Sweeping, Soot and creasote

[CheaperthanYou]

Ok, so I am a new burner here, I am burning mostly 18 month CSS silver maple. MC down to 19% on a fresh split log. I have a century insert on interior chimney with a block of plate and 20' of stainless liner.

I had it swept 2 months ago by a pro, because we wanted a once over. I decided to sweep myself today because the temp dropped and I let the stove die down.

I should of have taken pictures, but I got what was about a half to a full gallon, or a dry powdery black soot substance. Is that creosote or is it just normal soot fro the chimney, its not tar-ish at all, and very dry and airy.

we burn 24/7 on this insert and have good burning practice, keeping it on the hot side. and don't see smoke, except for the initial reload outside.

is this normal for that kind of burning, or does it seem excesive?

 

[Swedishchef]

The quality of the soot you have is good. Light and flaky is what you need to look for.

1 gallon is a bit, I usually get that on 27 feet of chimney after an entire season. How hot is your stack when in operation?

This is my 4th winter with a stove and I only NOW figured out that I should run a little hotter. I now get my stack temps to 600, then it cruises at 450-550. Before, I never hit 600. Maybe 450ish.

Andrew

 

[Christopix]

This seems pretty normal in my experience. Very similar set up to yours and a 24/7 burner as well.

 

[Charles1981]

Burn 24/7, swept the chimney myself after ~12-13 weeks of burning, have gone through about 3 chords, maybe 3.5 by now of wood.

I got a 32oz coffee can worth of light brown flaky stuff.

General consensus, when I posted pictures of the pipe and amount, was that it was an excessive amount

I think the important thing is you got up there and did it mid season, so I think it really helps the safety factor no matter what.

 

[Swedishchef]

Sorry, I didn't see that you're burning 24/7. That is a normal amount. I burn only in the mornings and the nights.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Ok, so I am a new burner here, I am burning mostly 18 month CSS silver maple. MC down to 19% on a fresh split log. I have a century insert on interior chimney with a block of plate and 20' of stainless liner.

I had it swept 2 months ago by a pro, because we wanted a once over. I decided to sweep myself today because the temp dropped and I let the stove die down.

I should of have taken pictures, but I got what was about a half to a full gallon, or a dry powdery black soot substance. Is that creosote or is it just normal soot fro the chimney, its not tar-ish at all, and very dry and airy.

we burn 24/7 on this insert and have good burning practice, keeping it on the hot side. and don't see smoke, except for the initial reload outside.

is this normal for that kind of burning, or does it seem excesive?

It is creosote, even that dry powdery stuff can burn and create a chimney fire. Since you have the ability to clean your chimney yourself, I would just get up there every month and clean it rather then waiting two months.
There is no magic # for how much creosote you should have, every chimney is a little different, and our burning practices are all a little different. However, I've never swept that much creosote out of my 20 ft chimney, I'm usually closer to 1 or 2 cups after a month or two of burning. But maybe that has more to do with my chimney being insulated and maybe yours is not?

 

[tarzan]

That actually seems excessive for the situation you described. Your stack is 6' taller than ours but after 2 1/2 seasons of burning lots of silver maple, poplar and cherry between 18 and 22 percent moisture for the most part, we swept and got about two cups of light brown, dusty stuff. We do have double wall 6" though.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

I get a gallon every month without fail out of my wood furnace, dry powdery stuff that if you light on fire burns quick and hot. Im starting to think some chimneys just make more creosote than others and theres not much you can do about it.I have way drier wood than i had last year, i burn way hotter than i did last year and i still get the exact same amount of creosote in my chimney. Only other thing i could do is insulate my liner (maybe) and i doubt that'd even help.So i accept I have the market cornered on creosote and clean once a month.Im just thankful my creosote isnt the dripping kind.

 

[CheaperthanYou]

Thanks I don't know this tread took off so well, I will sweep again in 1 month from now and shoot some pic. Actually had the stove cold all weekend. It was 55 today. The house would of have been a sauna!