Yes, you read the title right! Yesterday my wife got ambitious and checked the chimney. She could see a little bit of stuff so thought she would clean it. Well, she did not use a brush but simply stuck the pole up there and sort of banged them on the sides of the SS chimney. The last time I cleaned was in June 2009 and we got around a cup of soot. This time it looks like there may have been more and she just let it all fall on the ground so I could see what was there.
A couple points I'd like to make:
1. Chimney cleaning is not such a difficult thing and even the ornery wives can do it although I'm sure not many would do it even if they were asked. I did not ask. Wife just took it on her own.
2. The last time I cleaned the chimney was after 2 full winters of wood burning and that was all with wood that had been cut, split and stacked from anywhere from 5-8 years. This time (after 1 1/2 winters of burning) almost all the wood was split and stacked in April 2009 so even though it was dry, it still produced slightly more soot than the older wood did. There was even some creosote in this batch! Not much, but it was there.
So the main point is that it does make a difference in how long the wood sits before you burn it. Our older wood got only a little bit of soot. This time we got a little more plus some creosote. It is better to give the wood a long time to dry and not try to burn it the same year or even a year after it has been cut and split. I'm not stating you can not burn your wood like that, but am stating that it is better to give it more time. So for my money, I'll continue to try to burn wood only after it has set for at least 3 years if at all possible.
Finally, some of you know that tomorrow morning I will be entering the hospital for hip surgery. Well, when she ran the pole up the chimney she also somehow caused the chimney cap to partially come off. It was sitting at an odd angle. Wife hates climbing. So, I got her to carry the ladder and I went up to fix the cap. Let me tell you, that was a very painful thing to do! Climbing a ladder or descending has never been so painful! But it is better now than it would be right after surgery. lol
A couple points I'd like to make:
1. Chimney cleaning is not such a difficult thing and even the ornery wives can do it although I'm sure not many would do it even if they were asked. I did not ask. Wife just took it on her own.
2. The last time I cleaned the chimney was after 2 full winters of wood burning and that was all with wood that had been cut, split and stacked from anywhere from 5-8 years. This time (after 1 1/2 winters of burning) almost all the wood was split and stacked in April 2009 so even though it was dry, it still produced slightly more soot than the older wood did. There was even some creosote in this batch! Not much, but it was there.
So the main point is that it does make a difference in how long the wood sits before you burn it. Our older wood got only a little bit of soot. This time we got a little more plus some creosote. It is better to give the wood a long time to dry and not try to burn it the same year or even a year after it has been cut and split. I'm not stating you can not burn your wood like that, but am stating that it is better to give it more time. So for my money, I'll continue to try to burn wood only after it has set for at least 3 years if at all possible.
Finally, some of you know that tomorrow morning I will be entering the hospital for hip surgery. Well, when she ran the pole up the chimney she also somehow caused the chimney cap to partially come off. It was sitting at an odd angle. Wife hates climbing. So, I got her to carry the ladder and I went up to fix the cap. Let me tell you, that was a very painful thing to do! Climbing a ladder or descending has never been so painful! But it is better now than it would be right after surgery. lol
