1st Sweep one month with pics

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Mike821

Member
Nov 3, 2010
114
Bridgewater NJ
All,

I was on the roof today to inspect the SS liner/cap/and insert (ground of course). I have included pics. Since the stove is new I am set on preforming a monthly inspection and cleaning for the first year. After that I can gauge how many times I need to sweep/clean.

A couple of things I noticed.....

*Cap..Creosote some popcorn and some glaze. Is this normal?

*SS liner...creosote was brittle and more like ash. I have been using ACS the last week as instructed. Has this caused the creosote to be brittle or is this the way creosote is like?

I had many fires that smoldered due to getting used to burning and regulating air intake the first few weeks. I was running the stove at 350-400. Now I run the stove at 400-600. 5-600 I choke it down and make sure the secondaries are burning. MC of my wood is 15-22%.

Take a look at my pics and give me some feedback please.

Dam that SS liner can cut ya ....ouch!

Thanks all....Mike
 

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What kind of stove you running?

As you get to know the stove better you should have less smoldering.

That's still a lot of buildup for only a month of burning though.
 
More pics

Lopi 1750i is my stove
 

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Yep, good call on the cleaning. For one month of burning that's quite a bit of buildup. If you keep up with it like you are (every month) then you can keep things safe until you get some better wood possibly (are your test numbers coming from the inside of a freshly cut split?) or get more used to controlling the fire.

Nothing better than a nice SS cut.

Being cognizant as you are is the most important thing. Good start.

pen
 
I'm a big fan of work gloves! Cheers!
 
Thanks guys....I guess the major issue is my choking of the fire. I am shooting for long burn times, but have to take in account that I am not burning correctly. The last few days I have learned a good deal about the way my stove burns. I might not get 8 hrs burn time, but if I get 6 hrs of a hot burn 500-600 w/secondaries, this is much better. This will aid in the buildup of creosote. I was not letting the stove get up to temp the first three weeks. I would get to 400 on the therm on the stove top. Then I would cut it back all the way. No good....in no time the fire was smoldering...some coals..and I was maintaining a 300-350 temp on top of the stove.

What is your take on ACS....does it work? The stove shop says to use it and it works.
 
ACS just loosens the stuff up so you can brush it out. Keeping some fire in that firebox keeps it from getting in there in the first place. Flames ain't wasting wood, they are heating your house. And consuming that crud before it gets up there in the pipe.
 
Mike821 said:
Thanks guys....I guess the major issue is my choking of the fire. I am shooting for long burn times, but have to take in account that I am not burning correctly. The last few days I have learned a good deal about the way my stove burns. I might not get 8 hrs burn time, but if I get 6 hrs of a hot burn 500-600 w/secondaries, this is much better. This will aid in the buildup of creosote. I was not letting the stove get up to temp the first three weeks. I would get to 400 on the therm on the stove top. Then I would cut it back all the way. No good....in no time the fire was smoldering...some coals..and I was maintaining a 300-350 temp on top of the stove.

What is your take on ACS....does it work? The stove shop says to use it and it works.

I think you are right . . . I would rather burn more efficiently and cleanly and get a little less time between loads then to burn inefficiently and clog up my chimney with creosote and blacken up the glass . . . the good news is that in time -- with better wood and a better understanding of your stove -- you will no doubt be able to get the longer burns . . . and still burn efficiently and cleanly.
 
Mike821 said:
All,

I was on the roof today to inspect the SS liner/cap/and insert (ground of course). I have included pics. Since the stove is new I am set on preforming a monthly inspection and cleaning for the first year. After that I can gauge how many times I need to sweep/clean.

A couple of things I noticed.....

*Cap..Creosote some popcorn and some glaze. Is this normal?

*SS liner...creosote was brittle and more like ash. I have been using ACS the last week as instructed. Has this caused the creosote to be brittle or is this the way creosote is like?

I had many fires that smoldered due to getting used to burning and regulating air intake the first few weeks. I was running the stove at 350-400. Now I run the stove at 400-600. 5-600 I choke it down and make sure the secondaries are burning. MC of my wood is 15-22%.

Take a look at my pics and give me some feedback please.

Dam that SS liner can cut ya ....ouch!

Thanks all....Mike
Hey Mike, I'm in bedminster. How do you know the MC of your wood? Do you have a moisture meter? I have one, I can bring it over.
 
I have a moisture meeter....thanks for the offer bud. The readings I am getting are 15-23%. Most of the wood is around 20 that I am burning. I picked up a Lowes moisture meter. Works good...but I hear that it reads high in some posts.
 
just make sure you split the split of wood and use the moisture meter on the fresh inside face.

pen
 
Yes Pen...when I split the rounds I took a reading. 15-23%....20 being the norm with some + or -. I am going to take some splits and split them agian just for S&G's. I just cant wait until next year. I have 3-4 cords already split and stacked. They are around 23-25% MC and should be a champ next season. A great deal of LOOOOOCUST.
 
My first cleaning after 2.5 months was similar. The liner had about 1/4" of super fluffy brown soot I could just wipe it off with my glove. The cap had the same except about 3/8" thick. Looking up from the firebox the liner was just coated in white dust but looking down it had the buildup. I also had several smoldering fires during the learning period. I ended up getting about 1 quart of the fluffy brown stuff.

I hope I can go longer but if not I am happy, my old stove I would get a gallon of what looked like dried roofing tar every two weeks.
 
Mike, you, like others, will be amazed at how much better things will be next year.

