Tin Can Trick?

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Nov 5, 2010
163
North MS
We have a guy close to home that lived in Chicago for 30 years with work, but he retired back to this area. We were talking about my wood heater and stove pipe setup, and he said be sure to keep a check on that pipe pretty often to make sure it was clean. I told him I was familar with all those things and all but he went on to say throw you a soup can in there every once in a while to keep that pipe clean. He said it was very common up North to do that. It was the first time I had ever heard of it but I just wanted to ask some of you people and get your ideas on it. He claims something in those cans will clean a pipe like new money as it burns up. I would be interested in hearing all your ideas about this.
 
I have heard of that before... not sure if it really works, however.. I think trying to get the stove hot enough to actually burn a tin can is what cleans out the pipe, IMO.....
 
Tried soda cans for a while- results were not what I had hoped.......
 
I think he was referring to aluminum cans. it's a fairly common practice wit a lot of old timers(and some not so young) A tin can would last through many many fires without any change other than rust. I throw them in the fire pit at the cabin and they live through several seasons of very hot fires.
Joe
 
Eh?

So i put a tin can in the fire while I am burning and "presto, chango, VOILA" creasote turns into shiny pipe?

Someone has to be pulling my leg.....
 
Every so often this comes up on the forum. Pure baloney!

btw, I also see several times people post that is is or was fairly common in the past. Again, pure baloney. Admittedly there have been some but no matter what field you are talking about you will get some folks who come up with weird ideas but they are few and far between. Then again, it comes into print occasionally and it did in the Mother Earth News. Just because they printed it does not mean it will work.

fwiw, I am considered an "old timer" of sorts and the first time I ever heard of such a dumb thing was in The Mother Earth News and the next time was on hearth.com. I have never talked with anyone, young or old, who actually did this as a normal thing. I also have been in thousands of homes, many with older folks burning wood and never had one say they did anything like that.
 
Would there be any adverse reaction with steel or cast iron?

I used to be a rebel, but now I am kinda, i dunno, adverse to soot and ash in the house, and crawling around on roofs....

Yeah, i guess the correct term would be lazy!
:)
 
It wouldn't hurt the stove. There's that "chimney sweeping log" and associated powders- but it doesn't eliminate the need to sweep. Those may make sweeping easier.

In fact- if they did work well, the creosote would come raining down the pipe where it could ignite easier or block an elbow (my guess).
 
I usually throw a kicking jackalope in there when its good n hot. That little sucker kicks and claws his way out the chimney and its spotless. About mid season when there is too much snow on the roof is the best time! :lol:
 
Good point, but the population dropped substantially. Look at the good ole days, jackalopes all over the yard...now, not so much. Wonder what the next best will be? Jackalopes had a slightly tougher fur and antlers so they did a better job then 2 weasels. Possums are too slow and fat. Possibly 2 rabid squirrels would do the trick? :lol:
 
jack........,
You do realize that for this to work that the soup can needs to be full ?
rn
 
For a really clogged chimney you may want to start with a porkypine.

Ahh, i guess I will just hire this local sasquatch guy to come clean it for me
 
rustynut said:
jack........,
You do realize that for this to work that the soup can needs to be full ?
rn

Wait, are we talking a soupcan like "Cambells Chunky" or a soda can like "Dr. Pepper"?

Also what size?

Maybe a family size chicken noodle followed up by occasional vienna sausages for occasional maintenence?
 
Well I didn't put much stock in it, but I wanted to check things out just to make sure. I hear all kinds of things from old folks and love to hear them, but lots of them just don't hold water. The South is full of old time remedies and things of that nature, and they are interesting but thats usually about it. I just wanted to make sure the North had the same kind of folks we do.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
Every so often this comes up on the forum. Pure baloney!

btw, I also see several times people post that is is or was fairly common in the past. Again, pure baloney. Admittedly there have been some but no matter what field you are talking about you will get some folks who come up with weird ideas but they are few and far between. Then again, it comes into print occasionally and it did in the Mother Earth News. Just because they printed it does not mean it will work.

