u/John_Northmont

I am having some renovation work at my house in which the contractor had to temporarily remove the atmospheric water heater flue. He noticed a large amount of organic debris (sticks and leaves and such) in the flue, some of which has been burned / pyrolized 😬. The flue cap appears to be intact.

I imagine this flue hasn't been cleaned in the ~40 year life of this house. Is such a buildup typical / expected? Should I more proactively clean out the flue?

Or, should I bite the financial bullet and get a power-vented or tankless heater (with a PVC exhaust near ground level)?

I planted a ~7' tall black magnolia last spring in northern Illinois USA, Zone 6A.

We had a strange winter (ups and downs between very cold and very unseasonably warm).

My tree has had no flowers and little leafing thus far this spring, and the leaves that have sprouted thus far seem stunted; please see photos.

Do you all have any thoughts as to if this is a problem, and if so, if anything can be done?

FWIW: I posted the following question re: this tree last summer. Not sure if this is relevant.

https://www.reddit.com/r/arborists/s/dIiDXsGfmy

I planted a ~7' tall black magnolia last spring in northern Illinois USA, Zone 6A.

We had a strange winter (ups and downs between very cold and very unseasonably warm).

My tree has had no flowers and little leafing thus far this spring, and the leaves that have sprouted thus far seem stunted; please see photos.

Do you all have any thoughts as to if this is a problem, and if so, if anything can be done?

FWIW: I posted the following question re: this tree last summer. Not sure if this is relevant.

https://www.reddit.com/r/arborists/s/dIiDXsGfmy