Strange Noises coming from RMH

Howdy!

I would like to inquire about two things that have recently been happening with my RMH. I am in my fifth season of using my RMH. I do yearly clean outs and have inspected the exhaust pipes for creosote build up but I only find just ash. I have some strange noises coming from the system. One is coming from my couch which is made out of cob and embedded inside are exhaust pipes. I hear popping noises. It is very faint and thought maybe its the metal expanding. The system will be burning for a while but then I hear the noises. I thought maybe it was a fire inside the channel but I don't see any evidence of a chimney fire.

The second noise is coming from the barrel itself. Every now and again, it will sound like something is falling inside the chamber and hitting the metal or sounds like I've dropped a brick on the metal barrel. One time it vibrated the barrel. When I took the temperature, the barrel was about 280-300 degrees. What is happening and should I be concerned? In my head I'm picturing it will explode. lol

TIA

Hi Diane;
The noises inside the couch could, maybe, be your pipes giving way to the mass above???  
I embedded mine completely on and with cob, but I then used flat rock to "protect it" from caving in.
How was yours installed?

The noise from your barrel is extra odd.
How is your barrel "Attached" over the core?
It should be sitting on a bed of cob mortar or a bed of superwool and covered by mortar.
Or perhaps you have it connected to a cut-down "transition" barrel using a barrel clamp to attach them?
If you clamped them that is where I would look.

Did you cut out a large portion of the barrel during installation?
After five seasons one would think any warping would have already occurred.

Thanks for your reply Thomas.


I embedded mine completely with cob but made sure when I put cob on top of the pipe, I built up at least one inch-relying on the power of the arch. The sound only comes from one part of the couch that is rarely sat on.

I have a brick dome with it cobbed over then an extra layer of cob so the barrel can be embedded into it.