Couple of questions regarding creosote

[egclassic]

I am new to wood burning, at least for home heating. I just had a Hampton HI300 insert installed this week and we love it.
I have been doing alot of reading/lurking on this site absorbing information, lots of good stuff.
My question however, is, how worried about creosote do I need to be? I know not to burn wet wood and stuff like that, but what is everyone's take on these creosote removers I see all over the place? I know they are not a substitute for an annual sweep, but does anyone here use them occasionally, or are they a waste of money? Also I have seen them in log form, powder form and even a product you spray on wood before burning?

 

[BrotherBart]

Check your chimney once a month this burning season to see if you need to change anything. Don't go looking for answers to a problem that you don't have yet. I used all of that stuff in my pre-EPA stove days and have not used any of it in the five seasons with the new stove.

 

[n3pro]

Creosote removers are a waste of money if you burn correctly, if you burn wet wood or not hot enough then they help to dry it out to make it easier to clean. Personally I have never used them, never had a reason to.

 

[remkel]

I have found the creosote removers to be useless. Tried them a couple of times with not luck. Nothing beats a good old fashioned brush.

I agree with the earlier post about checking your chimney regularly when you first start burning. This helps you determined if there is a need for more frequent cleanings.
Welcome to the world of burning.

 

[egclassic]

I plan to buy some cleaning brushes in the near future. The installers used a flexible SS liner, is the cleaning process the same with flex as with rigid? Just seems the flex is more apt to move around while cleaning.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I am new to wood burning, at least for home heating. I just had a Hampton HI300 insert installed this week and we love it.
I have been doing alot of reading/lurking on this site absorbing information, lots of good stuff.
My question however, is, how worried about creosote do I need to be? I know not to burn wet wood and stuff like that, but what is everyone's take on these creosote removers I see all over the place? I know they are not a substitute for an annual sweep, but does anyone here use them occasionally, or are they a waste of money? Also I have seen them in log form, powder form and even a product you spray on wood before burning?

egclassic, I hope you are not thinking that wet wood is the problem. It is not wet wood (from rain/snow) that matters, it is the amount of moisture that is inside the wood (not from rain/snow). That is, when wood is cut there is a lot of moisture in the wood. The only way for us to get rid of that moisture is to stack it outside where it will get wind. Maybe I'll start a thread on this.

 

[egclassic]

I am new to wood burning, at least for home heating. I just had a Hampton HI300 insert installed this week and we love it.
I have been doing alot of reading/lurking on this site absorbing information, lots of good stuff.
My question however, is, how worried about creosote do I need to be? I know not to burn wet wood and stuff like that, but what is everyone's take on these creosote removers I see all over the place? I know they are not a substitute for an annual sweep, but does anyone here use them occasionally, or are they a waste of money? Also I have seen them in log form, powder form and even a product you spray on wood before burning?

egclassic, I hope you are not thinking that wet wood is the problem. It is not wet wood (from rain/snow) that matters, it is the amount of moisture that is inside the wood (not from rain/snow). That is, when wood is cut there is a lot of moisture in the wood. The only way for us to get rid of that moisture is to stack it outside where it will get wind. Maybe I'll start a thread on this.

Bad use of terms on my part. I meant to say I know to burn only "properly seasoned" and not green wood.
As a kid, I used to help a friend of mine who lived in the country and used wood as their primary heat, cut and split wood. Back then, being from the city, I thought how bad it sucked to do all this work for something that was not going to be used until the next year.

 

[egclassic]

Check your chimney once a month this burning season to see if you need to change anything. Don't go looking for answers to a problem that you don't have yet. I used all of that stuff in my pre-EPA stove days and have not used any of it in the five seasons with the new stove.

Thanks for the advice. Being new to burning wood for heat, I just want to make sure I do things when they need to be done, not more and not less. I do alot of PM(preventative maintenance) at work and know that somethings need to be done more often than others, just trying to get an idea from all of you what and when things need to be done.

 

[firefighterjake]

I don't spend money on the creosote removers . . . instead I spend my time making sure my wood is well seasoned . . . time to get my air dialed in right . . . and time to know how my stove works . . . and of course time and a bit of money to check and clean my chimney once a month.