fwiw, I am considered an "old timer" of sorts and the first time I ever heard of such a dumb thing was in The Mother Earth News and the next time was on hearth.com. I have never talked with anyone, young or old, who actually did this as a normal thing. I also have been in thousands of homes, many with older folks burning wood and never had one say they did anything like that.
Gotta disagree with ya sav. I live out in the country and virtually everyone heats with wood to some degree. I have seem this done with some degree of frequency by a number of folks since the sixties. Does it work? I haven't a clue. But as with most folk remedies there is probably some grain of truth embedded in there somewhere. Maybe I should drop Mythbusters an email.
 
tell you what. i have a thin coat of shiney mirror type creosote now and i'll burn a soda can now and tell you how i made out.
 
nope. need soda cans AND jackalope - tie the cans behind the horned hare and send 'em up the chimney. Call your rental shop and ask about the Chimney Stackalope, it's a jackalope with a 50' rope tied to a hind leg. Let them know you're new to animal rentals too, they'll go easy on ya.
 
Never heard of such a thing until I read folks posting this here . . . call me crazy but I don't bother with tin cans, potato peelings, ferrets or magical elves to clean my chimney . . . instead I burn well seasoned wood, burn at the proper temps and check and clean my chimney regularly . . . it may be a little more work than tossing in an aluminum can or striking a bargain with the magical elves and their pixie dust . . . but on the other hand I know it works . . . and I get to keep the 5 cent deposit on my soda can.
 
firefighterjake said:
Never heard of such a thing until I read folks posting this here . . . call me crazy but I don't bother with tin cans, potato peelings, ferrets or magical elves to clean my chimney . . . instead I burn well seasoned wood, burn at the proper temps and check and clean my chimney regularly . . . it may be a little more work than tossing in an aluminum can or striking a bargain with the magical elves and their pixie dust . . . but on the other hand I know it works . . . and I get to keep the 5 cent deposit on my soda can.

...and you insist on only the finest hickery cured, hand-rubberd, organic angus, bull hide for your buggy whips too right?
;)

just joking.

It does sound like an old-wives tale, hence my skeptism, but if there is something to the chemical reaction eating up creasote, and helping to keep my chimney clean i'll take a look at it.

Old-timers get to be that way, by using a little common sense, mixed with craftyness. If their is an easier way, that works, count me in.
 
double j said:
firefighterjake said:
Never heard of such a thing until I read folks posting this here . . . call me crazy but I don't bother with tin cans, potato peelings, ferrets or magical elves to clean my chimney . . . instead I burn well seasoned wood, burn at the proper temps and check and clean my chimney regularly . . . it may be a little more work than tossing in an aluminum can or striking a bargain with the magical elves and their pixie dust . . . but on the other hand I know it works . . . and I get to keep the 5 cent deposit on my soda can.

...and you insist on only the finest hickery cured, hand-rubberd, organic angus, bull hide for your buggy whips too right?
;)

just joking.

It does sound like an old-wives tale, hence my skeptism, but if there is something to the chemical reaction eating up creasote, and helping to keep my chimney clean i'll take a look at it.

Old-timers get to be that way, by using a little common sense, mixed with craftyness. If their is an easier way, that works, count me in.

I have heard some old timers talk about stuffing a bunch of hay in their chimneys and touching it off to burn out the creosote . . . when it works, supposedly it works great . . . the problem is if there are any cracks in the brick and/or tile of these old chimneys . . . then it didn't work out so well.

Many others never burned pine since that was a sure way to cause a chimney fire . . . and of course it was perfectly normal to cut and split your wood in late Summer to burn that Fall . . .

Not everything done by the old way is the right way . . . although some old ways do work out . . . not all.
 
summit said:
I have heard of that before... not sure if it really works, however.. I think trying to get the stove hot enough to actually burn a tin can is what cleans out the pipe, IMO.....
I think that was it, I believe tin melts at a lower temp that alum.
 
most soup cans now are steel, dont know how long thats been going on, might actually be hard to find a tin can.....will have to put a magnet on a sardine can later to see.

and everybody knows that kangaroo hide makes the best whips (totally serious, about the kangaroo hide, not about the "everybody knows")
 
Delta-T said:
and everybody knows that kangaroo hide makes the best whips

I have found that a kangaroo hide whip really jumps around in my hand too much.

If dont mind that, you might want to try jackalope.
There is nothing like a jackalope horn handled buggy whip to really get the team moving home!
 
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