Season use and sweeping chimney: how often

[yankeesouth]

I will be installing a Mod-Moe in my cabin. (Probably early 80’s model from what I’ve been told.) With seasonal use, 10 -15 weekends a year, how often will I need to sweep the pipes? I know a lot of that will depend on the wood, type/seasoned/etc... But taking worse case scenario using well seasoned and some not so well seasoned wood how often should I look to sweep? The last thing I need is to burn down the cabin out in the middle of nowhereville! The chimney is not hard to get to but the less I have to climb the happier I will be.

 

[RNLA]

Hire a sweep once a year. Cheap insurance, if he's honest he will tell you if you need it or to wait a year....

 

[BrotherBart]

With my pre-EPA stove I swept the chimney every two cords burned. Now with my EPA stove I sweep the chimney, well, every two cords burned.

I just get less crud when I sweep than before.

 

[pen]

It depends on the type of chimney, location of the chimney, type of stove, how hot the stove is burned, and the condition of the fuel in terms of being seasoned.

In other words, it doesn't hurt to do it more than necessary until you are certain you know what an acceptable risk is.

I don't like nailing down a firm answer with these questions since there are simply so many variables.

We've seen chimney's plugged up and dangerous in as little as a weekend. Some have gone burning as a full time heat source for 3 or 4 years with only inspections, no cleaning necessary.

I could get away w/ once per year but I do it 3x just to be absolutely certain. A chimney fire needs fuel. If it's clean, you can't have one.

pen

 

[wkpoor]

If you are burning correctly with even decently seasoned wood with any stove EPA or not, cleaning should be more about maintaining good draft than safety. I have never with any stove seen any sticky wet look creosote in my chimney. Only the dry flacky stuff that IMO isn't much of a fire hazzard. I do advocate frequent cleaning or inspections but if you are only seeing dry flakes or soot than you are pretty safe IMO.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

You're right, It does depend on a lot of factors such as how much wood you burn and especially the moisture content and way you burn your stove. Generally, once a year is the standard answer, but I find I need to clean the screen in my chimney cap a lot more often than that, and that's a good time to inspect the chimney, If it has more than 1/4" build up, you should sweep it.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Just too many factors to state you should clean the chimney every x months or years or cords of wood. Here is a good example. Our last stove, an Ashley, we cleaned our chimney at least 3-4 times every season. With our present stove, the Fireview, it appears we should clean it maybe once every 5 years or so. Some stoves just burn cleaner than others and of course, the biggest factor is what shape the wood is. Poor fuel = poor results and lots of cleaning to do. Good fuel = comfort in the home and a worry free mind.

 

[wkpoor]

One more thing about chimney cleaning. What one man thinks is clean might scare another half to death. I have a co worker who has a Defiant. Hasn't ever cleaned his chimney in 15yrs. Says it don't need it. I haven't seen it so I take his word for it. But based on my own personal experience .....ain't no way its clean. Oh wait a minute...unless he has the birds hehehehe.

 

[tfdchief]

As you can see in my signature, I have been burning a pre-EPA stove for a long time, and now have an EPA stove too. I have never had a chimney fire and I attribute that to common sense, paying attention, burning as efficiently as possible, and good seasoned wood, but above all else, inspecting and cleaning my chimney when it needs it. So as others have advocated, inspect and clean. You won't ever have a chimney fire from cleaning to much ;-P

 

[BrotherBart]

The standard advice is check the flue once a month until you and the stove get to know each other. Clean it when you have a around a quarter of an inch of accumulation. After a while you will learn how often you need to check it and clean it.

With a cabin that may see infrequent use probably once a season will get'er done. You need to make sure nothing is setting up housekeeping in the flue anyway.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

As you can see in my signature, I have been burning a pre-EPA stove for a long time, and now have an EPA stove too. I have never had a chimney fire and I attribute that to common sense, paying attention, burning as efficiently as possible, and good seasoned wood, but above all else, inspecting and cleaning my chimney when it needs it. So as others have advocated, inspect and clean. You won't ever have a chimney fire from cleaning to much ;-P

Hey Chief. We're over 50 years with no chimney fire. Is that doing okay?

