How often do you need to chimney sweep?

It varies (of course) how often you need to sweep, a new burner should check the chimney once a month
to guage soot/creosote build up. If you have alot of buildup in 2 1/2 months your wood or burning habits
are the biggest factors. Make sure you burn properly seasoned wood, get a moisture meter if you have to and
get your wood below 20%. Burn hotter fires to keep creosote at bay, get a stove top thermometer if you don't
have one and try to keep the stove above 400*. Once you get the hang of it you should only have to clean
the chimney once per season.

First year, once a month, second and third year, 2 times a season. This year, once at the end of the season. As you get better at the stove and your wood is seasoned you get less buildup. Learning is the fun part

I went five years before the first cleaning and ten more years before the second.

Sometimes I wonder if I worry too much about creosote and chimney fires. A guy I know has been burning green wood in a barrel stove for the past few months and told me that he's been doing that for years. Never does a mid-season sweep and has never had a chimney fire. I'm certainly not that adventurous, but it gets me thinking that I'm probably on the over cautious side.

When your family and your life are at risk...a little respect is a good thing. I said I will sweep it at the end of the season...I still check it periodically. Checked it a week ago and all is well!

Seeing a change in draft is the best way, but it takes you a time or two to notice it.

Was the chimney dirty or was the cap just plugged up?

LMBN said:

Last night we noticed (for the first time) that we had almost no draft. Tonght, my husband went up on the roof and removed the cap to see what was going on. He was more or less hit in the face with a ton of soot.

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It sounds like a plugged spark screen on the chimney cap. If you burn paper in the stove, it may contribute to the cap plugging.

My cap has no screen and when I burn paper, I can see large black flakes rain down on the snow.

ikessky said:

Sometimes I wonder if I worry too much about creosote and chimney fires. A guy I know has been burning green wood in a barrel stove for the past few months and told me that he's been doing that for years. Never does a mid-season sweep and has never had a chimney fire. I'm certainly not that adventurous, but it gets me thinking that I'm probably on the over cautious side.

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Just because one gets away with something for awhile doesn't make it a good practice . . . I mean I could say that I drink and drive every weekend and have got away with it for years without any problem, but it only takes that one time for a person to drink, drive and crash into someone causing a death and their life (and other's lives) are changed forever. Incidentally, I don't drink and drive . . . in fact I rarely drink anything . . . alcoholic . . . except for on the very rare occasion a hard cider and even then it's only while camping or at home.

In the same vein of thought one could say that they've never swept their chimney, always burned green wood, always used gasoline to start the fire, never paid attention to clearance requirements, always disposed of their hot ashes in plastic buckets, etc. and never had any problems . . . again, it only takes one time to have a pretty serious problem.

But from your post I know you already knew this . . . and incidentally I don't think you're being overly cautious . . . you just happen to respect your woodstove and respect fire -- to me there is a big difference in being overly cautious to the point of being paranoid (not that I'm saying you are paranoid . . . some folks I've met are however) and folks who are simply respecting the inherent dangers that owning, operating and maintaining a woodstove entails.

bluefrier said:

It varies (of course) how often you need to sweep, a new burner should check the chimney once a month
to guage soot/creosote build up. If you have alot of buildup in 2 1/2 months your wood or burning habits
are the biggest factors. Make sure you burn properly seasoned wood, get a moisture meter if you have to and
get your wood below 20%. Burn hotter fires to keep creosote at bay, get a stove top thermometer if you don't
have one and try to keep the stove above 400*. Once you get the hang of it you should only have to clean
the chimney once per season.

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I like Bluefrier's advice . . . in fact I like it a lot.

As he said knowing when to sweep varies by how often you burn (weekends vs. 24/7), how you burn (i.e. temps) and what you are burning (i.e. seasoned vs. semi-seasoned vs. green wood).

My advice to folks in fire safety classes is to at least check the chimney once a month for creosote build up (and for new wood burners it's a good idea to sweep the chimney once a month to get an idea of how much creosote is in their chimney and how altering their burning habits can and will change the creosote build up.)

Based on your description I think Bluefrier is right about the cause of the creosote . . . sounds like the wood may not be seasoned enough and/or the woodstove isn't running hot enough. Buying and using a stove top thermometer and a thermometer for the flue pipe can help you run the stove more efficiently and produce less creosote in time . . . although using well seasoned wood is also right up there on the To Do List.

