Got any heavy creosote removal tips ?

[rustynut]

Cleaning out this new used stove pipe. Couple of sections have pretty heavy creosote that the brush is not removing. Strapped the 3 foot section on the front of a 4 wheeler where i can work on it. Brushing it is not removing the heavy stuff. Scraping it out has been pretty time consuming so i'm wondering if their are any tricks to removing this
heavy stuff ?
rn

 

[mike1234]

I remember someone saying oven cleaner would work, but I have not tried that.

 

[jadm]

Cleaning out this new used stove pipe. Couple of sections have pretty heavy creosote that the brush is not removing. Strapped the 3 foot section on the front of a 4 wheeler where i can work on it. Brushing it is not removing the heavy stuff. Scraping it out has been pretty time consuming so i'm wondering if their are any tricks to removing this
heavy stuff ?
rn

Maybe it isn't creosote.....Could it be 'chestnutsote' from a bad batch of unseasoned chestnuts? :roll:

Sorry, I couldn't resist that one. I have no clue how to get creosote stove pipes so I am no help there either...

 

[BrotherBart]

I would soak it in water. Seriously. Rain washed creo off my chimney caps. When I replaced the caps this year I laid the old ones on their sides on the ground and forgot about them. I noticed the other day that they didn't have a spec of creo in them after the rains we had.

And it used to wash the stuff out of my clay flue tiles before I lined them.

 

[rustynut]

BrotherBart,
Was that "acid rain" or the regular type? ;-P
ok that sounds too easy so lets see.......
It is in one of the class A insulated pipes - dont think i'd better stick it
in a bucket of water as the insulation may be affected?
Might try a spray / soaking and see how that works.
Do you know what they use to insulate these pipes with?
Was thinking about trying some WD40 on it, seems to work on everything else? No way would i use it on an installed chimney but with things dissassembled where i can clean up afterwards.........
Got a bunch more peices to clean so I mat experiment a bit.
I'll post if i find the "Magic Potion"
thanks
rn

 

[rustynut]

Chestnutsote - I'm perplexed

:lol:

 

[quads]

Are you using a wire brush? Usually the wire brush I use gets it, even though the tough spots sometimes need a good scrubbing. As long as you get it scraped off so that it's not a thick deposit, it doesn't have to be sparkling clean.

 

[rustynut]

Quads,
This pipe is dissassembled so i'm able to get at it......
Worked it with the standard 6 inch chimney brush and found a layer that would not come off with that.
These are 3 foot sections so i'm able to get my arm inside.
Tried using a stiff wire brush - still no good (well maybe just a little).
Scraping it off with an old knife blade seemed to do the trick without
damaging anything. Only problem is that it is pretty time consuming.
Was just wondering af anyone had any tips for removing the stuborn
stuff ?
rn

 

[quads]

How thick is it? If it's only 1/8" or so, I'd leave it. It will dry up/burn off right away without causing any harm.

 

[RonB]

After shutting down the old stove and installing the new chimney and Quad stove I decided to clean the stainless steel chimney cap. I got tired of scraping and wire brushing so I came up with the bright idea to burn it off. I put the cap over my burn barrel and lit a fire. It was super clean. However, I did need/want to respray the black paint finish on part of the roof part of the cap for looks.

 

[rustynut]

ronb,
I was wondering about burning that creosote off (while i was scraping, brushing and cussing) lol. BrotherBart's idea about water soaking seemed to help. Just had to keep at it. Got em clean today. Lots of scraping and brushing. Something to be said for burning good dry wood thats for sure. After going thru the entire pipe system it looks as though the majority of the creosote build up was closest to the stove. I was pretty surprised to see this. Figured the highest build up would be furthest from the stove ?
So
looks like the Magic Potion used in cleaning these pipes turns out to be Grease, good old fashioned "Elbow Grease " ;-)
Thanks for the tips
Rustynut

 

[firefighterjake]

Of course you could have gone with the old Hearth.com stand by for cleaning your chimney . . . ferrets. Sorry, inside joke.

 

[Fsappo]

I would attach it to the stove and build a few hot fires using an Anti Creosote spray or ACS. That stuff has never let me down. It will dry up the hard creosote so a brush will take it right off. May need a few treatments.

 

[rustynut]

ffj,
now i 've got to hear about the ferrets as i have a friend with a couple of those rodents..............
rn

 

[rustynut]

franks,
this is new /used pipe and i'm looking to get it clean before a new install. so......... not going to have a few hot fires...........
anyhow
thanks for chiming in
rn

 

[wellbuilt home]

I would just scrape the big stuff off and assemble the pipe .
Use the spray stuff ( chimmny cleaner).
When it burns it sofens the hard creosolt and it comes off with a lite brushing . John .

 

[Fsappo]

just dont clean it before the install, clean it after with the spray? Why screw around doing it the hard way?

 

[firefighterjake]

ffj,
now i 've got to hear about the ferrets as i have a friend with a couple of those rodents..............
rn

When I first joined as a member this was mentioned as a joke for cleaning the chimney . . . I'm not quite sure how it started or who even started it . . . perhaps some of the veterans could explain better . . . I know I haven't heard about using ferrets though for some time. Maybe the original posters have moved on to using weasels or birds.