First sweep... thoughts?

[Flashback87]

Hey,

I just swept my chimney for the first time getting ready for the season. Its a true north tn20 connected to a flexible chimney liner inside a masonry chimney in the center of my house (interior chimney).

I source my own wood but I'm not super organized stacking it from oldest to newest split. But I would say the majority was split and stacked for over a year. I checked some here and there and it was under 20% except for a few pieces of black locust that were under 25%.

Attached is a pic of the soot and chimney after I swep. Seemd like a good amount of soot which is surprising because I would check the chimney a few times a month and all the soot seemed dusty and would just wipe off. So, I wasn't too concerned when I checked it during the wintwe.

So, what do u think?

Thanks!

 

[EbS-P]

How much wood did you burn??

 

[Flashback87]

How much wood did you burn??

That's hard to say. I kept track of logs but not cords unfortunately and logs were all different sizes. I'll be changing that this year.

So, my stove was installed late November and I burned daily until the end of the season. But, it was a fairly mild winter. I would say 1.5-2 cords but that is a very rough estimate. I only jammed the stove full a few times and mostly loaded just 3 logs at a time but the house stayed warm.

This answer probably didn't give musmch clarity... sorry.

 

[bholler]

Yeah that's allot of buildup for that short of time. Is the liner insulated?

 

[Flashback87]

Yeah that's allot of buildup for that short of time. Is the liner insulated?

No, the liner is not insulated.

 

[bholler]

That will certainly make for more buildup

 

[Flashback87]

Don't know if this helps but here is what it looked like at the end of March

 

[EbS-P]

I’m guessing it’s two stories 20’+ ???

It’s more than I would want to see. Is probably be doing a mid season sweep or pull the liner if it’s a straight shot and wrap in insulation, if it would fit.

 

[Flashback87]

It's a single story ranch.

Does the chimney look OK after the sweeping?

I'm assuming my wood just isn't seasoned enough. Pretty surprised by this but I went out this afternoon and resplit a piece of locust that will be 2 yrs old in December and it's still 25%on the fresh split. I may just keep my split too big. Not sure why else it wouldnt be seasoned because all are on pallets off ground and exposed to wind and sun but uncovered.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

If this were me, Id worry about the quantity. I burn 2xs as muck and only wined up with about 25% of what you have there. The color is not so bad , mine looks more like graphite. Black and chunky is not your friend. Its super hard to see but looks like you have some black chunks. Id definitely work on seasoning more and top cover. Sheds work well, put your wood in and the rain never touches it. no babysitting and the wood seasons fast..

 

[Ctwoodtick]

It's a single story ranch.

Does the chimney look OK after the sweeping?

I'm assuming my wood just isn't seasoned enough. Pretty surprised by this but I went out this afternoon and resplit a piece of locust that will be 2 yrs old in December and it's still 25%on the fresh split. I may just keep my split too big. Not sure why else it wouldnt be seasoned because all are on pallets off ground and exposed to wind and sun but uncovered.

The liner looks ok after you swept in to me. It will never be perfectly clean like when it was new.

 

[Flashback87]

Thank u all for the input! I finished up and vacuumed it out. Definitely no chunks and just a fine powder.

I will probably just sweep it again half way through the season.

I built 2 wood sheds out of pallets that fit about a cord each. Hopefully that will help my wood quality.

Thanks!

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Thank u all for the input! I finished up and vacuumed it out. Definitely no chunks and just a fine powder.

I will probably just sweep it again half way through the season.

I built 2 wood sheds out of pallets that fit about a cord each. Hopefully that will help my wood quality.

Thanks!

Just make sure the roof has plenty of overhang all the way around.. liken20" in the front and at least 12" on both sides and back.. life will be much easier with the shed

 

[TradEddie]

I'll reiterate what's been said on this forum a thousand times, the difference between 20% and 25% mc is not simply 5%, it's the difference between night and day. It's not a gradual improvement in performance, there's a point where everything suddenly works the way it was intended and you'll know when you're below it.

TE

 

[Ctwoodtick]

I'll reiterate what's been said on this forum a thousand times, the difference between 20% and 25% mc is not simply 5%, it's the difference between night and day. It's not a gradual improvement in performance, there's a point where everything suddenly works the way it was intended and you'll know when you're below it.

TE

Couldn’t be more accurate.