 

[tfdchief]

As you can see in my signature, I have been burning a pre-EPA stove for a long time, and now have an EPA stove too. I have never had a chimney fire and I attribute that to common sense, paying attention, burning as efficiently as possible, and good seasoned wood, but above all else, inspecting and cleaning my chimney when it needs it. So as others have advocated, inspect and clean. You won't ever have a chimney fire from cleaning to much ;-P

Hey Chief. We're over 50 years with no chimney fire. Is that doing okay?

Ah Dennis, you don't count, you burn pre-historic, vertically split, petrified wood, no creosote in it, it all ran out when you split it 50 years ago :snake:

 

[Backwoods Savage]

No smoke or creosote from the petrified wood we burn.

 

[tfdchief]

No smoke or creosote from the petrified wood we burn.

That's for sure! I hope you don't mind me kidding you....it is only out of respect for your experience and knowledge.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

No problem chief. No doubt you've seen a few others razz me a bit and nothing was taken personal. A long, long time ago I found that it can be bad to be too serious all of the time and a smile or laugh is good for the soul.

 

[begreen]

There really is no set answer unless you burn exactly the same wood, all the time under the exact same weather conditions, etc. In the real world of course, that doesn't happen. One year you may have a less than ideally seasoned batch of oak and the next year, a nice batch of seasoned ash. The best advice is to clean it when it needs it. If the wood is poorly seasoned and you have a cold flue in a cold climate, you may need to clean it every few weeks. If you have nice dry wood, great wood burning habits and a good warm flue, you may be able to stretch cleaning cycles out a lot longer. Get to know your wood, the stove and flue before settling in on a cleaning schedule.

 

[woodchip]

No smoke or creosote from the petrified wood we burn.

Just don't keep it too long or you'll need a multifuel stove for burning coal ;-)

 

[woodchip]

And if I were using a cabin out in the middle of nowhereville just a few times a year, I'd keep an eye on the flue for bird nests too

 

[wkpoor]

Ah Dennis, you don’t count, you burn pre-historic, vertically split, petrified wood, no creosote in it, it all ran out when you split it 50 years ago

My neigbhor calls is loss of caloric value. BTW Dennis' avitar shows a man sitting down splitting wood. I know no one who thinks thats a better way. Hurts my back something fierce to do it like that. And if I do have a big round its way harder to try and scoot is over the splitter foot than just quarter it up with the saw.

 

[BrotherBart]

BTW Dennis' avitar shows a man sitting down splitting wood. I know no one who thinks thats a better way. Hurts my back something fierce to do it like that. And if I do have a big round its way harder to try and scoot is over the splitter foot than just quarter it up with the saw.

You now know two. Bought that splitter in 1988, split two rounds horizontal and that sucker has been vertical for the next hundred+ cords. People who heft every log up there are nuts.

Line'em up on the slope, roll'em down and split'em.

 

[tfdchief]

BTW Dennis' avitar shows a man sitting down splitting wood. I know no one who thinks thats a better way. Hurts my back something fierce to do it like that. And if I do have a big round its way harder to try and scoot is over the splitter foot than just quarter it up with the saw.

You now know two. Bought that splitter in 1988, split two rounds horizontal and that sucker has been vertical for the next hundred+ cords. People who heft every log up there are nuts.

Line'em up on the slope, roll'em down and split'em.

That's pretty neat setup BB. Wish I had a slope to do that with. Mind you, I am not arguing with your vertical philosophy and certainly not with BS 'cause he is a "Fire God" ;-P , but if I had a slope and got to cut nice straight rounds like that, I would split vertical too! Unfortunately, most of my wood, ready to split, doesn't look like that. :smirk: