Batteries, potato skins, eggshells

Ok, now to clarify I'm not going to do any of this as I don't have any creosote issues, and I do a yearly cleaning and it's not really needed.

So, I've heared through varrious people about these three things (all three from different people) being thrown in on hot coals and they somehow "clean the chimney". It there any merrit to any of them. Obviously the battery one would be the worst idea not to mention toxic I'd think, old timer swore by throwing in a couple of AAs in once a month of so............

The curious george in me wants to know if there is any merrit, and what the science is behind any such thing.

I want to say it again, I ain't doing any of these, just curious. The knowledge bank on Hearth will know was all I'm thinking.

TS

You can burn garbage in your stove if you want but, I find a regular sprinkle of T.S.P. on hot coals keeps a chimney clean as a whistle.

Just burn good, seasoned wood........and you won't ever have any need to throw ANYTHING else in your stove.
A brush down the chimney in the fall (to make sure no birds got in there), middle of winter, and again in the spring........

Not sure, but I feed 2 out of those 3 things to my chickens....

Duracells or Energizers??

Eveready, they are cheaper I think, the one with the cat and 9 lives should be good for the chickens.


BTW, the disclaimer: I don't burn any of these things nor ever will.

TS

Chickens dig eggshells? Wow...easy feeding

Batteries sound like a great way to burn the house down actually!

I was burning trash today and someone threw some batteries in there (normally that junk gets sorted out). I about ducked for cover when the first one blew and went flying into the air.

That's what you call 'recycling.' BIL said the chickens were eating an egg occasionally...maybe they were after the shells.

Maybe that's how they clean the chimney....they blow all the crap outta there!

No way I'd put batteries in my stove. If I had potato skins, I'd probably throw them in, only because I think they're gross and wouldn't eat them. Egg shells go in my compost.
Instead of wive's tales for chimney care, I just run my Sooteater up the chimney twice a year. Takes 10 minutes.

Haha! Reminds me of an "accident" my Dad had, probably 20 years ago now. They burned the paper trash in the stove and he had thrown the bathroom trash to light the stove (snot rags, q tips, etc).
Well we here a BOOM that shoot the house. Dad comes up from the basement all full of shave cream. My mom had threw a can in the trash and it exploded. Blew the stove door open as my Dad was sitting in front if the stove.
Funny now, but at the time he was pissed!

Well I can't edit (won't allow me on my phone) so excuse the auto correct spelling.

I have a good friend that swears by throwing all of his aluminum cans into the fire.

Isn't that something like cannibalism??

I admit.. the burn before I cleaned my turbs.. I put a potato in the secondary chamber for the burn.

I didn't really see any difference. MAYBE the ash was a bit lighter and easier to remove.. but not much.

JP

Either. Gives the chickens lots of energy BUT makes the eggs taste gross!

Yeah, they'll actually eat entire eggs if they need calcium. That's why you crumble the shells up, so they don't get in the habit of pecking whole ones. Oyster shells actually work much better though. Many times chickens aren't exactly nice to each other!

And...from Econoburns boiler operating tips, http://www.econoburn.com/images/PDF-Covers/Econoburn_Boiler_Operating_Tips.pdf

Burning potatoes in the lower chamber can help free up sticky turbulators. Just
place 2 or 3 decent sized potatoes on the refractory below the gasification nozzle
in the bottom chamber and operate the boiler normally. In a few hours, depending
how much your boiler gasifies, your sticky turbulators should free up. Your best
bet is to burn them over night.

I wouldn't mind baking a whole potato in the stove . . . not so sure about just the skins though . . . or anything else for that matter. Guess I'll just be a little wild and crazy and defy convention by burning well seasoned wood and running the chimney brush through the chimney to keep it clean.

Jake.. I threw in a whole one that was "around the bend" anyway. It sure was burnt, and very light the next day.

If I had to take a guess... the stuff that came off the heat transfer tubes was a bit lighter and fluffier... I had beat up my metal brush on a drill bit.. and used my nylon one instead. Cleaned up in the same 10 minutes or so.

JP

Jeez, I missed your potatoe comment. Sorry.

I stack my junk mail under the wood before i light the stove,helps get the stove going and get rid of mail that may be used for identity theft.

Just to keep this thread on track, I scrub unpeeled potatoes with a vegetable brush before baking, then eat the whole thing, skin and all. My Irish roots I guess, but there is fiber in the skin.

I rinse my potatoes off by hand (no brushes) and leave the skin on as well. More fiber (skin + random grit I didn't get off when rinsing )

I recall many, many moons ago when The Mother Earth News had an article or two about this. If I remember right they were really big on the potato skins.

Someone else beat me to it but I was going to say you forgot the aluminum cans. Just crumble one up and throw it in the stove..... I'll stick to burning dry wood.