Creosote Remover - Austroflamm

[Jeff Lawson]

Our stove burns on lower settings quite a bit, and occasionally we get a burning creosote smell along with an almost instant dirtying of the glass.

My stove has scrapers that clean ash off the heat exchange tubes. They move freely at lower temperatures. But tonight when pouring the pellets to her on a higher setting, the scrapers became stuck or sticky. I'm assuming I got enough heat in the stove to make the creosote sticky. Anyone concur with that?

And if that is true and I have creosote buildup on the heat exchange tubes, has anyone used creosote removing powder in a pellet stove? If it works as advertised, I am thinking of burning it immediately before I tear it down for cleaning. It would make cleaning the tubes much easier. Also, even if I were to just go about it with elbow grease, there are going to be parts and corners that just aren't possible to get to.

Thanks in advance for the feedback.

Jeff

 

[rickwai]

If you are getting creasote on the inside of the stove you have a major restriction somewhere. Fire not getting enough air. I would start by getting the stove freed up and burning right, then the creosote should dry up and go away on its own.

 

[rich2500]

the higher heat is causing the tubes to expand more,thus making the scrapers tighter

 

[Mt Bob]

My integra runs on low a lot,too big for house a lot of days.Some days I turn it off when go to work.(use it like a wood stove)Last night 10 outside stove on .5 setting,turn up to 3 until I go to work,will turn it back to .5,will turn it up for a burnout when I get home.I figured out years ago to do a burn out 2 times a day.Not ness.when colder out as stove is running harder.Best way to clean creosote-long hot fire before you shut it down to clean,same as a wood stove.I have seen nothing you put in to burn that really helps,but might be something out there.The newer integras(and other stoves) have a programmed in clean cycle that bumps up the heat every hour for this purpose,which is why I have been trying to find someone who could add this type of programming to the older eproms.Remember your unit was state of the art-many years ago!

 

[Flammam]

I have the scrapers on one side of my stove that stick also. Come to find out they have loosened up on the rod that comes out the top of the stove. Going to have to figure out how to fix those in the spring.

 

[skidozer]

What about the air channels behind the heat exchangers could those be plugged? In my research on these stoves that comes up if the glass is getting black and heat exchangers are black.

 

[Mt Bob]

I have the scrapers on one side of my stove that stick also. Come to find out they have loosened up on the rod that comes out the top of the stove. Going to have to figure out how to fix those in the spring.

Hey,the rods screw into the plates,take hook tool and try tighening(clockwise) when stove is hot.Have seen nut break out of the plates,no problem with mig welder.

 

[Flammam]

Hey,the rods screw into the plates,take hook tool and try tighening(clockwise) when stove is hot.Have seen nut break out of the plates,no problem with mig welder.

Ya I just tried that no dice, ill wait until the next deep cleaning to try and tighten them up.Maybe a little deep creep will clean up the threads.

 

[Jeff Lawson]

My integra runs on low a lot,too big for house a lot of days.Some days I turn it off when go to work.(use it like a wood stove)Last night 10 outside stove on .5 setting,turn up to 3 until I go to work,will turn it back to .5,will turn it up for a burnout when I get home.I figured out years ago to do a burn out 2 times a day.Not ness.when colder out as stove is running harder.Best way to clean creosote-long hot fire before you shut it down to clean,same as a wood stove.I have seen nothing you put in to burn that really helps,but might be something out there.The newer integras(and other stoves) have a programmed in clean cycle that bumps up the heat every hour for this purpose,which is why I have been trying to find someone who could add this type of programming to the older eproms.Remember your unit was state of the art-many years ago!

Thanks Bob. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one running it so low. We're heating a 2200 sf tri-level with vaulted ceilings, so it's not like I have it in a little cabin. So 3 is the duty cycle you use to burn it out twice a day? How long do you leave it on 3 before returning to the normal low setting?

 

[Mt Bob]

45 min to 1 hr,hit grate cleaners,turn back down,or if getting cold out,let house cool down a little,turn almost all the way up for 30-45 min.I reccomend you never run these old ones all the way up more than 1 hour at a time,can warp,crack inner plates.