*** UNDERSTANDING CREOSOTE ***

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Idahonative

Addicted to ArboristSite
Joined
Aug 7, 2014
Messages
1,277
Reaction score
1,672
Location
SW Idaho
THE FOLLOWING ARE MY OPINIONS ONLY. YOUR OPINIONS &/OR EXPERIENCES MAY DIFFER:

You should know that I am a meat cutter, not an expert on wood stoves. My family has been using wood heat to heat our homes since 1979 and have never had a creosote fire and never cleaned or hired anyone to clean our flues. We mostly burn Red Fir or Lodgepole pine (well seasoned), don't have stacks over 15' high, our stoves have pipe from the flue collar to the vent cap, pipe is straight up, and we do a "burn off" everyday religiously.

DISCLAIMER: Daily burn offs must be done consistently everyday, and you must start with a clean flue. You can't allow creosote to build up and then decide to do daily burn offs.

Daily burn offs should be a part of every wood burners routine no matter what stove you own. A daily burn off is nothing more than operating your stove on High for at least 15-20 minutes everyday after loading. This does two things: First, getting the load hot after loading drives out moisture which helps to cut down on creosote buildup. Second, and even more important, the heat generated burns up (& drys out) small deposits of creosote before they can build up and cause a chimney fire. These deposits are everywhere, from the glass to the firebox to the flue. The daily burn off helps to keep everything clean.

Creosote is by far the most misunderstood and potentially dangerous element of wood stove burning. It is my opinion that a great many people (including those in the biz) don't understand proper wood stove operation (which includes daily burn offs). It is also my opinion that a great many people don't even fully understand what creosote is.

It is normal for your flue to have a thin (1/4"), light colored coating of fluffy ash. This is not creosote even though many wood stove owners think it is. Most of the people in the industry will call it creosote as well. If you can easily run your finger through this and it crumbles and blows away, it is not creosote. Many will have you believe you need to hire a chimney sweep to brush this ash out. There's nothing wrong with doing that, it's just not necessary. As you do your daily burn offs, this ash will continue to flake off and either go up the flue or drop down into the stove. Think of creosote as oil or tar. It's more wet and sticky than dry and flaky.

On the H_earth forum, I took the position like I have explained above. Many people argued that I was wrong but non more strongly than one of the moderators. This particular moderator was giving members advise that was just flat wrong. I gave a differing opinion and was banned (& my posts deleted). I was told that daily burn offs were an "old wives tale" and "don't work" and that it was irresponsible to advocate such a thing. Just because someone is in a position where they should know, doesn't mean that they actually do.

The manual that came with our stove addresses creosote in all aspects including glass, firebox, cat, and flue. I posted this on another thread. It supports how we have been operating our wood stoves for decades:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Pg. 23, Operating Instructions, #8: "Let the fire burn on a higher setting (on the thermostat) for 20-30 minutes, or until the fire is well established, then turn the thermostat to the desired setting. It is good burning practice to burn the stove on high for 20-30 mins after every refueling, this will help in cleaning off any residual build-ups and lessen the chance of accumulation."

*Pg. 23, Operating Instructions: "Put as much fuel into the stove as it will hold. Don't be afraid to fill it completely. With the _____ _____ automatic thermostat, the wood will only burn at the rate set on the thermostat. Loading with a half load of fuel, and therefore reloading more often, causes the combustor to lose efficiency and may result in a faster creosote deposit."

*Pg. 24, Operating Instructions: "Should you burn the stove on a very low setting for extended periods of time, you will begin to see creosote deposits forming on the glass door. To remove these deposits, simply run the stove on "High" for a short time, approximately 30 minutes. The "High" setting will burn off most of the deposits."

