Reburning creosote?

[Coldfront]

I cleaned my chimney yesterday and got about 1/2 a 5 gallon bucket of creosote from the clean out door in my basement. I was thinking of reburning it on top of some other wood with a good bed of coals, instead of just dumping out in the woods. Is this a good idea? I know it burns hot in a chimney fire so why waste it? It looks like coal shavings very dry and brittle.

 

[cityevader]

I just lit the next fire on top of it, no sense pulling it out just to put it back in. Also, since unsure of burn characteristic, i didn't want to throw into an already hot fire.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

AND YOU ARE GOING TO PUT IT BACK IN THE CHIMNEY !?!


J/K I dont know what it would burn like. Maybe 'spoon it in' on a fire that already had things warmed up so it doesn't stick again. Once you figure out how it burns you can use it more liberaly or as fire starter.

 

[Coldfront]

I would assume it is going to burn like coal. I will try burning a small bit tonight and report back.

 

[November Wolf]

Hopefully it does'nt burn like plastic. That could be a real hot fire.

Let us know.

 

[coog]

I use to try to get it to burn out in the burn pile.Definitely burns better in a chimney (ask me how I know...)

 

[Wood Doctor]

I cleaned my chimney yesterday and got about 1/2 a 5 gallon bucket of creosote from the clean out door in my basement. I was thinking of reburning it on top of some other wood with a good bed of coals, instead of just dumping out in the woods. Is this a good idea? I know it burns hot in a chimney fire so why waste it? It looks like coal shavings very dry and brittle.

Shovel it back into the stove on the bottom and let her rip. Soon it will become ashes. Don't put it on top before you light the fire. Bury it instead and then light a hot fire. The stuff is feather light and may try to float right back up the chimney. Cook it on the bottom.

 

[windthrown]

Having an older style OWB you get used to burning creosote. Sluff it off the sides and burn it daily. Creosote burns fine. Best way to get rid of it is to burn it, as it is toxic to plants. Unless you want a plant-free area that is. Wood ash is actually very good for plants.

 

[volks-man]

side note

Having an older style OWB you get used to burning creosote. Sluff it off the sides and burn it daily. Creosote burns fine. Best way to get rid of it is to burn it, as it is toxic to plants. Unless you want a plant-free area that is. Wood ash is actually very good for plants.

i dump the wood ash in my small garden outside. i don't really know but i think it acts like lime, after i fertilize with manure. why waste the ash?

 

[windthrown]

Wood ash is high in potassium, one of the three key elements in plant fertilizer. It is also fairly high in calcium, and has a small amount of phosphate, another of the three key elements in plant fertilizer. It is good as long as you do not pile it on one place in the garden too much. Wood ash also raises the pH of the soil and is used as a liming agent. Ag lime is also high in calcium, and is even better at raising the pH of soil. In that sence they are the same. The main reason to add ash to the garden is for the potassium and other trace minerals as a fertilizer, whereas ag lime is typically used for raising the pH and for increasing the water porocity of dense clay soils.

 

[FJH]

Shovel it back into the stove on the bottom and let her rip. Soon it will become ashes. Don't put it on top before you light the fire. Bury it instead and then light a hot fire. The stuff is feather light and may try to float right back up the chimney. Cook it on the bottom.

Definatly burn it!you throw it away your throwing out free heat!
I just shovel it back in to any hot fire!

 

[Coldfront]

I burned some last night, it burns just fine like high powered charcoal. I figured why waste it, free heat. I used to just dump it with the ashes.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I burned some last night, it burns just fine like high powered charcoal. I figured why waste it, free heat. I used to just dump it with the ashes.

Right now you need all the heat you can get.

 

[TallElf]

As I clean the chimney top down most turns into a powder into the stove. I put the paper right over and light'er up. It seems to make a quick ignition and anything in the top of the stove takes about an hour to burn out.. but never had any problems.

 

[slinger]

i dump the wood ash in my small garden outside. i don't really know but i think it acts like lime, after i fertilize with manure. why waste the ash?

Yep, relatively high in Ca and also a source of fertility as well.

Too much causes alkalinity and reduces the availability of many nutrients in soil.

 

[Coldfront]

One thing I will say that creosote sure stinks when you burn it I don't want to breath in much of that smoke, it doesn't smell to healthy for you. Make sure you have a good bed of hot coals going when you burn it.

 

[City Slicker]

Creosote?

You may want to clean chimney more often, if your getting that much. That's quite a bit. I normally get about 2 cups cleaning every three weeks.

 

[Coldfront]

I clean about every 3 months, there is no need to clean every 3 weeks unless you are really paranoid about a chimney fire. I have a 24 foot 8 inch steel chimney pipe inside cinder block. It was nowhere near being dangerous yet after 3 months. And actually it was probably more like about 1/3 of a 5 gal pail.

 

[scalo]

I clean about every 3 months, there is no need to clean every 3 weeks unless you are really paranoid about a chimney fire. I have a 24 foot 8 inch steel chimney pipe inside cinder block. It was nowhere near being dangerous yet after 3 months. And actually it was probably more like about 1/3 of a 5 gal pail.

I probably get what you get in a year. I clean my chimeny once a year, but it is only four years old and the stove is 2.

 

[Coldfront]

My burning season is from about the end of September until about the end of May. Of coarse only small fires once a day near both ends of the spectrum.