Cup of Ash

[English BoB]

Cleaned the chimney today, this was after burning 24/7 last winter as much as possible. Only used 1/2 tank of oil.

bob

 

[tigeroak]

I cleaned mine 2 years ago and got just about a cup of powder and that was the last time I gave it a good cleaning.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

That's a big cup,

 

[Wisneaky]

That's a big cup,

Looks like almost a gallon.

 

[Little Digger]

It's the same one he has his morning coffee in!

 

[Diabel]

At least you cleaned your chimney. Most folks do not even bother until it is too late.
Try to burn more seasoned wood....

 

[fespo]

That looks like some big black crap not the fine brown powder

 

[warno]

That's the same type of bucket my dad uses to clean his chimney. He gets about that much when he cleans 2 times a season. By that I mean about half a bucket mid season and half a bucket at post season clean up. It's all fine black powder in dad's chimney.

 

[claydogg84]

At least you cleaned your chimney. Most folks do not even bother until it is too late.
Try to burn more seasoned wood....

Are you saying that is too much for a yearly clean out?

 

[Wisneaky]

Are you saying that is too much for a yearly clean out?

I wouldn't say it's too much, but that is much more than a cup. And not powdery like it should be. More than likely wood wasn't seasoned enough.

 

[BrotherBart]

 

[BrotherBart]

I think Bob is having some fun with us. I bet that came from the fire pit in the background.

 

[Diabel]

Are you saying that is too much for a yearly clean out?

I think yes

 

[Diabel]

View attachment 162340

This looks like an American expresso cup....

 

[BrotherBart]

This looks like an American expresso cup....

Texas teacup.

 

[Hogwildz]

Lots o chunky, Me thinks you could do much better than that.

 

[Diabel]

Texas teacup.

While in Italy, when I asked for a nice expresso.
This is what they served me All in Italian.
"American expresso for you"

And I am only your northern cousin.

 

[AmbDrvr253]

Me thinks u have a bit much there. Unless u have a 50 ft chimney.........LOL Not NEARLY that much in mine after an entire season.

 

[bholler]

While i agree it is to much for one season it is also not all that bad. I will have to take some pics the next time i clean a bad chimney. I did one a few weeks ago that i took 25 gals out of. The worst i have done so far has been 65 gals. They had 38 feet of 12x12 clay liners all but plugged shut the whole way. It took 3 of us 2 days.

 

[littleuing]

Last year i burned 5 cords or more of wet wood... Well some was dry at the start. But most was above 20% some oak beech birch in a cord i had delevered over 28%.... I was having a hard time getting ahead last two years. I used that powder stuff to clean the chimney... I would hear it fall into the stove when i started a fire... So i cleaned it out... I would say with all the stuff that fell out with that podwer and what i got out at the end of the season was still less than that...

However i did leave the air open for alot longer with the wetter wood and wood add new stuff before the stove pipe dropped below 300. Lots of playing around and tending to the fire. But with wet wood and less buildup than that i did good.

This year i am in alot better shape and working on next years wood.

 

[English BoB]

Well there were a couple of things going against me :

Thanks to this site this season will be a little different.

1. Wood has been drying longer last split tests were 18 - 20% range after two years.
2. Burn temps were taken off the steel chimney stack above the stove. Now I have a thermometer installed next to the cat. - Thank you Mellow.
3. Cat had crumbled and was blocked- replaced and a complete clean out has been done.
4. Read the stove manual - never understood how and why the stove worked, ie cleaning cats etc.
5.Will monitor burns more carefully as there are so many changes.
6.Morning loads were done as I walked out the door without giving the fire a chance to a good start.

Iam Looking forward to a happy and safe season burning season and I wish you all the same and thank you all for the advice and time you spend helping others.

bob