creosote in the firebox

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

turfman

Member
Sep 20, 2011
17
western ny
Vigas 40 up and running without storage. I'm getting what I would consider a moderate amount of creosote building up on the fire box. Is this anything to be concerned about? And is there a way to "burn" in these shoulder months that will prevent this?
I realize storage needs to happen, but $$$$$ is tight now. Before next season ......

Thanks again everybody!!!
 
I have accumulated creosote there but after it gets to a certain level it does not get worse as I think a lot of it burns off when a good hot fire gets going. I believe even my owners manual says to expect this.
 
From what I understand it is normal to have a layer in the upper firebox. Even with storage I have a layer on the walls and ceiling of the upper firebox. It is not anything like I had last year with no storage. Last year in the spring my door had a very thick layer, I would even scrape it off. This year with storage the door is dry and has a thin layer of brown soot that can be wiped to the metal with your finger.

gg
 
I used to have an EKO40 and now I have an effecta lambda 35.

Both of these boilers have a thin layer of creosote in the primary chamber at all times.

With my EKO is was common for the by-pass flap to get stuck due to large amounts of creosote that were created (especially if I let the boiler cycle).

Thus, since you have no storage I would expect the boiler to cycle quite often and the amount of creosote to be greater than normal.

To get you thru this winter I would recommend smaller fires with very well seasoned wood.

Once you get storage hooked up to this boiler you will experience a whole different burning style.

My effecta lambda boiler is not allowed to cycle when the boiler water gets hot because this is when the efficiency is the least and emissions the greatest.

Thus, I "charge up" my 1,000 gallons of storage from 140F to 185/190F with a 5 hour burn and this will cover me for a 24 hour time period when the temps are 20-30F.

Brian
 
Wow.. sorry it's slightly off topic. But what am I missing here. I see from your signature that you're using a setup similar to what I want to put in.

You are using 16 cords of wood? Heating 3k SF with 1000 gal storage?

You do a 5 hour burn.. is that one woodbox full to get your storage up that 50 degrees?

Just wondering. 15 cords of wood should be close to what... 2200 gallons of oil?

Seems way high. Am i missing something. If those numbers are right... I gotta get cutting.. a lot more than I planned.
 
Yes, the 16/17 face cords is correct.

Please be sure to note that it is "face cords" and not full cords.

I know in different parts of the country the word "cord" has different meaning.

In Michigan a "face cord" is a stack of wood that is 4' x 8' and is 16" deep where as a "full cord" is 4' x 8' x 48" deep.

Brian
 
ok.. thanks.. didn't catch the face part. Divide by 3. 5 or 6 cords.. more in line with my plans.

JP
 
Status
Not open for further replies.