Cleaning out my p38 today, I have noticed more of this the last couple of years. Usually take some creosote spray then burn it off with a propane torch.
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Creosote in Harman P38
- Thread starter bayfeet
- Start date
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Running it nice and hot for a period every day ought to help. The warm winter this year causing you to run it cooler much of the time may well be influencing the situation.
Also go outside and look inside your pipe to see if you are getting creosote build.
I also had a large creosote build up. To remove the creosote I gently heated it and then used a wire brush. You may not get it all the first time.
From my reading I found that creosote can be an issue with pellets, or air flow. Since I was using the same pellets in both stoves and the upstairs stove was burning fine I figured it was not the pellets.
I cleaned all the ash out. replaced both rope gaskets with graphite embedded gasket material . I then cleaned the burn pot and blew the dust and dirt out of the igniter cage, and used a wire brush to clean he combustion fan and duct . I then used compressed air to blow out anything that was still there, I cleaned inside of the the outside chimney with a wire brush and replaced the top vent cover (I had used one that you could spin the top and it was gunked up).
After that I opened the back and did the yearly maintenances.
The stove started up and had a bright yellow flame and as of now have no creosote. ( I found if If the color of the flame changes or the flame becomes lazy there is probably a problem with the air flow)
Maintenance:
I clean the burn pot every day. I use a scraper tool when necessary. I clean out the ash once a week and clean out the igniter cage. , This seems like a lot of work, but if you clean the burn pot out daily the required air is always getting to the burn pot.
Pellets:
I changed my pellets from hardwood to softwood. Softwood pellets seem to burn hotter and cleaner. I now use Matra pellets. They burn well and have little ash. The only drawback is the resin gets on the hopper walls so the pellets get stuck on the wall and you have to push them down. Based on others' comments I spray the hopper walls with a graphite lubricant to semi fix this.
I have not tried this but Rutland makes a pellet product for creosote.
Hope this was not to much
From my reading I found that creosote can be an issue with pellets, or air flow. Since I was using the same pellets in both stoves and the upstairs stove was burning fine I figured it was not the pellets.
I cleaned all the ash out. replaced both rope gaskets with graphite embedded gasket material . I then cleaned the burn pot and blew the dust and dirt out of the igniter cage, and used a wire brush to clean he combustion fan and duct . I then used compressed air to blow out anything that was still there, I cleaned inside of the the outside chimney with a wire brush and replaced the top vent cover (I had used one that you could spin the top and it was gunked up).
After that I opened the back and did the yearly maintenances.
The stove started up and had a bright yellow flame and as of now have no creosote. ( I found if If the color of the flame changes or the flame becomes lazy there is probably a problem with the air flow)
Maintenance:
I clean the burn pot every day. I use a scraper tool when necessary. I clean out the ash once a week and clean out the igniter cage. , This seems like a lot of work, but if you clean the burn pot out daily the required air is always getting to the burn pot.
Pellets:
I changed my pellets from hardwood to softwood. Softwood pellets seem to burn hotter and cleaner. I now use Matra pellets. They burn well and have little ash. The only drawback is the resin gets on the hopper walls so the pellets get stuck on the wall and you have to push them down. Based on others' comments I spray the hopper walls with a graphite lubricant to semi fix this.
I have not tried this but Rutland makes a pellet product for creosote.
Hope this was not to much
Last edited:
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