*Pg. 26, Creosote: "At stack temperature below 120*C (250* F), the creosote will condense out of the gasses (smoke). Once a chimney connector becomes heavily coated with creosote, the only safe way to remove it is mechanically with a proper chimney cleaner or brush. A combination of wet fuel and poor operating procedure may necessitate weekly cleaning to remove creosote buildup. Remember - the hotter the fire the less creosote...We recommend that each day a small intense fire be built, preferably in the morning. This daily practice should burn out the small deposits of creosote before they build to a dangerous level. The combustion air inlet should be opened at least 30 minutes by turning the thermostat up in the morning and evening. NEVER "burn out" large deposits of more than one days accumulation."

*Pg. 26, Creosote, #4: "Operate the stove on a higher temperature setting for the half hour after reloading."

*Pg. 28, Maintenance, Cat Cleaning: "TIP: A nice hot fire will usually prove to be the best method of cleaning the combustor of deposits."

*Pg. 29, Maintenance, Door Glass Cleaning: "The best way to keep the glass clean is to leave the stove on high burn for a period of time after each reloading. The moisture which is driven from a new load of wood contributes much of the creosote on the inside of the glass. Removing that moisture at the beginning of the burn cycle helps to keep the glass clean. Leaving the thermostat on a higher setting for 30 minutes to an hour before turning to low for an overnight burn will also help.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
The only reason I run our Jotul F600CB wide open is to get it up to good secondary burn temperatures. Even though wide open I cut it back before it gets really hot and no where close to maximum operation temperature. No creosote at all, just fluffy ash.


'Burn off' is probably not the best term for the process you are describing as likely very little of the chimney gets hot enough to burn off creosote.
 
The only reason I run our Jotul F600CB wide open is to get it up to good secondary burn temperatures. Even though wide open I cut it back before it gets really hot and no where close to maximum operation temperature. No creosote at all, just fluffy ash.


'Burn off' is probably not the best term for the process you are describing as likely very little of the chimney gets hot enough to burn off creosote.

What are your flue temps, just above the stove top?

Edit: You may be right on the "burn off"...that's just what we've always called it. And if all you are seeing in your flue is light fluffy ash, then that tells me you are burning correctly and not allowing creosote to build up.
 
Inside the flue or outside and measured with what kind of device?

Well most of us measure outside and just times it by 2 to get an estimate of the inside. It's not super precise but will give you a general idea of what's going on.

During the burn off, we allow the cat probe to get to the upper range. Our Condar pipe thermometer will get up to about 500 degrees. So that puts the flue temp (5" above the top of the stove) at around 1000 degrees.
 
I measure inside using a Condor with an interior probe.

About 1,000°F

Sorry, I was editing as you posted this. Yes, 1000 degrees is where I estimated ours at.

EDIT: We have double wall in the room, triple from there on out. I realize flue temps will decrease as the gasses get further away from the stove. When I check the inside of our pipes, they look pretty much the same on the stove end as they do on the vent cap end. Light and fluffy on both ends so it seems it is getting hot enough all the way through the flue to control creosote buildup.
 
I measure inside using a Condor with an interior probe.

About 1,000°F

You don't think creosote will burn in the flue with your flue temps at 1000 degrees? I understand the gasses won't be 1000 degrees when they exit but still hot enough to burn (& dry out) creosote.
 
You don't think creosote will burn in the flue with your flue temps at 1000 degrees? I understand the gasses won't be 1000 degrees when they exit but still hot enough to burn (& dry out) creosote.

Not up the chimney a ways, and that is were creosote forms first.

I burn out Jotul so it doesn't make much creosote.

Top down starting. no smouldering, seasoned wood, etc.
 
Not up the chimney a ways, and that is were creosote forms first.

I burn out Jotul so it doesn't make much creosote.

Top down starting. no smouldering, seasoned wood, etc.

How is your 1000 degree flue temp decreasing so quickly up higher in the flue where you have triple wall pipe?
 
How is your 1000 degree flue temp decreasing so quickly up higher in the flue where you have triple wall pipe?



Double wall Metalbestos.

I've stood on the roof and held my hand over the stove pipe exhaust.

Don't know the temp but I'm thinking it's cooler than two feet up the pipe from the stove.
 
Double wall Metalbestos.

