Creosote sticks do work!

[lobsta1]

Haven't been active on here as finances just don't allow a new insert. I'll just have to keep checking Craigslist. In the meantime I was up on the roof yesterday to clean the gutters & the chimney. This is an outside masonry chimney installed in 1976. I used to burn it a lot as a fireplace. For the last 15 years I've had an old Russo smoke dragon stove hooked into it. I burn 4 > 6 cords a year. The chimney has never been cleaned. I took this foto yesterday. All I had to do was drop my big shop vac hose down & suck out about 5" of powder from in back of the smoke shelf.

I found the tile liner cracked so I will have to put in a SS insulated liner when I do upgrade. The cracks are all above the roofline so I don't think I have to much of an immediate concern.
Al

 

[begreen]

That's impressive lobsta, you be burning right.

 

[BrotherBart]

Yep. The way mine looked after every chimney fire I ever had. Not that I ever knew any of them lit off. The only way I knew was when I looked down into a chimney that looked like that.

Well, except for the last one that I set off on purpose before installing the liner.

 

[RonB]

Your flue is so bright and clean I need to put my sun glasses on. I have the same size flue and just switched out an old veststal (pre epa). My flue never looked that clean even after spending hours on it. I use the creosote cleaner in the granular form. I hope my new stove and new liner look as clean as yours. You certainly know how to run your stove. How many sq. ft. are you heating with the 4-6 cords and where are you located??

 

[lobsta1]

I'm a little north of Boston, Ma. I would guess about 1900 sq ft. in a two story mansard built in 1874. The 1st fl has been made into basically two areas. When it is 10*s out, the furthest point at the front of the house will be about 64. Bedrooms on the second floor about the same. From the middle of Dec. last year until the end of the season I used about 100 gal. of oil as backup. Used to burn 1000 gal of oil & was still chilly from the drafts in an old house.
When they say they don't build them like they used to: I say THANK GOD! No building codes back then.
Al