Hi,
Every year I clean my chimney 1 or 2 times. I never get more than 1gallon of ash and black stuff.
This season I cleaned the chimney after 2 months of operation and got 5 gallons of black flaky creosote! That would have made a big chimney fire. Actually, a chimny fire started (which I put out before it got going) and this alerted me to the problem.
So, what am I doing wrong? I have been burning wood for years, same stove, same house but this year we are burning a little cooler that before and I also fixed a lot of leaks on the stove doors/glass etc. Why the sudden accumulation of creosote?
The wood is dry, hardwood. It has been stacked for 2 years.
The stove is a VC Defiant Encore with a catalytic converter. I have a digital thermometer and I run the stove at 1200-1400 degrees measured 2 inches from the exit of the cat. I assume if these temperatures are reached, the cat is working.
The probe thermometer on the flue reads 350 when in Catalytic mode.
I have read that some people make a roaring fire once a week before going to catalytic mode . I dont do this an maybe I should. Also, can I assume that my catalytic convertor is fully functional and is burning the creosote...maybe its not working anymore...but it reaches 1400-1700 if I push it.
Thanks for advice and comments.
Tim
Every year I clean my chimney 1 or 2 times. I never get more than 1gallon of ash and black stuff.
This season I cleaned the chimney after 2 months of operation and got 5 gallons of black flaky creosote! That would have made a big chimney fire. Actually, a chimny fire started (which I put out before it got going) and this alerted me to the problem.
So, what am I doing wrong? I have been burning wood for years, same stove, same house but this year we are burning a little cooler that before and I also fixed a lot of leaks on the stove doors/glass etc. Why the sudden accumulation of creosote?
The wood is dry, hardwood. It has been stacked for 2 years.
The stove is a VC Defiant Encore with a catalytic converter. I have a digital thermometer and I run the stove at 1200-1400 degrees measured 2 inches from the exit of the cat. I assume if these temperatures are reached, the cat is working.
The probe thermometer on the flue reads 350 when in Catalytic mode.
I have read that some people make a roaring fire once a week before going to catalytic mode . I dont do this an maybe I should. Also, can I assume that my catalytic convertor is fully functional and is burning the creosote...maybe its not working anymore...but it reaches 1400-1700 if I push it.
Thanks for advice and comments.
Tim