Cleaned the chimney today

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bogydave

bogydave

Minister of Fire
Dec 4, 2009
8,426
So Cent ALASKA
Can't remember if I cleaned it this spring.
Had fires late into the year & a few thru the (so called ) Summer.
Some fires recently.
1/4 cup maybe.

The beauty of dry wood or good to be forgetful :)

Either way , peace of mind ;)

Guess that makes it worth it.
Bottom looking up picture:
100_8010.JPG
 
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bogydave said:
Can't remember if I cleaned it this spring.
Had fires late into the year & a few thru the (so called ) Summer.
Some fires recently.
1/4 cup maybe.

The beauty of dry wood or good to be forgetful :)

Either way , peace of mind ;)

Guess that makes it worth it.
Bottom looking up picture:
View attachment 75062
Click to expand...

Peace of mind indeed! I just cleaned the flue and stove last weekend myself. Maybe half a coffee can worth of fine soot. Not too bad for ~28' of pipe. I opened up the floor plate to inspect the blowers and took off the front shroud to wipe it all down. Now I'm ready for that first fire of the season. Supposed to get down to the low 40s at night this week.
 
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Looking real good.
 
bogydave said:
Can't remember if I cleaned it this spring.
Had fires late into the year & a few thru the (so called ) Summer.
Some fires recently.
1/4 cup maybe.
Click to expand...
So, you figure to be back burning in the next few weeks? ;)
 
Looks good BogyDave.

Nice Job.
Zap
 
Woody Stover said:
So, you figure to be back burning in the next few weeks? ;)
Click to expand...

As needed, But yea, I'll be burning soon.
We've had low 50 days & low 40s nights lately.


etiger2007 said:
Looking good Dave, will you clean at all this winter?
Click to expand...

I usually run the brush mid winter. Last year I did & got about 1/4 - 1/2 a coffee can.

In the 80s, I'd get 3/4 of a 5 gallon bucket every 6 - 8 weeks with a shorter chimney.
Then, I cut wood in Sept to start burning in Oct. (Luckily, I only had 1 chimney fire. _g )
I could get the stove & pipe really hot, then let it cool & the Creosote would fall into the stove in sheets :eek:

Since then;
I've moved the stove to the basement, put the chimney on the outside of the house & improved the seasoning time of the wood,.
A new stove & better burning practices & I have a little more "how to burn firewood knowledge" ;) .
 
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bogydave said:
As needed, But yea, I'll be burning soon.
We've had low 50 days & low 40s nights lately.




I usually run the brush mid winter. Last year I did & got about 1/4 - 1/2 a coffee can.

In the 80s, I'd get 3/4 of a 5 gallon bucket every 6 - 8 weeks with a shorter chimney.
Then, I cut wood in Sept to start burning in Oct. (Luckily, I only had 1 chimney fire. _g )
I could get the stove & pipe really hot, then let it cool & the Creosote would fall into the stove in sheets :eek:

Since then;
I've moved the stove to the basement, put the chimney on the outside of the house & improved the seasoning time of the wood,.
A new stove & better burning practices & I have a little more "how to burn firewood knowledge" ;) .
Click to expand...

It must ave been scary to have a chimney fire, what did you do to put it out not to make you re-live it ? What are the do's and donts of a chimney fire?Thanks for any input, this wouldnt be a great new thread with the burning season coming up so fast with all the new burners out there.
 
Reader's Digest condensed version:
Winter time. Snow on the roof.
Neighbor headed to work 4:30 AM & saw my chimney was on fire, car horn & loudly knocking on my door, said "Chimney Fire! ".
Now I'm wide awake fast . Turned the stove air intake OFF.
Threw on insulated coveralls, no shoes. Saw red hot glowing all over the chimney cap.
Ran to the garage; grabbed a garden hose hooked it up grabbed a ladder & sprayed it from the top. Was moving pretty fast. ( Younger then )
Rip the attic access door off,checked the attic where the pipe went thru, no smoke or signs of burning.

Bought an 8" chimney brush that day & cleaned it.
Took a while, brush wouldn't go in the pipe very easy, got several gallons. Some 3/8" thick. Looked like boiled tar but hard like coal.
Had it inspected, all OK. Nothing burnt in the attic. Was a good install. Got lucky.

Had left the stove on high before going to bed because the wood wasn't burning well. (now I say DUH! )

Started cleaning it every 6 to 8 weeks after that, always got lots of creo. Thought that was normal.
Now I know what wet wood & slow cool burns will do.

1st, turn the air intake to the stove off. Starve the fire of air. Spray the roof with water in case hot ember are on the roof.
Get the creo fire out out & then clean the chimney ;)
Inspect chimney often & Start burning drier wood soon!
 
Than
bogydave said:
Reader's Digest condensed version:
Winter time. Snow on the roof.
Neighbor headed to work 4:30 AM & saw my chimney was on fire, car horn & loudly knocking on my door, said "Chimney Fire! ".
Now I'm wide awake fast . Turned the stove air intake OFF.
Threw on insulated coveralls, no shoes. Saw red hot glowing all over the chimney cap.
Ran to the garage; grabbed a garden hose hooked it up grabbed a ladder & sprayed it from the top. Was moving pretty fast. ( Younger then )
Rip the attic access door off,checked the attic where the pipe went thru, no smoke or signs of burning.

Bought an 8" chimney brush that day & cleaned it.
Took a while, brush wouldn't go in the pipe very easy, got several gallons. Some 3/8" thick. Looked like boiled tar but hard like coal.
Had it inspected, all OK. Nothing burnt in the attic. Was a good install. Got lucky.

Had left the stove on high before going to bed because the wood wasn't burning well. (now I say DUH! )

Started cleaning it every 6 to 8 weeks after that, always got lots of creo. Thought that was normal.
Now I know what wet wood & slow cool burns will do.

1st, turn the air intake to the stove off. Starve the fire of air. Spray the roof with water in case hot ember are on the roof.
Get the creo fire out out & then clean the chimney ;)
Inspect chimney often & Start burning drier wood soon!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply Dave, good stuff to know in case it happens to you!
 
I cleaned mine on Monday. I have a 15 foot insulated liner going up through an old triple wall. I burned wood pellets for most of last season, two and a half tons of them. I got two cups of soot out of the entire run of the chimney. Judging from the discoloration of the stainless, I am still running a cool chimney, around 380 to 400 degrees out of the stove. I wanted it a bit warmer than that. When I shoved the video camera up for a look around before brushing, there was nothing but grey ash at the lower levels.
 
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