does insulated stove pipe decrease creosote buildup?

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fireweed

New Member
Dec 31, 2009
2
Olympic Peninsula
We just had a fireplace insert installed with stainless steel flue pipe all the way up. The flue pipe within the chimney is double wall insulated with some white padding around it which we think is called thermaguard. The 3 foot length of pipe that extends above the roof is single wall. The guy who installed it suggests we replace the 3 foot above the roof pipe with a four foot insulated pipe to improve draft and also reduce creosote buildup. What do you think?
 
Insulated pipe keeps the heat in better which should reduce the amount of creosote you would see build up on a colder pipe. If you had insulated above the roof line I'd think it would help with your draft too because it would be hotter.
 
I agree with Matt. The extra insulated pipe at the top will help reduce creosote formation by increasing the draft, and therefore, the velocity of the flue gases' exit from the chimney. I'd follow the installer's recommendation.
 
You defiantly do not want 3' of single wall sticking up out of the roof. You are going to get 2x the creosote buildup there.
 
I thought any exterior pipe had to be Class A? When I hear "single wall" I think of ye olde black stove pipe. Surely that's not what you have exposed to the elements...?
 
Amen! Definitely put Class A above the roof line. Insulated definitely will help in keeping away cresote.

Remember, with a stove it is the same as with a computer. Junk in = junk out. Therefore only put good fuel into the stove and you will have much less problems with creosote, amount of heat you get, less smoke, easier starting fires, etc., etc.
 
I used to live in an old mine cabin where I installed my own stove but used the existing, single-wall stovepipe that was already there and in place. This was single-wall all the way from the stove to the stovecap. I had to clean it out several times a winter [Oct. to May]. When I built this place I live in now, I used all insulated pipe. I have cleaned out the pipe several times over several years and had almost nothing to clean. The same stove, 2 miles from the other cabin, so same environment, same wood source, same burning habits [mine]. The only difference is the stovepipe.
 
Thank you so much for all your advice. We now have insulated pipe up and the fireplace insert is working wonderfully. Having your expertise made all the difference.
 
fireweed, that is music to our ears! Happy burning to you for the rest of the winter.
 
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