ACS / BK

[jetsam]

Who's up for some alphabet soup??

More seriously, I have been sweeping my liner every month since I am a first-season wet wood burner. The liner is nice and shiny inside except for the crevices that the brush doesn't reach. The cap has a ton of creosote on it every time- mostly flake, but some glaze, too.

I figured that if I had glaze on my cap, I might have glaze in my crevices where I couldn't see it (sounds uncomfortable, doesn't it?), so I did a bunch of reading and found that a lot of people on hearth.com used and suggested "Anti Creo-Soot" spray to help convert glaze to powder or flake. Reported safe for catalysts, product data sheets confirm this, aand it's ordered.

So I get the stuff, and the usage instructions say that it's safe for cats if you keep it far away from cats. (By this definition, hand grenades are also safe for catalytic combustors.)

My problem is this:

- ACS needs a hot fire to do anything.
- The cat has to be bypassed for at least an hour of this hot fire.
- I have a Blaze King Princess insert, and I have read several warnings that I will melt my bypass bushings if I burn hot fires with the bypass open.

So now I feel like a dope. Can I use this stuff or not? I don't want to poison my cat or melt my bushings. (Ideally I'd also like to not tell my wife that I paid $50 for a gallon of magic spray that we can never use for any purpose.)

 

[Old School]

I don't have a clear answer as to whether it will harm your stove but I can say with confidence that I had a pretty serious glaze problem in my liner and after a couple of weeks of using ACS liberally in an older pre epa stove 95% of the glaze was easily swept away(much of it fell down on its own into the Tee cap).

 

[Woody Stover]

I wouldn't worry about it but if I did, I wouldn't take a chance with the cat anyway.

 

[tarzan]

I think you may be to paranoid about what may be left behind after cleaning. Your cap will have more glazed creosite on it because it's the coldest part of the system. Not to say you couldn't find any in the chimney but a little left behind in the crevesis is nothing to worry about. If it DID catch it would burn away unnoticed.

 

[jetsam]

Is it safe for the bypass bushings to burn that stove for an hour with the bypass open?

Thanks for the advice thus far... I may just have to admit that I wasted $50 on this, but it's cheaper than a new cat.

 

[tarzan]

Is it safe for the bypass bushings to burn that stove for an hour with the bypass open?

Thanks for the advice thus far... I may just have to admit that I wasted $50 on this, but it's cheaper than a new cat.

Can you purchase the cat gasket seperate? If so, since your in it fifty bucks you could spring for a gasket and take the cat out.

Could solve your issues with the cat and running with the bypass open.

 

[jetsam]

Can you purchase the cat gasket seperate? If so, since your in it fifty bucks you could spring for a gasket and take the cat out.

Could solve your issues with the cat and running with the bypass open.

I don't think so; my understanding (I've never seen the mechanism in question, so I don't really know) is that the bypass flapper is mounted with bushings which (very strangely) aren't designed to get too hot. I've seen BKVP say at least once that you can melt 'em burning with the bypass open; my remaining question is whether it's safe to burn with the bypass open for an hour.

The cat gasket looks like a smaller version of the same high-heat rope that is on the door, and if it couldn't take 1800 degrees it'd be long gone already.

 

[kennyp2339]

I 'm on board with Tarzan, as long as your chimney is clean (can see metal, doesn't have to be brand new shiny) you should not have a problem, I would take the cap off and hit it with a wire brush to clean it up.
As long as there's no serious build up in the liner a little glaze should not be enough fuel (creosote) for a chimney fire. You doing good knowing that you have sub par wood and your brushing the chimney keeping any build up to a minimum.

 

[tarzan]

I've never tried purchasing just the cat gasket but I would think you could since BK recommends having a fresh gasket on hand (as a must) if you ever take the cat out for cleaning.

Once the cat was out, and safe you wouldn't have to open the bypass door at all during the burn off.

I still contend that it is unnecessary but I guess I'm stingy to. If I payed $50 for that stuff, some chit would be happening somewhere!

 

[rdust]

I'd suspect if you put it in during the coaling stage the bypass would be fine or if you keep the flames low. I'm not aware of any bushings(insert may be different) but burning hot can warp the bypass area with the bypass open.

 

[BKVP]

Is it safe for the bypass bushings to burn that stove for an hour with the bypass open?

Thanks for the advice thus far... I may just have to admit that I wasted $50 on this, but it's cheaper than a new cat.

Don't use it or any other such cleaners in our stoves.

 

[DUMF]

Don't use it or any other such cleaners in our stoves.

What a super thing to have a manufacturer on this forum respond to problems. Thanks !

Where are the other reps for stoves --PE, Jotul, Morso, VC, Harmon, Hearthstone, Woodstock, etc.... ? Calling all.

 

[jetsam]

Thanks, guys. I think I am going to see if I can get the spray refunded since the advertising copy says it's safe for all stoves, and my stove company says it's not!

If I get paranoid I'll throw up some photos of the inside of the top part of the liner. It looks pretty good to me every time I clean it, though.