Chimney cleaning-how often?

Backwoods said:

How often do you all clean your chimneys? Any tips and how to's. Thx

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This is our third year heating with wood, I clean from the bottom up (from the outside) twice a year, once in the fall then at the end of December. It's more for our own comfort than needing to do it.



zap

We usually tell new burners to check the chimney monthly and clean as necessary. Sometimes some may have to clean 3 or 4 times per season. Others once per year. Others less yet.

As for tips, that depends a lot on your installation. Top down? Bottom up? Remove flue pipe? Steel brush? Poly Brush? etc.

With ours, we can do a bottom up. Run brush up and back down. Do it one more time but this time with a bit of a scrubbing action. Remove cap and clean if necessary. Usually the whole job takes us less than 10 minutes.

Backwoods said:

How often do you all clean your chimneys? Any tips and how to's. Thx

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Newbies I would recommend checking every 2 weeks to start with . . . then go to monthly . . . especially if the wood is questionable. Veteran burners could get away with 1-2 cleanings a year typically.

Me . . . I check and clean monthly myself which is admittedly over-kill. I do it monthly though since it's an easy process for me as I do it outside from the bottom up . . . and if I ever had a chimney fire my co-workers would never let me hear the end of it as I am the Fire Prevention Officer with a municipal Fire Department.

Tips . . . guess it depends on how you can clean the chimney and what you're using . . . i.e. some folks have used a trash bag or coffee can to trap the ash from bottom-up cleanings inside the home . . . if working on the roof, don't fall off . . . it's not the fall that's so bad . . . it's the sudden contact with the ground that will get ya.

just did mine i do it twice a yr but i burn top quality seasoned wood real hot.

I too am a new burner so i appreciate this post. I have a stainless steel chimney with thru the wall, to outside T, then up to roof top (~20ft) configuration. I'm a little paranoid so i've been brushing the outside part of the chimney ~monthly and getting a small hand full of black flakes. Is it important i take the INSIDE stovestove pipe off the stove and clean the vertical pipe sections (18 inches), the elbow and the horizontal run thru the wall into the outside T ?

main-er said:

I too am a new burner so i appreciate this post. I have a stainless steel chimney with thru the wall, to outside T, then up to roof top (~20ft) configuration. I'm a little paranoid so i've been brushing the outside part of the chimney ~monthly and getting a small hand full of black flakes. Is it important i take the INSIDE stovestove pipe off the stove and clean the vertical pipe sections (18 inches), the elbow and the horizontal run thru the wall into the outside T ?

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Don't worry about it . . . in the first year or two I took the inside stove pipe apart once a year . . . and hardly got anything in it . . . it sounds like you're already burning very clean and getting little build up . . . I personally wouldn't worry too much . . . with my own set up the largest build up is in the first few feet of the outside Class A pipe . . . and a bit at the top.

Oh yeah . . . you're not being paranoid . . . just careful . . . there's a difference.

Yearly.

I've checked mine about 3 times in the last 2 months, and each time found that the cap had the start of a little buildup. Shoulder season burns crap it up quicker.
I went back out there 2 days ago and ran the brush down to clean out just a wee bit of fluffy stuff in the flue. I'll check again in a couple weeks.
I have the ladder right near the front of the house next to the shed, so very easy on this single story ranch.

Backwoods said:

What should a newbie be looking for generally? Soot, ash...no worries, okay....and what does creosote look like? Is it the shiny film that may line a chimney? If any, will a hot burn remove any film? Thx

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Getting some fly ash in the chimney is pretty common . . . creosote can come in many forms from a burned popcorn look to burned cornflakes to a tar like goo to a shiny, glass like look (with the shiny glass like look being perhaps the worse) . . . the best way to get rid of creosote is to reduce the amount produced by burning seasoned wood, burning at the proper temp (not too cool and not too hot -- burning if off isn't usually recommended) and checking and cleaning the chimney when necessary.

Backwoods said:

What should a newbie be looking for generally? Soot, ash...no worries, okay....and what does creosote look like? Is it the shiny film that may line a chimney? If any, will a hot burn remove any film? Thx

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The only way a hot burn removes creosote (shiny film) is if you have a chimney fire. Then we are dealing with a different animal. I would suggest you may want to try some "creo-soot". A spray product that you spray into, on the fire. It will dry out that film and allow you to remove it when you clean the chimney. It also operates as a maintenance type program lessening any possible build up.