Creosote drips

[Burnin Since 1989]

Cool. What are you getting? My house is less than 1100ft. I liked the idea of a bigger stove for longer burn times but it can get into the mid 80s as is. I also read its better to under size slightly, to burn more efficiently. Makes perfect sense to me. Im hoping i get longer burns or at least extended heat output because its cast over steel. My vista was just steel. Fast to get hot, quick to cool.

Low and slow is the way to go, but also increases the creosote build up. I usually run at least one hot fire a week to help keep the stove and pipes clean. We ordered a Hearthstone Shelburne II model 8372 in Mojo Brown. It has the internal soapstone and I'm told they radiate heat quite nicely. Yours should too. Better than a steel stove. My current is steel and it does heat up quick and throws a lot of heat but then I get up in the morning and the house is freezing.

Also my current stove has a secondary burn chamber which means I can't clean the chimney from inside the stove. I have to go top down from the roof or remove the stove pipe and go up from there. It's easier for me to just do it from the roof as long as there's no snow or ice. I generally only clean once a year as it's never been that bad.

 

[Wakajawaka]

Nice. Going from 6 inch to 8" pipe, and even with burning less than seasined wood in the past, I havent seen much creosote. I almost bought a used Hearthstone Shelburne. Super nice stoves! New its out of my range and i came across mine so i grabbed it. But i love the idea of soapstone. Congratulations!

 

[bholler]

Nice. Going from 6 inch to 8" pipe, and even with burning less than seasined wood in the past, I havent seen much creosote. I almost bought a used Hearthstone Shelburne. Super nice stoves! New its out of my range and i came across mine so i grabbed it. But i love the idea of soapstone. Congratulations!

What you got it a much better and more durable stove. I would have burnt it the way it was without a second thought but you are absolutely good now

 

[Wakajawaka]

Thank you. I thought i could have too. I just get a little paranoid somtimes. Always a risk but i want to eliminate as much as possible. I live alone and like to be able to let it roll all night.

 

[Burnin Since 1989]

Nice. Going from 6 inch to 8" pipe, and even with burning less than seasined wood in the past, I havent seen much creosote. I almost bought a used Hearthstone Shelburne. Super nice stoves! New its out of my range and i came across mine so i grabbed it. But i love the idea of soapstone. Congratulations!

Thanks. It's going to look nice. Here is a pic of a Hearthstone III stove I saw on craigslist. It has the exterior soapstone and it's pretty ornate. They want 2k for it. I think they're a little too high. That stove was built between 1984 and 1990. It's actually 2 years older than my stove. They say only lightly used 😂 The other thing is it looks to me like the soapstone on the top is different than the sides

 

[Wakajawaka]

Yea I wouldnt pay 2k for that old. There are simply better deals to be had. Way better. Just have to be patient. Good eyes as far as the difference in color on soapstone. Unless its discoloration id be a little leery. Only issue ive thought about was the soapstine cracking. Not sure how easy it is to replace. I dont over fire so I wouldnt be worried if they weren't cracked at install.

 

[begreen]

You scored well. That stove will last a long time with proper operation and basic care.

 

[Wakajawaka]

Thanks! Im guessing it will be in the house as long ss im here. I take care of my stuff. I had a used vista. It was about 24 years old. Worked great but wanted to splurge a little now that im getting into wood burning. I love that the baffle plate is how my old one was. Ive seen new ones and they are light as a feather. Maybe it makes no difference but this one is a tank. Id never over fire on purpose. 700 is probably the highest ive had the Vista and only by accident..and for Maybe 5 minutes. I used to load the Vista before bed, close the air down, and it would hang right at 500 degrees... then slowly climb down. Cant wait to see how this performs.

 

[begreen]

It will do even better. You're gonna love being able to load N/S.

 

[Wakajawaka]

Not with my T4. Same box as Vista. You're probably thinking T5. Thats a way more popular model than T4 but i havent seen any used for sale. One or 2 older ones. New would be out of range for me

 

[Wakajawaka]

Not with my T4. Same box as Vista. You're probably thinking T5. Thats a way more popular model than T4 but i havent seen any used for sale. One or 2 older ones. New would be out of range for me

 

[Wakajawaka]

Did my 1st fire today. Was told to do 2 small fires to break it in. Should have asked what that means. Kindling put the stove pipe temperature guage to 500. Let it fall down then added small pieces for a few hours. It hung at 400 or a little lower. Let the pieces burn out. Smelled the paint fumes. Had windows open. Going to let it die out then do another similar fire this week. Hopefully im doing this right.

 

[Burnin Since 1989]

Did my 1st fire today. Was told to do 2 small fires to break it in. Should have asked what that means. Kindling put the stove pipe temperature guage to 500. Let it fall down then added small pieces for a few hours. It hung at 400 or a little lower. Let the pieces burn out. Smelled the paint fumes. Had windows open. Going to let it die out then do another similar fire this week. Hopefully im doing this right.

As soon as the stove cools down to room temp you can build a second small fire. What you described is about right. The paint smell comes out every time you hit a new high temp. I just got the smell the other day when my stove was cranked.

 

[Wakajawaka]

As soon as the stove cools down to room temp you can build a second small fire. What you described is about right. The paint smell comes out every time you hit a new high temp. I just got the smell the other day when my stove was cranked.

What is cranked? Where's your guage?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Every time you hit a new temp, the stove will cure the paint a little more.

400, 500, 600, 700, etc. overfire it and it’ll do it again.