I've stood on the roof and held my hand over the stove pipe exhaust.

Don't know the temp but I'm thinking it's cooler than two feet up the pipe from the stove.

Ok, I can be a little dense so be patient with me. So you are saying that you can have a flue temp of 1000 degrees (just above the stove top) and at the same time, hold your hand over the exhaust? I can hold my hand over the exhaust during normal operation (it's like a dryer vent) but not while we are doing the daily burn off.

Also, is 1000 degrees a normal flue temp for you...during normal operation?
 
Ok, I can be a little dense so be patient with me. So you are saying that you can have a flue temp of 1000 degrees (just above the stove top) and at the same time, hold your hand over the exhaust? I can hold my hand over the exhaust during normal operation (it's like a dryer vent) but not while we are doing the daily burn off.

Also, is 1000 degrees a normal flue temp for you...during normal operation?

Flue temp depends on how hard the stove is running. Lots of times it's around 400 to 500°. I hardly ever see 1,000°F and I've never been on the roof at the time.

You and I are using vastly different types of thermometers and neither one of them if likely very accurate.
 
A daily burn off is not a substitute for periodic chimney cleaning. It might help keep your stove and stove pipe clean, but it won't stop your entire chimney from accumulating creosote and won't clean a dirty one. Unless a chimney fire is involved, which is something to be avoided - I think.
 
This is my opinion from my experiences

A burn off as you put it can be a good thing it also can keep emission particulates at bay . The smokiest time is usually the first half hour if a reload .

It won't replace periodic chimney cleaning.

I have found over the years that wood burners that have no Ts or angles hardly ever load up with creosote like in a case where the flu is straight up and down vertical all the fluff falls down back into the wood burner again to be reduced into light fine powder .

A cat stove as you mentioned would obviously benefit most by this method . It's how you are supposed to run them

Don't take a ban personal from that site .over the years They have gone communist over there and most of them are liberal crybabies who probably have never even ran a chainsaw or owned a pickup truck in their lives. There are some like that here , but they generally keep to the political section and know there place . They are like the awkward feminine kid in high school who's only friends were girls ..cuz no other guy could stand them
 
This is my opinion from my experiences

A burn off as you put it can be a thing it also can keep emission particulates at bay . The smokiest time is usually the first half hour if a reload .

It won't replace periodic chimney cleaning

I have found over the years that wood burners that have no Ts or angles hardly ever load up with creosote like in a case where the flu is straight up and down vertical all the fluff falls down back into the wood burner again to be reduced into light fine powder .

A cat stove as you mentioned would obviously benefit most by this method . It's how you are supposed to run them

Don't take a ban personal from that site .over the years They have gone communist over there and most of them are liberal crybabies who probably have never even ran a chainsaw or owned a pickup truck in their lives. There are some like that here , but they generally keep to the political section and know there place . They are like the awkward feminine kid in high school who's only friends were girls ..cuz no other guy could stand them
more than a few leftists crybabys on here also..just like this context,,and they will reply their knowitall answers..and know zero........and I don't believe,,a hot burnoff,,will light off creosote further up the pipes if present..only a chimney fire will,,which is to be avoided..........
 
This reminds me that I should get up on the roof and sweep my chimney while the weather is nice. Maybe I'll take a cooler and a lawn chair up. "Sorry honey, it's a bad one this year, might take all day!"

In all seriousness, there are some things to consider that were not mentioned IMO. Even if you operate your stove in the proper temperature and do daily burn offs there is a real possibility to develop creosote. A driving cold wind will allow the upper part of the flue to cool enough to form creosote, even with a good chimney cap. Also, if you had buildup that was dried out from a good burn off the leftover material will remain hanging on the flue liner. Enough iterations of that and the flow will begin to become restricted. There is no substitute to sweeping that stuff out. It makes a noticable impact on my stoves performance when it needs to be swept. I will get a lot of light flakey material that is loosely adhered that needs to be brushed away that was choking flow. YMMV
 
Back
Top