This year I am a new wood burner (or at least a heathen who has come back to the fold after many years of not burning wood) and I can tell you that I have learned quite a bit as this heating season has unfolded . . . and part of the way I've learned how to improve my burning techniques is by checking and cleaning the chimney every month . . . if nothing else you'll get some peace of mind from cleaning the chimney.

firefighterjake said:

Just because one gets away with something for awhile doesn't make it a good practice . . . I mean I could say that I drink and drive every weekend and have got away with it for years without any problem, but it only takes that one time for a person to drink, drive and crash into someone causing a death and their life (and other's lives) are changed forever. Incidentally, I don't drink and drive . . . in fact I rarely drink anything . . . alcoholic . . . except for on the very rare occasion a hard cider and even then it's only while camping or at home.

In the same vein of thought one could say that they've never swept their chimney, always burned green wood, always used gasoline to start the fire, never paid attention to clearance requirements, always disposed of their hot ashes in plastic buckets, etc. and never had any problems . . . again, it only takes one time to have a pretty serious problem.

But from your post I know you already knew this . . . and incidentally I don't think you're being overly cautious . . . you just happen to respect your woodstove and respect fire -- to me there is a big difference in being overly cautious to the point of being paranoid (not that I'm saying you are paranoid . . . some folks I've met are however) and folks who are simply respecting the inherent dangers that owning, operating and maintaining a woodstove entails.

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I started out scared, moved to paranoid, now I'm in the overly cautious phase. I know that I could probably choke the air back more than currently do and get some longer burn times, but I really don't want to run the risk of smouldering and getting creosote. I mean, the wood furnace is already exempt from EPA standards, so I don't need to make it any worse! My wood supply is free and I haven't really been inconvienienced by having to add wood more often.

jake has some very intelligent words there.

I might add that many times you can get by with just cleaning around the top of the chimney because that is where most of the problem occurs. However, with the new burners, it is still best to clean the entire chimney and check it often. If you are burning green wood, then check it every other week.

As for the fellow with the barrel stove, he just might get away with his practices. However, he will burn at least twice as much wood as necessary (and there is no comparison with his setup vs. one of the newer stoves) and he is definitely playing with fire. Why take that chance?

I'm certainly not suggesting that I am going to change my burning habits or anything like that. I'm using the example mearly as a reference point, stating that I shouldn't be so overly paranoid when I'm following proper techniques.

All depends on how much you burn, and the status of the wood you are using. I heat my home entirely with wood, and this year's wood is not the most seasoned, so I am sweeping about every month. I get about an ash can full after the sweep.

LMBN said:

The cap was just plugged up.
Why??

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THe cap is the coldest part of the system and will condense the most creosote. If you burn paper, large flakes of it will end up on your spark screen and the creosote will build on it like ice crystals build snowflakes.

LMBN said:

bluefrier said:

It varies (of course) how often you need to sweep, a new burner should check the chimney once a month
to guage soot/creosote build up. If you have alot of buildup in 2 1/2 months your wood or burning habits
are the biggest factors. Make sure you burn properly seasoned wood, get a moisture meter if you have to and
get your wood below 20%. Burn hotter fires to keep creosote at bay, get a stove top thermometer if you don't
have one and try to keep the stove above 400*. Once you get the hang of it you should only have to clean
the chimney once per season.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I do think we haven't been burning the most seasoned wood all of the time. AND we have been using it as our primary heat source thus far.

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Is there anything you can add to a fire (like you can to a standard fireplace) to keep creosote at bay)?

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Yes, we do plan on going up there this weekend and giving it a thorough cleaning.

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To answer your question; (inside the dollar signs)

www.rutland.com

rutland creosote remover , 2 lb can of powder that you add a couple of scoops of to each fire.weekly application helps prevent creosote build up & changes creosote into a brushable powder that is easier to remove. $12.95 + ship from www.northlineexpress.com

this is probably not the least expensive place to buy it from , it might be cheaper direct from rutland.com

Something else that is similar is "chimney saver cre- away" 16 once powder for $13.90 + ship
from northlineexpress.com or elsewares mabe cheaper.

Someone tell me that stuff you buy in the hardware store ,TPS Cleaner, it is a powder, comes in a box & has most of the ingredients that creosote remover has in it. about $3.50 box
You throw a scoop in each fire & it is susposed to reduce creosote & change it to a brushable powder. i remember reading about it in a post here last year.