Cleaned my pipe and stove, pictures

[U&A]

This is my first winter with an EPA stove. Pacific Energy Summit. I just wanted to share pictures of my stove pipe and the cap to show the accumulation of creosote and get your thoughts.

Burning 3-6 year old hardwoods.
Started out loading the stove east to west and I was getting an accumulation of black and brown on my glass. I would have to clean the glass every other day. Granted this was the first time im new to this type of stove so I may have been running it cooler than I should have. The past four weeks I’ve been loading the stove north to south and I have not had to clean the glass since. Stove ran exceptionally well Like this. I also have started to get the hang of how to operate it efficiently so that helps, LOL.

Anyway, here are the pics. Looking inside the pipe Picture was taken from top down. One picture shows 2 1/2 gallon shop vac that I put inside the stove tight to the bottom of the stove pipe to catch everything. There is about 3/4 inch accumulation of stuff in the bottom of the bucket as well as the sock filter from the vacuum that I threw inside.

This is about 2 months of burning

 

[CaseyForrest]

2 things I notice...

It can be an either or, or a combination....

Woods still too wet and/or you're not burning your fires hot enough.

Ill get half that amount of crud from our main flue for an entire heating season. This falls cleaning I got about 1 cup.

You say 3-6 year old hardwoods... Is that cut and split for 3-6 years?

Do you have a thermometer on your chimney just above the stove?

 

[Streblerm]

That looks like a lot of creosote. That’s more than I get in a whole season. I agree with Casey Forrest. Either you need to burn hotter or your wood isn’t as dry as you think it is.

I try to make sure my stove is 4-500 degrees before closing the draft down. Are you getting a lot of visible smoke?

 

[U&A]

2 things I notice...

It can be an either or, or a combination....

Woods still too wet and/or you're not burning your fires hot enough.

Ill get half that amount of crud from our main flue for an entire heating season. This falls cleaning I got about 1 cup.

You say 3-6 year old hardwoods... Is that cut and split for 3-6 years?

Do you have a thermometer on your chimney just above the stove?

. 3-6 years split.

I think majority of that buildup was from the first month of use when I did not really know the proper way to use the stove.. The inside of the stove for the first month had a dull brown coating on everything. As I said I was cleaning the glass basically every other day because it was getting brown on it to.

A month later, Once I learn the proper way to operate the stove the inside of the stove turn from Brown to White. The glass never needed cleaned once and I could hear the creosote falling out of the chimney.


I will check everything again in a month to see how things are going and if i am showing better cleanliness.

I appreciate your input on the amount of buildup I had compared to yours. Gives me a good idea of what to look for sir.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[U&A]

That looks like a lot of creosote. That’s more than I get in a whole season. I agree with Casey Forrest. Either you need to burn hotter or your wood isn’t as dry as you think it is.

I try to make sure my stove is 4-500 degrees before closing the draft down. Are you getting a lot of visible smoke?

My original mistake and my lesson learned over time. I was closing the draft all the way, way to soon. Smoke, yes in the beginning. Now not so much at all.


Now the door is open for a few min until it is going strong. Then the draft stays open until i reach 5-600 stove top. Then i use the damper to try to keep it at 500 for a good 30-45 min. Then ill damper it down to my desired level.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CaseyForrest]

Sound's like you're getting the hang of it.

Burning the glass clean will tell you if you're maintaining good temps in the firebox... But you need to know what your flue temps are as well. At least till you get the hang of everything and develop a sense of how your stove "talks" while heating and cooling.

For instance... No matter the temps outside, I ALWAYS try to maintain at least 500 degrees in the flue 18" from the collar on the stove. When its mild out, this means short, hot fires. As the temps drop, the fires burn longer but I maintain a good flue temp.

 

[U&A]

Sound's like you're getting the hang of it.

Burning the glass clean will tell you if you're maintaining good temps in the firebox... But you need to know what your flue temps are as well. At least till you get the hang of everything and develop a sense of how your stove "talks" while heating and cooling.

For instance... No matter the temps outside, I ALWAYS try to maintain at least 500 degrees in the flue 18" from the collar on the stove. When its mild out, this means short, hot fires. As the temps drop, the fires burn longer but I maintain a good flue temp.

Thank you sir


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[U&A]

And i have double wall pipe in the house and I’m not too fond of the reviews I’m seeing for all of the thermometers that go into the pipe.

Lots of very inaccurate readings

I have been reading temperatures on stove top but mostly I’ve been reading temperature on the collar that the stove pipe fits into right at the stove.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ronaldo]

Sure you have a little bit of build up, but it's all DRY powder by the looks of it. It is not flammable like the shiny, greasy creosote is. It certainly appears like you are doing fine and learning your stove.... keep up the good job!

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk

 

[CaseyForrest]

And i have double wall pipe in the house and I’m not too fond of the reviews I’m seeing for all of the thermometers that go into the pipe.

Lots of very inaccurate readings

I have been reading temperatures on stove top but mostly I’ve been reading temperature on the collar that the stove pipe fits into right at the stove.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You'd likely be surprised how quickly the flue temps drop as it travels up.

Now granted, you've got double wall..... we have 8' of single wall before it transitions into 16' of double wall at the roof. I can be 700 at the stove collar, 500 18" up and at the ceiling I've seen as low as 230. It usually hangs around 300. Interestingly enough that I get the most build up right at the transition from single to double.

I'll say again though, it sounds like you're getting the hang of it. With double wall in the house, I'd say your primary driver of your previous build up was cold fires.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[NSMaple1]

Were you starting a lot of fires early on? That's usually what will make the most dirt - cold starts. Steady burning should be better.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

At about 14" above stove were at 300*.
We have two stoves and both are different due to installation. Straight flue vs 90* into T with cleanout.
500* is on the hot side for us. It may get that high before closing the catalytic bypass door if we are not watching.
Much over 500* the magnet fails and the thermometer falls off the flue.

 

[U&A]

Were you starting a lot of fires early on? That's usually what will make the most dirt - cold starts. Steady burning should be better.

Yes sir. Almost daily. Makes complete sense.

Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[U&A]

Wonder if i should cut a small say 1” OD hole in the outside double wall 18” above the stove top so i can read it there...?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[U&A]

All of your post have been very informative guys.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[NSMaple1]

I think I would just get a probe thermometer that is designed for double wall pipe.

 

[Marshy]

@Ronaldo nailed it. Its dry deposits that are noncombustible. How clean does the pipe look after cleaning? If it was a tar type glaze I would be very concerned. It looks fine to me.

 

[NSMaple1]

Seems to me I used to take some of those dry deposits out of the bucket I used to collect my sweepings in, back when I had to sweep, and throw them in the fire with some pretty firey results....

 

[Ronaldo]

Seems to me I used to take some of those dry deposits out of the bucket I used to collect my sweepings in, back when I had to sweep, and throw them in the fire with some pretty firey results....

Most any powder will burn. Try coffee creamer on the campfire sometime......

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk

 

[NSMaple1]

So therefore it is indeed flammable?