 

[Wakajawaka]

Every time you hit a new temp, the stove will cure the paint a little more.

400, 500, 600, 700, etc. overfire it and it’ll do it again.

Interesting because even with my 25 plus year old vista... when i went higher than usual by accident...i could smell paint. Kinda freaked me out. Ive heard of people getting stove pipe red. Not wanting that.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I don’t recommend glowing metal to cure the paint, lol.

 

[Burnin Since 1989]

What is cranked? Where's your guage?

My old woodstove only has an air control and a stove pipe damper. I had a fire going And filled up the firebox. I left the air intake and damper open and it got pretty hot. All I have is stove side and on my stove pipe. The stove pipe was on the edge of the red which in that case was about 700 degrees. I have a secondary burn chamber on my stove so I can't get an actual accurate temp from the top, so I found the hottest place on the side of my stove with an IR thermometer and put a magnetic one there. I don't remember what the temp was on the side but it was up in the red about half way which is about 800 degrees plus. I had to open the windows, not so much for the smelling stove/ pipe paint as that it was about 78 degrees in the room. I closed the intake and the damper and it dropped back to more friendly temps in a short time.

 

[Wakajawaka]

My old woodstove only has an air control and a stove pipe damper. I had a fire going And filled up the firebox. I left the air intake and damper open and it got pretty hot. All I have is stove side and on my stove pipe. The stove pipe was on the edge of the red which in that case was about 700 degrees. I have a secondary burn chamber on my stove so I can't get an actual accurate temp from the top, so I found the hottest place on the side of my stove with an IR thermometer and put a magnetic one there. I don't remember what the temp was on the side but it was up in the red about half way which is about 800 degrees plus. I had to open the windows, not so much for the smelling stove/ pipe paint as that it was about 78 degrees in the room. I closed the intake and the damper and it dropped back to more friendly temps in a short time.

Into the red for my stove pipe guage is 500 and up. Thats usually where i back it down. My house is small and well insulated. If its already warm i like to hover around 350 400. Even 500 for more than 10 minutes blasts it too hot.

 

[Burnin Since 1989]

Into the red for my stove pipe guage is 500 and up. Thats usually where i back it down. My house is small and well insulated. If its already warm i like to hover around 350 400. Even 500 for more than 10 minutes blasts it too hot.

my normal stove pipe temp is about 300-400 max. Anything more than that and I'm opening windows which sort of defeats the purpose. Sometimes it's challenging to keep the temps where you want them even after you've been doing it for a long time. I wanted to cleanup any creosote residue and went a little too far for my liking

 

[Wakajawaka]

my normal stove pipe temp is about 300-400 max. Anything more than that and I'm opening windows which sort of defeats the purpose. Sometimes it's challenging to keep the temps where you want them even after you've been doing it for a long time. I wanted to cleanup any creosote residue and went a little too far for my liking

Quick question to anyone on this thread. Is thete a problem with too low moisture of firewood? Ive heard a hundred times about wet wood. Put a meter to several pieces of wood i have from a year ago and its reading between 5 and 7%. Ive read it can burn too hot and fast. I dont care about the fast part. Ive read it can damage a woodstove because of heat, and even create creosote. I dont want to go down a rabbit hole here. My common sense tells me if i go by my heat guage and keep it less than 500...which i do....ill be ok. Until i get to know this stove, im not going to load it up and hope it doesnt run away on me. Its a weird problem to have, wood thats that dry, but the other batch i have is 25 to 35%. Planking of lettung that season so i can use next year.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

If air dried, it’s unlikely to get that dry in our area. With a kiln you can get it that dry easily.

Too dry of wood could off gas too fast under the right conditions and be hard to control. If you don’t stuff your stove full to the max, you may be able to control it just fine if you go in expecting the wood to act differently and keep a close eye on it.

I think most issues with this sort of thing are from when a person is used to burning wet wood and suddenly switches to over dry. Say they cut up some nice kiln dried 2x4s from Lowes. They’re expecting the same fire behavior and the fire ends up being much livelier.

 

[Wakajawaka]

Gotcha. Thanks for your reply. Wood is air dried oak, ash, maple, and some cherry. I absolutely watch the stove and will definitely do yhat with my new one. My moisture meter could be a little off too but i think its close. I cut smaller pieces too a lot to dry out good. Ive had wet wood before and dont like it. To look at the firewood it doesnt seem like disinterested. I just dont want to damage stove or create excess creosote.

 

[Burnin Since 1989]

Gotcha. Thanks for your reply. Wood is air dried oak, ash, maple, and some cherry. I absolutely watch the stove and will definitely do yhat with my new one. My moisture meter could be a little off too but i think its close. I cut smaller pieces too a lot to dry out good. Ive had wet wood before and dont like it. To look at the firewood it doesnt seem like disinterested. I just dont want to damage stove or create excess creosote.

To be sure of the MC, split a piece of each species of wood and bring them up to temp in the house and then check the MC. I have a small rack next to my stove that I keep a couple of days worth of wood and being 18 inches from the stove, the wood dries a bit more while it's waiting it's turn. I just checked an oak split that measured 16% about 10 days ago was at 11% now.

Wet wood causes creosote. The threshold is 20%. Under 20 and the wood should be ok, I like around 50% myself.

 

[kborndale]

There is no where in NYS that you are going to air dry wood down to 5%. If you aren't checking on the fresh edge of a piece that was just resplit you are not getting an accurate reading.