Burning aluminum cans?

[user 122190]

Stove is a little backed up and spent a creosote sweeping log, and to futher my prayer to NOT have to climb the roof, I tossed in some aluminum cans. Not sure the cans do much, but they can't hurt. Fires got to be hot to burn them and maybe the extra hot (lots of kindling) is what does the job.

Anybody an expert on burning Hamms Beer cans and what they constructively do?

 

[Joesell]

My CB dealer told me to throw a dozen cans in every few weeks. He said the aluminum bonds with the creosote and breaks it down somehow. It seems to work pretty good.

 

[flotek]

A sprig of salt, a special sweep log tossing in aluminum cans ,eye of newt ,wing of bat .. All just gimmicks .. The best way to stop creosote is by burning good seasoned wood and giving your burner enough air instead of choking it down

 

[Cerran]

Stove is a little backed up and spent a creosote sweeping log, and to futher my prayer to NOT have to climb the roof, I tossed in some aluminum cans. Not sure the cans do much, but they can't hurt. Fires got to be hot to burn them and maybe the extra hot (lots of kindling) is what does the job.

Anybody an expert on burning Hamms Beer cans and what they constructively do?

I have some great magnets for your gas lines in your car that will improve mileage by 20-30%!

Seriously though, best way to avoid creosote is to burn clean by utilizing good seasoned wood and burning hot enough so it doesn't smoke out your chimney when burning.

 

[slowp]

Seasoned wood and an EPA stove opcorn: will keep it clean. What are you burning besides cans? Green Ponderosa Pine? Green spruce?

 

[blades]

don't want to climb roof- learn how clean bottom up, stop burning green wood- or switch to bio bricks. Sorry no tolerance here for creosote factories unless of course you are trying to make enough to treat 4x4's .

 

[skindaddy]

what about build up in an owb? mine is choked down alot cause it hardly runs which builds alot of creasote!

 

[user 122190]

Seems to have done the job. We've had some exceptionally cold days, 8+ in a row. The wood I'm burning is well seasoned. I'm hypothesizing that the stove pip cap was not heating up enough which allowed the creosote to build. All last winter I did the aluminum can thing and never had a problem. I will now begin burning the cans again.

 

[Whitespider]

A sprig of salt, a special sweep log tossing in aluminum cans ,eye of newt ,wing of bat .. All just gimmicks .. The best way to stop creosote is by burning good seasoned wood and giving your burner enough air instead of choking it down

The OP wasn't asking how to stop creosote, he was asking if burning aluminum cans will avoid the chore of climbing on the roof and cleaning the chimney after creosote has formed. Besides, you can't "stop" the formation of creosote... you can only minimize it. Newt eyes and bat wings won't help, salt is better reserved for helping put out a chimney fire... but it requires more than a sprig.

Actually there is a benefit to burning aluminum cans in a hot fire... manganese is released, which, through chemical reaction, causes creosote to (for lack of better terminology this morning) "dry out", flake, release from the chimney walls, and fall to the bottom. Gauging the effectiveness in your chimney is easy... just open the bottom clean-out and see how much loose stuff is there over time, verses how much was there without burning cans. Beverage cans contain something 'round 1% (or a bit more) manganese... not all aluminum alloys do. Burning them won't eliminate the need for brushing, but it will (or may) reduce build-up, extend the time between brushing, and make the job easier. Burning them has another benefit (or advantage)... it reduces the odds of creosote ignition (I ain't gonna' get into why that is), although the hot fire required also increases the odds during application.

And for a large portion of the country, aluminum cans are cheaper than store bought (so called) "creosote destroyers"... they're basically free.

Beware, burning aluminum may possibly pose some risk (depending), some of the by-products of heating and/or combustion are classified as a neurotoxin...
*

 

[slowp]

Just wondering, are you a new resident of Montana?

 

[firebrick43]

The OP wasn't asking how to stop creosote, he was asking if burning aluminum cans will avoid the chore of climbing on the roof and cleaning the chimney after creosote has formed. Besides, you can't "stop" the formation of creosote... you can only minimize it. Newt eyes and bat wings won't help, salt is better reserved for helping put out a chimney fire... but it requires more than a sprig.

Actually there is a benefit to burning aluminum cans in a hot fire... manganese is released, which, through chemical reaction, causes creosote to (for lack of better terminology this morning) "dry out", flake, release from the chimney walls, and fall to the bottom. Gauging the effectiveness in your chimney is easy... just open the bottom clean-out and see how much loose stuff is there over time, verses how much was there without burning cans. Beverage cans contain something 'round 1% (or a bit more) manganese... not all aluminum alloys do. Burning them won't eliminate the need for brushing, but it will (or may) reduce build-up, extend the time between brushing, and make the job easier. Burning them has another benefit (or advantage)... it reduces the odds of creosote ignition (I ain't gonna' get into why that is), although the hot fire required also increases the odds during application.

And for a large portion of the country, aluminum cans are cheaper than store bought (so called) "creosote destroyers"... they're basically free.

Beware, burning aluminum may possibly pose some risk (depending), some of the by-products of heating and/or combustion are classified as a neurotoxin...
*

So let me get this straight you don't find Value in inexpensive moisture meter but do in burning aluminum cans?

 

[Whitespider]

So let me get this straight you don't find Value in inexpensive moisture meter but do in burning aluminum cans?

What-the-he!! does one have to do with another??
*

 

[7sleeper]

Just scrounge cl adds for old dead saw cases. Cut them down and throw them into your stove. The magnesium will make a nice warm fire and keep your chimney clean.....



7

 

[user 122190]

Just wondering, are you a new resident of Montana?

This will be my 4th year here.

 

[Whitespider]

...old dead saw cases. Cut them down and through them into your stove. The magnesium will... keep your chimney clean.....

Ummmmm.....
Magnesium (chemical symbol Mg) and manganese (chemical symbol Mn) ain't the same thing.
The metal you're referring to is a magnesium alloy that contains little manganese (mostly as an impurity).
Beverage cans are an aluminum alloy, not a magnesium alloy... the manganese in beverage can alloy is added to increase corrosion resistance.
*

 

[7sleeper]

Ummmmm.....
Magnesium (chemical symbol Mg) and manganese (chemical symbol Mn) ain't the same thing.
The metal you're referring to is a magnesium alloy that contains little manganese (mostly as an impurity).
Beverage cans are an aluminum alloy, not a magnesium alloy... the manganese in beverage can alloy is added to increase corrosion resistance.
*

I know.

7

 

[Sawdust inspector]

Now I can sit by the fire and throw my beer cans in it and when the wife asks me wtf am I doing I can say I read on the AS site that I can clean the chimney without going on the roof by throwing beer cans in it.

 

[Marshy]

Now I can sit by the fire and throw my beer cans in it and when the wife asks me wtf am I doing I can say I read on the AS site that I can clean the chimney without going on the roof by throwing beer cans in it.

You must consume the beverage inside it first. That is important.

 

[Whitespider]

Now I can sit by the fire and throw my beer cans in it and when the wife asks...

You must consume the beverage inside it first. That is important.

See... even if it don't work, there's still an advantage
*

 

[Sawdust inspector]

I'll ask her to get me more beer when she goes into the garage to get more wood