do you guys clean your own chimney

[Jimbob]

......And the black stuff on the glass is just creosote, a good HOT fire will clear that up. If you are ALWAYS getting a buildup of that stuff, it could mean that you aren't having hot enough fires, and that problem should solve itself come January, if it gets cold where you are. If you burn the insert hot enough, the firebricks will be tan or grey, and the glass mostly clear.

 

[Xena]

OK, everyone is talking about having a liner.
Does that apply to us? We installed our VC Resolute Acclaim a few months ago
(didn't have a chimney or anything). We have about 15' of black stove pipe going straight up,
then connecting to chimney pipe outside. No twists or turns, the whole thing is a straight shot.


PS. Scary questions here... beware those who are faint of heart.....



Also, should we not burn again until we sweep this weekend?

Maplegirl didn't you just install that brand new stove about a month or so ago?
Most people clean the piping out 2 or 3 times throughout the season.

 

[begreen]

All depends on the installation, the wood and how it's burnt.

A. Exterior vs interior flue has a big influence. Interior flues will generally keep the flue gases hotter and thus less creosote condensation.
B. Green or under seasoned wood vs seasoned is another big influence. Green or wet wood will burn a lot cooler. Dry wood will burn hotter and much cleaner.
C. Quick dampering down and smoldering vs hot initial fire will also affect creosote build up.

If everything is right, interior chimney, good wood, good burning habits; you might not have to clean the chimney more than once a year (or possibly less).
If everything is poor, once a month cleaning may be required.

 

[DriftWood]

Maplegirl didn't you just install that brand new stove about a month or so ago?
Most people clean the piping out 2 or 3 times throughout the season.

Don't let a problem happen is always the best plan Get the stuff now, sweep that chimney now and often, you will them have a idea on how your system is working and the tools ready to use.

 

[woodconvert]

"Or clean it from the clean out door on the bottom!"

If you have one...but yeah, that's how I do it and it rules. I pull the brush down through the chimney with a double strand of rope. I've tied a one lb down rigger ball on the rope to it easily falls all the way down the chimney and out the clean out door. I climb down and tug it down and out. It usually takes 2-3 sweeps this way and it's nice and clean. I origionally tried the rods and they go all wobbly and I couldn't get the brush all the way down so instead of fighting it I went to plan B.

 

[Xena]

Driftwood I wasn't suggesting that maplegirl shouldn't
go buy the tools, but I can't see that she's burned enough
to have a dangerous situation there since she just recently
installed it. Certainly nothing wrong with cleaning it now
so please don't think I was saying that you shouldn't do it now.

 

[elkimmeg]

Firest of all it is common to see flaky stuff accumulate of the griddle top ,nothing to worry about there, usually a lot of it will burn off.

I doubt you have a chimney concern yet but time to review you burning habits or routine.

First of all it is not necessary in these warmer skip seasons to rush to damper down 3 small burning splits are a better option just reload as needed and only control the inlet air.

that's one way of controlling the stove smaller hot fires Do you have thermometer mounted on your griddle top? Your wood my be wet. Try bringing inside some a week in advance and split it up into smaller splits. Remember it is still relatively warm meaning not conduciive to strong drafting so you will experience lazy fires that will produce more soot
It is also not un common to clean the glass once a week. Have you seen your wood sizzling from moisture?/

IT's ok to be concerned about your new experiences and being worried about safety. Tell us about your burning routine

 

[fbelec]

this weekend or when you go up to do the cleaning snap a few pictures of your stove, the setup, inside and outside pipe. then as you clean snap a few of what you cleaned and people can give you a solid answer and not a guess.

 

[bjorn773]

I, too, clean my own. I installed a clean out T at the bottom of the chimney. However, this year I did not remove the cap. Instead, I removed the stovepipe from the stove to the T. This served a dual purpose. I was able to clean/inspect the stove pipe. I also allowed me to attach another cap which I had drilled out for a shop vac hose. Hook up the vac, turn it on(with drywall dust bag installed) and head to the roof for the cleaning. Zero mess in the house as all the creasote was sucked into the shopvac dust bag. With a vac running at the bottom, there is a draft in the chimney so it clears quickly while you sweep. This way, you can shine a light down from the top and actually see instead of having a dusty haze that must settle before you can see through it.

 

[Gooserider]

A suggestion if you are pushing the brush as opposed to pulling w/ a rope... Don't waste money on the fancy "official" chimney rods... Instead go to HD or equivalent and purchase an appropriate number of 10' lengths of 1/2" grey PVC non-metallic electrical conduit as you need, then go to the plumbing department and get the pipe adapters you need to fit your brush onto the end of the conduit (probably either 1/2" or 1/4" NPT) On the joints between sections, just sand the ends a bit to give a slip fit, slide them together and cross drill the pipe to put a bolt and nut through to fasten them together in an easy to disconnect way.

I made a 30 foot rod this way for less than what it would have cost me for ONE 4 foot section of the "offical" rods, and it works great. I have to clean from the bottom due to the challenges of trying to reach the top of my chimney. The PVC flexes enough to go around a gentle bend (Probably wouldn't make it around a 90, might go around a 45) in order to get the brush heading up the chimney, but is stiff enough to allow a good push - pull action as well.

Gooserider