Stovepipe

It was stovepipe replacement day at the Sixbears domicile. Today I tackled the stovepipe on the kitchen woodstove.

Every time I do this, a little blood is spilled. Stove pipe is a bit of a pain to work with. The pipe needed to be cut to size and that leaves ragged edges. Then that ragged edge needs to be slipped over the next length of pipe.

My intent is always to not get cut this time. I start out with eye protection and gloves. Sooner or later the gloves come off. Can’t handle little metal screws with gloves on. Sure enough, that’s when I skun my knuckles. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

Stove pipe is one of those things that needs to be inspected on a regular basis. They tend to rust away from the inside. That was the case with the one I replaced. The stove hardly runs all summer long, and moisture can build up where you can’t see it.

The pipe was starting to show early signs of corrosion. It might have been safe to use for a couple more months, but why take chances? One of my lovely wife’s few rules is that I can’t burn the house down. I guess it’s worth a skun knuckle to prevent that from happening.

-Sixbears