Creosote Glaze on Classic 5036

[bodhisoma]

Went outside to give the OWB a good pre-season scrubbing. Behind the heat shields looks good, the damper mechanism looks great, even the rope gasket is in great shape, giving a perfect seal in all but one spot where there's a smidge of movement of paper placed between, so things look good.

But I did find one troubling thing that will likely surprise none of you. Creosote Glaze.

The crumbly stuff has some mass but that's pretty easy to break off, it's the glaze that's worrying me. It's not very thick at all, perhaps the thickness of three sheets of paper if I had to guess, maybe less.

Did a bit of reading, I know how it's formed, I know why it's formed and I know it can be dangerous. What I don't know is if it's just as dangerous in an OWB (as opposed to a chimney or indoor stove) at the levels I'm finding it.

I burn coardboard and paper and such periodically, perhaps once a month, and I'm guessing that's been keeping it somewhat in check. Just trying to figure out if this is something I need to go out of my way to address before the heating season begins or if I'm a long way away from needing to worry.

Do I need to take a look up the chimney and if so, would I do that by climbing in with a flashlight and looking up? If I do there's pretty much no way I could clean what I found. Anyone know if the stovepipe can be easily removed on the Classic 5036s for inspection and cleaning?

And if I go in with a wire brush to get off the crumbly-bumbly, is a normal mouth-and-nose face mask sufficient or do I need to consider an honest-to-god ventilator?

 

[nathon918]

Went outside to give the OWB a good pre-season scrubbing. Behind the heat shields looks good, the damper mechanism looks great, even the rope gasket is in great shape, giving a perfect seal in all but one spot where there's a smidge of movement of paper placed between, so things look good.

But I did find one troubling thing that will likely surprise none of you. Creosote Glaze.

The crumbly stuff has some mass but that's pretty easy to break off, it's the glaze that's worrying me. It's not very thick at all, perhaps the thickness of three sheets of paper if I had to guess, maybe less.

Did a bit of reading, I know how it's formed, I know why it's formed and I know it can be dangerous. What I don't know is if it's just as dangerous in an OWB (as opposed to a chimney or indoor stove) at the levels I'm finding it.

I burn coardboard and paper and such periodically, perhaps once a month, and I'm guessing that's been keeping it somewhat in check. Just trying to figure out if this is something I need to go out of my way to address before the heating season begins or if I'm a long way away from needing to worry.

Do I need to take a look up the chimney and if so, would I do that by climbing in with a flashlight and looking up? If I do there's pretty much no way I could clean what I found. Anyone know if the stovepipe can be easily removed on the Classic 5036s for inspection and cleaning?

And if I go in with a wire brush to get off the crumbly-bumbly, is a normal mouth-and-nose face mask sufficient or do I need to consider an honest-to-god ventilator?

its only dangerous in a house because if you have enough buildup and get a chimney fire, the chimney acts as a torch, it pulls air in from the stove and fire out the top, it can reach 2000+ deg., melting liners, cracking clay tile, burning down your house....
its all caused by wet wood, or a fire that isnt hot enough, or a combination of the two...
i wouldnt worry about the inside, just have a hot fire and it will take care of itself, as for the chimney, its really only dangerous to its surroundings, (grass/woods,piled firewood) if the chimney catches fire it can send burning embers in the air, then where ever they land, (theres some pics on this site of people that have caught their entire winter wood supply on fire from an ember that either jumped out the door when loading or out the chimney), just get a ladder and run a brush down it, keep your face out of the way and you'll be fine

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

I get that in my CB as well. My wood has been stored indoors on concrete for years so wet wood isn't the problem in my situation. Wood to feed boiler is inside as well as the boiler. Mine tends to get worse when atmospheric conditions get damp, as in a spring thaw. When there is a lot of moisture in the air it tends to "convert" in the stove. as stated before, The cycling of the boilers adds to it as well.

When the fire is burnt down I sometimes scrap a side at a time, quickly! If you put the stuff on a stirred pile of coals it'll smoke you out in a hurry. That is why I do it when it has a layer of fly ash on top. Then stir and let it burn.

 

[Cheesecutter]

Its common to have chimney fires in an OWB. Creosote build up is a given, but they usually self clean.

 

[Jon B.]

The manufacturer says that the shiny buildup is a *good* thing. Where it's dry and crusty, they say to scrape it off and apply clean motor oil to the interior. Check the manual for off-season preparation.

I did this as soon as the boiler was cool enough to work on - about 4 days after the fire went out.

Jon

 

[Encore]

That's normal. Don't worry about it.

It's from the fire smoldering when the blower isn't in use. I burn very dry seasoned wood and I still get that coating.

however if you are burning really wet wood just make sure you check the chimney and be sure it isn't getting clogged

 

[Poston5]

it will burn itself out eventually, dont put much effort into it. it will return shortly. i have a hardy and it does this very bad, my buddy has a homemade owb and his is thicker steel therefore fire burns hotter and longer to heat water. we both use the same wood and his stays clean and mine is a mess. other than ugly to look at its no big deal