Help with soot/creosote

[stoveliker]

Yes the liner has a sealed clean out. I get to it by removing the wall pass through and vacuuming junk out through the thimble that I cut through the brick chimney.

also, I always make sure my fiber boards are pushed together and pushed to the rear of the stove.
How I check moisture content: Splitwood and push my Lowe’s moisture meter prongs into the wood a fair bit. I pretty much just cut dead standing or at least deadwood. Most of it is in the 20% range when I cut it. I then split it and stack it for the following year unless it’s really wet then I’ll put it in a separate stack.
Thanks

do you measure MC on wood that's been inside the home (near 70 F) for more than 24 hrs..? If it's colder, you'll measure drier than what it really is.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I am also not running a liner at all in my masonry flue, which is on a outside wall, the 30 probably really needed it but in all the stoves I’ve owned, my chimney has always stayed clean even with wetter wood. So englander does have well built stoves, I have one again, just not the 30!

Both of my 30s are on masonry chimneys with uninsulated clay liners only. One of them is 12x12 clay liner. I was surprised it was even able to produce enough draft, but it works like a charm. The other one is on a 6x6 in clay liner. Both work about the same. I also run a Harman, a US stove and a Summers Heat in various locations all on masonry chimneys. All the stoves burn clean, but would say the harman downdraft is extra clean, but that is not a tube stove.

 

[Crowkiller]

Sorry bholler not tracking. If your asking me if I have an actual clean out to get to liner, I don’t have one. Here’s my set up except my stove pipe comes off the top of my stove.
My masonry chimney actually starts in basement and runs through to main level, and on up. Chimney is on outside of house. There is a masonry thimble in basement that I have covered ( don’t know if any of that makes a difference).

 

[bholler]

Sorry bholler not tracking. If your asking me if I have an actual clean out to get to liner, I don’t have one. Here’s my set up except my stove pipe comes off the top of my stove.
My masonry chimney actually starts in basement and runs through to main level, and on up. Chimney is on outside of house. There is a masonry thimble in basement that I have covered ( don’t know if any of that makes a difference).

Ok and you have a tee cap on the bottom of the tee?

 

[Crowkiller]

Yessir, have a tee cap.

 

[bholler]

Yessir, have a tee cap.

Ok some people don't put a cap on and that causes draft reduction

 

[Crowkiller]

Stoveliker, I did have some big ugly chunks that have been inside for 48 hrs or so I was able to get split . Poplar and Cherry. A little higher than what I would have thought but still below 20.

 

[Crowkiller]

Update: So I cleaned out chimney liner and all pipe from the heater to the chimney liner. There was not near as much soot/creosote as there was last cleaning (it had been 20 days minus maybe 3 days I didn’t burn). I reckon a cup or so.
I installed 4 feet of single wall pipe (way above roof).
I figured that should add about 30% more draw, and I really expected a noticeable difference. However not as much as I thought. It does seem to keep burning better when I push the air control lever even with the ash lip. Either way I’ll monitor and see how it looks at the three week point.
I also put a thermometer 18” up the stove pipe to monitor that temp per bhollers suggestion.
My question today is… Will the 4 feet of single wall pipe cause creosote due to being un insulated? If the additional 4 feet is effective in avoiding creosote I plan on installing more double wall and figuring out the logistics of that later. Thanks guys.

 

[Crowkiller]

Just an update. The addition of the single wall pipe has been the ticket. I still need to add double wall insulated as this is a bit of an eyesore but the nc-30 burns as I’d hoped with the extension. Thanks.

 

[stoveliker]

Great. I hope you are replacing it with proper class A soon?

 

[Crowkiller]

Great. I hope you are replacing it with proper class A soon?

Not sure what I’m going to do. In order to replace it with double wall insulated pipe, I’ll have to rivet it to existing pipe. If I do that I won’t be able to get to the top to clean chimney. I’m going to have to brick around chimney if I do that, in order to be able to get a ladder to it.

 

[bholler]

Not sure what I’m going to do. In order to replace it with double wall insulated pipe, I’ll have to rivet it to existing pipe. If I do that I won’t be able to get to the top to clean chimney. I’m going to have to brick around chimney if I do that, in order to be able to get a ladder to it.

In order to extend with class a you use a transition plate that then gets anchored to the top of the chimney to attach the class a to

 

[Crowkiller]

In order to extend with class a you use a transition plate that then gets anchored to the top of the chimney to attach the class a to

Thank you sir, I will look that up as I have no idea what that is.

 

[Crowkiller]

Thank you sir, I will look that up as I have no idea what that is.

Ah yes, I already have a “transition plate”. But I already have 3’ of class A above plate. If I add another 4’ section that will be 7’, and much too flimsy to rest a ladder against. I’ll eventually just have to add more brick to make it strong enough to lean ladder against.

 

[bholler]

Ah yes, I already have a “transition plate”. But I already have 3’ of class A above plate. If I add another 4’ section that will be 7’, and much too flimsy to rest a ladder against. I’ll eventually just have to add more brick to make it strong enough to lean ladder against.

Ahhh why not just clean from the bottom? Leaning a ladder against a tall unsupported brick chimney is a bad idea as well

 

[Crowkiller]

I’d love to be able to get to it, but can’t. Have a masonry chimney that runs from basement to main floor. Stove is on main floor. Stove pipe goes into wall at 90 degrees with a 90 degree cap. Can’t get to cap. I’ve been considering getting a flexible soot eater to see if I could make it through my 90 degree upwards turn. That would solve my problem if it would work.

 

[bholler]

I’d love to be able to get to it, but can’t. Have a masonry chimney that runs from basement to main floor. Stove is on main floor. Stove pipe goes into wall at 90 degrees with a 90 degree cap. Can’t get to cap. I’ve been considering getting a flexible soot eater to see if I could make it through my 90 degree upwards turn. That would solve my problem if it would work.

I clean through thimbles like that every day with my rotary cleaners.

 

[Crowkiller]

I clean through thimbles like that every day with my rotary cleaners.

Great! I will order one ASAP and give it a try. Thanks for the help.

 

[stoveliker]

Great! I will order one ASAP and give it a try. Thanks for the help.

I do the same; thimble thru the wall in the basement, then up with a 90 degree. Sooteater works for that.

 

[Crowkiller]

I do the same; thimble thru the wall in the basement, then up with a 90 degree. Sooteater works for that.

Thanks, hope it works that will take care of problem👌.

 

[logfarmer]

Log farmer what stove did you switch too? I suspect I need more pipe, but I won’t be able to reach it to clean it out etc... At this point I’d be more apt to change heaters vs applying more brick and adding more stove pipe.

Sorry I’m not on here much but I switched to a cat englander stove, now I use a BKKing.

 

[Crowkiller]

Sorry I’m not on here much but I switched to a cat englander stove, now I use a BKKing.

One of these days I would like to try out a blaze king, I’ve heard great things about them. But for now my 30 is burning pretty doggone good . But I’ll keep an eye out in the classifieds.