Glad you cleaned that chimney as that is a lot of junk! The last time we cleaned ours was after 2 years of burning and we got only around a cup of soot. That was a year ago last June that we cleaned. Will we have to clean this coming spring? Only time will tell but it looks pretty good yet. Good dry fuel is the big answer.
 
It does look like a lot for one month. However, it looked like powdery build up. I've seen wet looking creosote that looks like fresh roofing piche. The creosote prevention products burn up any wet stuff so that any other ash or smoke byproduct won't stick to it creating even more of a layer. I'd keep using it if it seems to work. Hotter fires also produce less build up. Good job on the cleanup and thanks for the pictures. Get yourself some gloves brother!
 
I think you did ok. Some folks here have better wood than many and some of them have more time to tend to the fire than others. Sometimes I am forced to close the air down earlier than i would like in having to bring kids somewhere or i forget to reload early enough prior to leaving for the day, like on Christmas eve - or I just want to head to bed so it gets shut down while secondaries are burning. Don't sweat it, just sweep it. If you put that volume up against the surface area of that liner, it is not that bad. I did not notice if your liner was uninsulated either. Mine is and the result is a bit more will stick to the sides.
 
It looks ok to me, just do as you say and sweep regularly for the first year as you get a feel for your stove.

As a guide, I swept my chimney yesterday for the first time since the stove was installed (2 months ago) and I got just 2 pounds of soot. My stove vents into the original chimney (no liner) and it was swept the day before installation. I suspect that some of the soot that came down this time was old soot loosened by the hotter flue temperatures. I'll be interested in checking it again in a couple of months again, not sure if weighing soot is taking it to the extreme, but I reckon it's a good idea to keep an eye on things :)
 
Interesting. I had no idea that you would have to clean the liner after only 1 month. I guess I figured it should be done after the season or before the next.
 
Thats what i get after about a winter of burning pretty hard. If thats what you get after a month.... plan on sweeping monthly.

You got the liner really clean afterwards!
 
Thanks guys! It being the first year my wood is not as dry as i would like it to be. The majority is 20% and I would like it to be 15-16% or less if possible. 20% MC and choking it down is an issue. Since I have preformed the sweep, I have analyze my burn habits more than I have done previously. What type of wood, MC, the way I light the fire (coals in or shovel 90% out), temp outside, and stove top temp before I choke it down. Here is what I was doing:

Time to load:

* Rake coals to the front. Coal base was 2-3" and a pile when raked to the front. 5" high x 4" wide ****Firebox temp 250-300****
* Splits...consisted of Locust 20-22% MC and Cherry 16-20% MC.
* lighting time....I would leave the door cracked with the damper all the way open. The fire would take 5-10 minutes to light with the coals.
* 20 minutes later the fire was burning and char the logs in front slightly. 30-40 minutes the stove top is 450-600 depending on the load. More Cherry and less Locust...higher stove top temp.
* Once the stove reached 450-5 I shut-er-down all the way.
* The secondaries were burning at this time.
* 1.5 hrs later I visited the fire only to find out that the secondaries were not firing. Stove top temp was 350 and I needed to open-er-up (lol...love that saying)
* 20 min later the stove top was 500+ and I shut-er-down.
* The fire would burn at this point utilizing the secondaries until the coal/clean burn phase occurred.

OK....a few things here I needed to fine tune.. right.

Time to load after fine tuning:

* Coals....I am shooting for a 2" wide by 2" high coal base in front of my splits. (note....I load N/S 99% of the time) If the coals are greater that what I need I will shovel them out until the desired amount. I also leave some...very little under the splits. I do have a ash base of 1/2" and then the coals on top of them.
* Splits....well I have not changed much if any. I favor having the Cherry on the outside left and right as it burns as opposed to the Locust that sometimes does not get hot enough when resting on the fire bricks at 20% MC.
* Lighting time.....Once the spits are in and the coals are up front, I get some kindling..2x4 blocks, not many , but just enough to fire her up. (stove temp 250-300 before lighting) The door is cracked...damper is wide open. 5 min later I shut the door and leave the damper open all the way. (Stove temp is now 300-350) I set the alarm for ten minutes and revisit to check the temp. Usually it takes 20 min give or take for the fire to reach 500. I shoot for 5-600 before I begin to choke-er-down. I tend to choke in stages now. I call it the half rule...every time I limit the air, I do so by cutting it in half. It seems to work for me.
*5-600 secondaries are talking to me.....ahhh love it.

I also want to add that I am looking at my stack more often. I look for smoke...if so...I am in the house to investigate why.

Knowing how your stove works mechanically is simple. What has been a learning curve for me is the wood. Type..MC..seasoning...storage...placement in the stove....and so on. Without this site I dont know what I would be doing now. It would take me a long time to accomplish what I have done up to date in one month. Thanks guys....!!!!!!

I am sure there are more suggestions and or tips and tricks. Keep them coming....
 
Mike- did you leave the burn tubes in, and just remove the baffle? I havent swept my new insert yet, and was hoping that I could do just that ---> remove the baffle, and NOT HAVE TO remove the burn tubes.
 
wood-fan-atic said:
Mike- did you leave the burn tubes in, and just remove the baffle? I havent swept my new insert yet, and was hoping that I could do just that ---> remove the baffle, and NOT HAVE TO remove the burn tubes.

I have a Hampton and thought I would have to remove the tubes- but a little tetris and the baffle boards came right out. A little ash on top of them was just enough space to give me issues.

It should say in your manual
 
The good thing about my stove Lopi 1750i is that I have a bypass. This gives me a clear shot to the stack. No removal of tubes or baffles needed.
 
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