creasote after 2 weeks

[moondoggy]

hey all.
wanted to check so i climbed up and checked my flue.
after like 2 weeks with the new stove i have build up, even have the ashey black flake covering the underside of the
cap top and the screen.
I run ~10-15 hrs a day. i run around 500 most all the time. i hit the cat anytime magnet flue gauge reads 450.
is it the wood i'm burning? i got a cord delivered... there is some seasoned, but some I really question.

flue is flex, insulated, run up an interior chimney, its 14.5 ft long top to stove.

why?
and do i need to get this off asap?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

The number 1 cause of creosote is unseasoned wood. No doubt that is what you have. Most guys selling firewood say seasoned but most is not seasoned but a very short time. Best to buy this year what you will burn next year.

btw, that 450 reading; is that on the stove or the pipe? Makes a difference. Ours is on the stove top. When it hits 250 the cat. goes on. I'd hate to go by the pipe at least on ours because the pipe runs horizontally rather than vertically.

 

[Hogwildz]

hey all.
wanted to check so i climbed up and checked my flue.
after like 2 weeks with the new stove i have build up, even have the ashey black flake covering the underside of the
cap top and the screen.
I run ~10-15 hrs a day. i run around 500 most all the time. i hit the cat anytime magnet flue gauge reads 450.
is it the wood i'm burning? i got a cord delivered... there is some seasoned, but some I really question.

flue is flex, insulated, run up an interior chimney, its 14.5 ft long top to stove.

why?
and do i need to get this off asap?

Wet wood for 1, chimney cap almost always collects creosote. YOu have hot gases hitting a cold cap & collecting. Normal. just check periodically and clean as needed.
Try burning a lil hotter. And look at the cat and see if its getting buildup on it. If it is, your not burning hot enough &/or the wood is wet.

 

[moondoggy]

thats what i was figuring.
my stove pipe goes out the back horiz. for 1.5 ft. (another magnet thermo is there) then the elbow. stright up from there.
i wait til stove top is 525+ and that flue thermo reads 450+ (i was told my cat fires at 500. 450 outer temp has to be 500+ inside.)

 

[Greg123]

Two weeks is rather fast for the build up you are talking about and usaally occurs on mine after a few months. It defiantly could be your wood supply. creosote on or in the screen or cap is common and not that unusual.

 

[moondoggy]

ok, so should i not be using the cat so much? (that also lowers my flue tmep)

burn hotter? i always burn over 500+. shold i not turn on cat and let the flue thermo read450-500 (which is probably really 600+ internally up the stack)?

 

[MichaelS]

ok, so should i not be using the cat so much? (that also lowers my flue tmep)

burn hotter? i always burn over 500+. shold i not turn on cat and let the flue thermo read450-500 (which is probably really 600+ internally up the stack)?

No do not quit using the Cat. Maybe you are not firing the Cat soon enough and it is causing the build-up.

 

[bowhunter3714]

What is, using the Cat?

 

[BrotherBart]

What is, using the Cat?

Their fur is the best thing known for cleaning the door glass on a stove when it is hot. Just hold on tight to the cat and hold it against the glass. The thrashing cleans every bit of the gunk off the hot glass.

Seriously, they are referring to the catalytic combuster in the stove that burn the wood gases.

 

[bowhunter3714]

That was a good heres your sign, Thanks.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

BB, I fully expected that from you! lol

moondoggy, I too was wondering about your use of the Cat (not for cleaning the glass though). I do not know about your stove but with ours we engage the Cat. when the stove top reaches 250 degrees. According to the good folks at Woodstock, the interior temperature will be about twice what the stove top temp is. This is on a soapstone though so I'd check with the manufacturer on yours, but for sure, that very well could be a big part of the problem. Good luck.

 

[kd460]

If your getting a strange odor and you have a cat try this:

http://www.catfaeries.com/feliway.html

Good luck KD

 

[stove man]

Hate to not offer a suggestion but........I had a cat stove once. So glad to get rid of it. There were many time consuming headaches with the cat stove.

 

[Jimbob]

Hate to not offer a suggestion but........I had a cat stove once. So glad to get rid of it. There were many time consuming headaches with the cat stove.

Yikes!!
I have to steal a quote from BrotherBart..

"I am headed to the kitchen to pop some popcorn. It is show-time."

:lol:

 

[jpl1nh]

I too wonder if perhaps you could engage the cat a bit sooner. Because my stove is soapstone, I generally don't go by my stove top readings since the soapstone is really slow to react to what is actually happening in the firebox. I generally check my stack temp. Thermometer is located about 10" up from stove. I find when I'm hitting about 250 there I can succesfully light off the cat. If I'm reloading on really hot coals, I can generally reengage the cat within a few minutes. My wood is very dry and very seasoned however, and if you're not sure of that, better to wait a little longer. I think by the time you have 500 on your stack you may have 650-700 where your cat is. Obviously since your cat burns any excess flue gasses, you'd like to have it engaged as much as possible to minimize creosote buildup. Basically all the burn time your cat isn't engaged is no different than the old smoke dragons and likely to be very high creosote build up times. And (show time!!) I don't see time consuming headaches with a cat. How hard is this? Light your fire, wait till its hot, lift the lever to engage the cat, adjust the air down to where you just have a slow steady burn, repeat 5-10 hours later. Tough stuff

 

[moondoggy]

love the cat. system.
just thing my 'seasoned ' wood is a load of fresh split wood.

thanks all!
need good wood. i was so unprepared to buy a stove this year. glad i did though.
but next year i will be ready.