Taylor 750 OWB Stove plugging up with Creosote

[johngandersonjr]

Hello Everyone!

My father-in-law has a Taylor 750 OWB. Over the last few years we have been having lots of problems with the stove plugging up with Creosote. The tubes have become completely plugged as well as the upper flue. We clean them out and in about 2-3 weeks it starts getting full again.

We have replaced the aquastat at least 3 times, and went thought 4 fans. We have also replaced the damper on the front of the stove.

Does anyone have any idea what is going on? We are seriously thinking of getting rid of the stove if we cannot find a solution.

Any and All advice is appreciated!

John

 

[Mac88]

Green wood?

 

[1grnlwn]

Do you have tall chimney? Too much draft?

 

[Encore]

Sounds like you're burning green wood. That's a LOT of creosote buildup for that short period of time.

 

[brenndatomu]

Yeah, it sounds like you guys are burning some seriously wet wood. You guys fishing your logs outta the river?!?
Dry, 18-20% MC wood makes OWBs work great, just like in wood stoves/furnaces.
Get a couple bundles of dry slabwood, try burnig that for a few weeks, bet your problem disappears.
You could try a pallet of eco-brick too. My dad and brother use some of these mixed with cord wood sometimes in real cold weather, burn hot for a looong time, VERY low MC.

 

[johngandersonjr]

Do you have tall chimney? Too much draft?

Chimney is about 3 feet tall.

The stove worked for years up until the last two.

The wood is at least 2 years old. He does burn some pine, but not a lot. Maybe one piece every couple of days.

This is just a royal PITA.

 

[fubar2]

You may want to try cutting the tree down a day or so in advance of burning it.

 

[Encore]

Chimney is about 3 feet tall.

The stove worked for years up until the last two.

The wood is at least 2 years old. He does burn some pine, but not a lot. Maybe one piece every couple of days.

This is just a royal PITA.

Only other thing I can think of (provided your wood really is dry) is that you have a leak somewhere in your water jacket and it's getting into your firebox

 

[Encore]

Somewhere or other you're getting moisture in that firebox that is causing the creosote to develop. You just need to find where it's coming from.

 

[time warp]

I have the 750 taylor also...Mine likes alot of air usaully 2/3 open...The 2 top tubes seem to be the worst as far as build up.
I clean it every 2-3 weeks. When I first got it,I was choking the air way down. The resulting build-up was thick almost taffee like stuff..
This time of yr.I'm running it at 140-deg with not issues..

 

[deutzman]

Hello Everyone!

My father-in-law has a Taylor 750 OWB. Over the last few years we have been having lots of problems with the stove plugging up with Creosote. The tubes have become completely plugged as well as the upper flue. We clean them out and in about 2-3 weeks it starts getting full again.

We have replaced the aquastat at least 3 times, and went thought 4 fans. We have also replaced the damper on the front of the stove.

Does anyone have any idea what is going on? We are seriously thinking of getting rid of the stove if we cannot find a solution.

Any and All advice is appreciated!

John

I've seen this problem with Taylor stoves over the years from folks I know that own them. One friend had a Taylor that he bought in 1991. Had to do a little welding on it this fall and will have it rebuilt this spring. So he's had great service from his. I also know of 3 others that caught fire and burned. In my area the Taylors I see pretty much drip creosote and have a catch pan/bucket for the drip. I sure don't know what causes the problems but I do know they have the same problem you wrote about. One a few miles up the road from me plugged up so bad he couldn't get a fire to burn. Took 3 days of chipping and digging to get it back running.

Everyone in this area knows not to store wood close to these stove, build a shed over them or set them close to the house. Two houses down the road one caught fire and melted the siding off the house. He had it about 15' from the house and that was to close for any outside stove. It burned everything off the outside of the stove because the creosote was built up so bad and was under the outside cover. So I've seen some that have been in service a good long while and little problems and some that didn't make it 5 years and were destroyed. The one that's been running since 91 burns a mix of dry and green wood. He's the only one I know of that heating a large 2 story house that's not insulated well and he burns a lot of wood. So he may be firing it harder and that may be good.

I've tended 2 neighbors taylor stoves while they were on vacation and when I started looking for a OWB I never gave Taylor a thought just from what I've seen here in my area. Lots of Hardys here and fewer CB. I chose CB because my next door neighbor has one and I tended to it for several weeks at a time and like what I saw. We both have enough spare parts between us that if something stops working we have parts to keep them running. So far no parts used but we have them.