.
you may be required to upgrade to comply with the
current code (more probably by your insurance
carrier than by local government.)
3. Modern stove flues ought to be double-walled
(as modern fire codes are likely to specify.) These
are tested by the standards authority to withstand
interior (smoke temperatures) as high as 2000 Fahr.
(Some firemen recommend an intentional chimney
fire every year or so for cleaning purposes: but they
are probably not supposed to say this.) Books
about woodstove efficiency recommend the
temperature inside the smokestack ought to be
above 300 Fahr. -- no problem in a double flue.

You can see for yourself whether the pipe is single-
or double-walled by disassembling the stove pipe.
If uncertain about this, have the chimney sweep
show you how on his next visit.

Do not ask your insurance carrier or agent for
advice about wood stove safety. You are not likely
to get a coherent answer and you may put the
insurer on the road to cancelling your insurance.
But it is in your own interest to find out what your
local fire code specifies and conform to it if you can.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)