Oh, this is not going to go over well with my brothers here at Hearth but here goes nothing. It was a Beautiful Day in Michigan today. Temperatures were in the 50s so I decided to clean my chimney. I had my Osburn 2000 Wood Stove installed just over a month ago, 1 month and 3 days to be exact. When I began burning wood for the first time I really did not get my stove
temps up that high. I was not familiar with stove operating temperatures since this is the first wood stove that I ever had. I also purchased Ash and Oak that needs to be seasoned and that also was a problem. As a matter of fact, Dennis (BackWoodSavage) had mentioned to me that I was not operating my stove Hot enough and that was because Ash and Oak that I just purchased might not be seasoned enough. The Oak that I purchased could use a little more time drying outside and the Ash that I purchased definitely needs to be seasoned.
So, with those two issues and what I have learned from others here at Hearth, I knew that I needed to look at my chimney. With Temperatures feeling like it was Summer again, I decided to take my chimney apart from the inside of my house. I unscrewed sheet metal screws from stack, gave it a good twist and it began raining chunks of Black! My concerns were confirmed, it was Black Chunks of Creosote! From there I called Home Depot and spoke to an individual that worked Garden and Seasonal Area. I asked if they carried Fiberglass Chimney Rods and Wire Chimney Brush. They stated that they only had one set of Rutland Fiberglass Chimney Rods left. I asked if they could hold it for me and they did until I got there, THANK GOD!
After I got home, I Duct Tape a couple of Trash Bags together and taped that to the opening of my Double lined stack leading into Thimble. After I fed the first rod up into stack my wife threaded additional rods as a plowed my way upwards. During all this, I choked off end of garbage bag and it truly amazed me. None of the Creosote was getting through garbage bag! Thats because I was choking down on end of garbage bag for dear life. By time I was finished, there was enough Creosote to almost fill a small Mason Jar as you can see from picture that I downloaded.
Knowing now about operating my stove at higher temps even though my firewood needs to seasoned, I hope to burn more efficiently and not build up so much Creosote. In the mean time, I am going to be checking my chimney on a monthly bases.
Fredo
temps up that high. I was not familiar with stove operating temperatures since this is the first wood stove that I ever had. I also purchased Ash and Oak that needs to be seasoned and that also was a problem. As a matter of fact, Dennis (BackWoodSavage) had mentioned to me that I was not operating my stove Hot enough and that was because Ash and Oak that I just purchased might not be seasoned enough. The Oak that I purchased could use a little more time drying outside and the Ash that I purchased definitely needs to be seasoned.
So, with those two issues and what I have learned from others here at Hearth, I knew that I needed to look at my chimney. With Temperatures feeling like it was Summer again, I decided to take my chimney apart from the inside of my house. I unscrewed sheet metal screws from stack, gave it a good twist and it began raining chunks of Black! My concerns were confirmed, it was Black Chunks of Creosote! From there I called Home Depot and spoke to an individual that worked Garden and Seasonal Area. I asked if they carried Fiberglass Chimney Rods and Wire Chimney Brush. They stated that they only had one set of Rutland Fiberglass Chimney Rods left. I asked if they could hold it for me and they did until I got there, THANK GOD!
After I got home, I Duct Tape a couple of Trash Bags together and taped that to the opening of my Double lined stack leading into Thimble. After I fed the first rod up into stack my wife threaded additional rods as a plowed my way upwards. During all this, I choked off end of garbage bag and it truly amazed me. None of the Creosote was getting through garbage bag! Thats because I was choking down on end of garbage bag for dear life. By time I was finished, there was enough Creosote to almost fill a small Mason Jar as you can see from picture that I downloaded.
Knowing now about operating my stove at higher temps even though my firewood needs to seasoned, I hope to burn more efficiently and not build up so much Creosote. In the mean time, I am going to be checking my chimney on a monthly bases.
Fredo