Crazy about Creosote

[Vibes]

I usually only clean mine in September and once a winter. There will be some puffy soot from burning coal and some build-up. You know anything could happen, but I could go all winter without cleaning it.

 

[Coldfront]

The most build up I have is on the rain cap itself, I try and keep my stove top temp 450 -600* but burning green stuff sometimes it is hard do. But even still I get no build up. If it ever warms up enough to let the stove cool off I am going to pull the pipe at the bottom and see how much soot is on top of the stove. My pipe just goes straight up.

 

[jimbojango]

The most build up I have is on the rain cap itself, I try and keep my stove top temp 450 -600* but burning green stuff sometimes it is hard do. But even still I get no build up. If it ever warms up enough to let the stove cool off I am going to pull the pipe at the bottom and see how much soot is on top of the stove. My pipe just goes straight up.

my cap has managed to have some build up if its really cold and i've been putting green hedge that has been cut within a week of going in the stove AND the tree was alive when i cut it in the same week. But it takes a solid month of no rain/snow for it to cause any draft issue's (found out last winter) so i was freaking about to sweep my chimney (only 10' total) and when i took the cap off it was ALL in the cap. cleaned the cap out and went ahead i swept the chimney cause i was already there and still had less than a cup of soot. Never had the problem 4 years before, haven't had it this year either. I always wondered why i hadn't had the problem before but the only thing i can figure is the lack of snow for a month or 6 weeks didn't "clean" it out of there.

 

[dgburner]

I'm not saying that starting a chimney fire is a good way to clean the flue but I don't understand how starting a fire in a in a flue that's designed to contain fire can cause your house to burn down. I understand that in a masonry chimney, that might have cracks, a chimney fire can escape and catch the house on fire but a double walled SS flue seems like its up to the task.

 

[Coldfront]

I think maybe the reason it stays so clean is that it does burn off inside the liner. Not really what you would call a chimney fire but it must burn off.

 

[oldspark]

its a free country this guy can still do what he wants, but being free there can be consequences to pay for. like mentioned it might be a good idea to have someone else’s opinion step in to help bolster yours. this guy is literally playing with fire and his house and family are involved. my guess is that it is easy and covenant for him and he won’t change until something happens.

Yes he can and then we (wood burners) will pay for his stupidity down the road as they out law wood burners do to them not being safe.

 

[3fordasho]

Well it's designed to contain a fire to a certain temperature (~2000F) for a certain amount of time (10minutes) - go beyond those limits and all bets are off.

I know the time or two I've left my stove bypass open on a reload combined with the air mostly open the temps inside the flue can exceed 1000F in minutes and probably much higher (my flue thermometer only goes to 1000F).

Now combine that scenario with someone that's been burning green wood (allowing say a good 1/2" of glazed creosote to build up through out the pipe) and absentmindedly leaves the house or in the case of my neighbors just passes out drunk..... That pipe becomes a supernova blow torch and if there is anything left of the pipe or the house when it's all over I'd be suprised.

I'm not saying that starting a chimney fire is a good way to clean the flue but I don't understand how starting a fire in a in a flue that's designed to contain fire can cause your house to burn down. I understand that in a masonry chimney, that might have cracks, a chimney fire can escape and catch the house on fire but a double walled SS flue seems like its up to the task.

 

[Bushmans]

I have two 90 degree bends in my flue. It runs through a chimney chase, which half of that is in the garage.
It is a double wall insulated stainless.
When I removed the old triple wall, air cooled flue from my prefab fireplace I left the original outer wall (15") pipe in place. I ran my new stainless double wall up inside of that.
My thoughts were it would warm up and create an insulated air space outside of the double stainless.
At the top of the flue I filled the gap between the two pipes with rockwool to prevent air from free flowing in between the pipes and cooling it down instead of keeping it warm.
It seems to be working great at keeping the flue extra warm on those wicked cold days as well as extending the time the flue stays warm as the fire dies out.
I still clean my flue once a month. I run an old smoke dragon that I am in the process of modifying and adding secondaries. On average I could fill a sandwich bag with soot. 24 foot of vertical pipe. 4 foot of horizontal.

I could probably go a lot longer between cleanings but I'm a worry wart!

So far so good. It's nothing to mess around with or get lazy about!

 

[mainewoods]

It's always good to be safe, of course, but if you use a small hand mirror and a flashlight, you might save yourself some worry and some unnecessary work. I check mine frequently and it does give you peace of mind. Good on you for being a concerned and safe wood burner. That "sandwich bag of soot" should tell you that you're doing things right! JMHO

 

[Photog95]

I havent had to clean the chimney in years. I usually go outside and stick a mirror in the cleanout door before I fire it up for the season to make sure there are no bird nests in there. It stays pretty clean. My stove pipe on the other hand is 6 feet long and has two 45's and needs to be cleaned at least once in mid winter. This year may be different. I have been forced into a lot of green slabwood as of late. I plan on checking this weekend and see where I stand.

 

[ppkgmsy]

I like to mind my own business and let people live the way they want. But, if Busmans writes back in a month or two that this dope burned down his house and killed his family, I'll feel bad I didn't weigh in. There's probably no way to get through to the guy if he's got his mind set. A man ain't going to learn what he doesn't want to know. But maybe you could talk to his wife, or someone else in the family who might give him a hard time. It puts you in a difficult situation, but if the guy has kids and he's too ignorant to burn safely, I think someones got to step up and at least try. Then, if something terrible does happen, at least you know you gave it your best.

 

[Bushmans]

It is just him and his wife at home but still.....
I'll keep haggling him to clean his chimney even if it means lying about someone's house burning down just recently. Sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do!