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Chimney Fire Took out My FM Antenna

Robie

Robie

Live it or live with it.
Subscriber
I had a fire in my fireplace last night and it started a chimney fire. Never had one before but you know you've got one when you hear that locomotive sound in your chimney. No other damage at least as far as I know but I've been advised to have the chimney inspected before use.

Unfortunately, my old, small (14" to 16" long) Winegard mast-mounted directional antenna (a Yagi?) that was mounted on a mast attached to that same chimney somehow no longer works. Looks fine from the ground but something is amiss now because my FM reception is horrible. It may be as simple as a melted cable, balun or connector. Regardless, it really didn't provide great reception anyway.

Anyway, I've had my eye on a half wave omni directional antenna from an AK Sponsor ( http://fmdxantenna.com/proddetail.php?prod=FMDipUS ) or a Metz (a single whip omni by the manufacturer of the Magnum Dynalab ST-2). I plan to install it on my other chimney about 10 feet away (boiler and hot water heater). The new location will also get it away from a nearby tree that has wreaked havoc on the unused TV antenna that shares the same mast.

Here north/northwest of Chicago I get some multipath but am interested in lots of stations in different directions so I think an omni is the solution for me. A rotor would be nice but yet another piece of equipment to buy, maintain and install and it adds yet another level of complexity.

I'm still considering a Winegard 6055 directional but am afraid it will not provide the reception of an omni without a rotor.

Any recommendations?
 
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I can't help you with your antenna question, as I live in radio heaven, but I do want to say that I'm glad you suffered no more serious loss than the antenna, in your chimney fire. Very dangerous, extremely high heat levels are generated.
 
Dang. You definitely dodged a bullet last night. My guess is you've probably got a build up of creosote in that chimney, and it'll have to been swept to clean it out. It's a nasty job, but once it's done (as long as the liner is still in good shape) you should be good to go again.
 
Thanks, guys. I shut off the flue in the fireplace to starve the chimney fire. It filled the room with smoke but it has since aired out. I was worried about damage to the masonry flue but won't know 'til someone inspects it.

I read that chimney fires burn so hot they can wreak havoc with masonry and mortar so fires can easily escape the flue and spread into the house. I am pretty lucky it didn't spread. I tried to get by with a chimney sweep every other year. However, I had lots of fires last year with only partially seasoned firewood so it looks like the once a year schedule will be necessary.
 
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I'd say so Robie. Of course it depends a lot on how much use that chimney is getting each year, and what kind of fuel you're burning. If you're using hardwoods exclusively, and it's not being used frequently you might get by with less. If I lived where you do, I'd probably have a fire going 24/7 in the winter... Me no likey cold weather.
 
Robie said:
Thanks, guys. I shut off the flue in the fireplace to starve the chimney fire. It filled the room with smoke but it has since aired out. I was worried about damage to the masonry flue but won't know 'til someone inspects it.

I read that chimney fires burn so hot they can wreak havoc with masonry and mortar so fires can easily escape the flue and spread into the house. I am pretty lucky it didn't spread. I tried to get by with a chimney sweep every other year. However, I had lots of fires last year with only partially seasoned firewood so it looks like the once a year schedule will be necessary.
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Absolutely true. Burning creosote burns super hot (well above 1000˚ if memory serves) and a fire that hot can crack or split liners, allowing the fire to reach the rest of the house. Once a chimney fire gets going it's tough to put them out.
 
Yep, Avionic was right. The TV antenna coax got so hot it split. The adjacent coax for the FM antenna didn't look too bad but I figured the insulation inside the cable probably melted and the cable is shorting now. As I will be moving it to a shorter location, I can just cut off the burned sections and reinstall connectors.

I uninstalled the mast from the fireplace chimney and will be reinstalling it the other as soon as I go buy a new mounting kit. I sheared off several old U-Bolts and stainless band tightening bolts in the process. Figure I might as well reinstall the mast with all new hardware.

Is there any advantage to a half wave over a quarter wave antenna? I only ask because it seems the quarter waves are more expensive.
 
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1/2 wave would be better then 1/4 wave.

You might also look into the special logs they sell that "helps remove" creosote from the flue. They are not a replacement for a good physical brushing but burning one a season is cheap enough insurance.

We finally after many years of buring 4-5 cords of firewood went to a pellet stove. The heat is now very controllable it runs for 24-30 hours unattended and with some upgrades to the house we are now heating a 1650 sq ft house with only 2.5 tons of pellets at a current cost of $210/ton and about $30.00 in electricity

Our vent pipe runs at a 30 degree angle out the side of the house and you can put your hand on it while the stove runs not for a long time! But the point is it's not over about 180 degrees.
 
Thanks, Mark W, luvvinvinyl and Fotno for the antenna and fire advice.

Just back from a wake and trying to get antenna mounting hardware at Home Depot. I was referred to an electrical supply house. Seems to me you used to be able to buy this sort of thing almost anywhere.

Perhaps it's time to order on line.
 
Local Rat shack should have mounts and such. Make sure you get a qualified chimney expert up there with a camera to check out the liner. I had one a few years ago and it seemed fine but when I got an inspection done it turns out there liner was so badly damaged I ended up just capping it off and giving up on it. I miss the fireplace, but beats burning down the house.
 
When I mounted my antenna I placed it on the northeast corner of the chimney. Winds in the wintertime are north, northwest or east, never southwest during a storm. So any heat and smoke will be driven away from the mast. There is a hat and cage up there too so it tends to keep it calm.

I usually run a tempered fire anyway never a heavy blaze. Man, you must have had that thing roaring!
 
Thanks for the advice, all.

Been busy working this week so no progress on the antenna other than to schedule a certified chimney sweep for an inspection. While there are lots of sweeps in the area, finding one you can trust is tough. I was lucky to get an inspection scheduled for Monday as it's that busy time of year for chimney sweeps.

I'm still leaning towards the half wave omni but want to see if I'm looking at major $$$$ for chimney repairs first.
 
Just ordered the same 1/2 wave antenna, old_tech installed in this thread: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=256844.

Not sure but I think it just went up in price. Regardless it's still a great deal ~$53 shipped (no affiliation). I saw the 2-3 week delivery listed on the site's website and figured I better get going or it'll be a long time for FM.
 
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After another 2 hours of driving around, I gave up trying to find replacement stainless banding and related equipment locally. I just ordered a complete chimney mast mounting kit from Solid Signal. I had previously contacted the manufacturer, Ronard Industries to try and purchase only new banding equipment, but got no reply.

In the meantime, I hooked up some TV rabbit ears to my desktop receiver and the reception is at least as good as my former chimney mast mount antenna which may have been a UHF TV antenna I found in the attic. It resembled the horizontal element (with short cross bars) found in the middle of the two angled elements of a standard roof mounted TV antenna. It did work better than the dipole I had when I moved in but I can't wait to have a real antenna mounted fairly high.
 
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Chimney sweep in yesterday and it looks like I dodged a bullet. No visible damage when viewed from above or below (it's a masonry chimney probably built in the '60s). It was recommended that it be video taped soon so I'll have it done with the cleaning next year.

Ended up ordering the chimneys mast mounting hardware from Solid Signal as recommended by Hepcat, above. Thanks for the info.

Awaiting delivery of the antenna too.
 
Finally replaced my antenna with an omni-directional, half-wave antenna from an AK sponsor. It's the same one installed by AK member old_wave. It works pretty well after a series of missteps by the unskilled installer (me!). Nice antenna for my application but a full report after I substitute my desktop Sherwood S-7200 with a "real tuner".
 
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