How much creosote do you get in 1 year?

[DougA]

Just cleaned my Hearthstone Equinox after 1 yr of burning 24/7 in the winter. 8" flue and I got just over 1 quart of hard black diamonds. I actually expected a bit less and thought it would be more dust than small hard chunks.
Wondering what others get so that we can judge what is a 'normal range'.

 

[begreen]

What is "Normal"? Normal depends on the amount of wood burned in a year, moisture content of the wood, type of stove, chimney height, the amount of exterior chimney exposure, average ambient temperature and how the stove.

 

[DougA]

What is "Normal"? Normal depends on the amount of wood burned in a year, moisture content of the wood, type of stove, chimney height, the amount of exterior chimney exposure, average ambient temperature and how the stove.

So I will delete the word 'normal'.
Oops, I can't edit the title.

 

[blades]

Just cleaned my Hearthstone Equinox after 1 yr of burning 24/7 in the winter. 8" flue and I got just over 1 quart of hard black diamonds. I actually expected a bit less and thought it would be more dust than small hard chunks.
Wondering what others get so that we can judge what is a 'normal range'.

About a cup 1.5 maybe 2 cups of fine powder- over a year since last cleaning, nc30 , I had more ash ( light grey not creosote) built up on top of the baffle boards than what came out of the less than 20ft flue.

 

[begreen]

So I will delete the word 'normal'.
Oops, I can't edit the title.

OK, I changed the title. Is that more on target?

 

[DougA]

OK, I changed the title. Is that more on target?

AS long as you're happy, I'm happy.

 

[batchman]

I'm trying to decide if I should freak out, change my fuel "mix" or just burn oil LOL (not happening).

For 2013/2014 I burned maybe 3/4 cord of crappy hardwood with a bunch of kiln dried (maybe 1/4 cord?) and probably half a ton of Orford compressed logs. Result, under a gallon. Sweep was OK with that.

The Orford compressed logs were great, easy light, hot and clean, but not terribly long-lasting. Not available after that, too bad.

For 2014/2015 I burned a cord of marginally seasoned hardwood, maybe 1/8 cord of kiln dried (for starting), and most of a ton of Logik-E compressed logs. Result, about 2 gallons. Sweep was concerned.

After seeing the "dirty chimney" thread, I'm not sure how worried I should be - the Logik-Es (4" round x 10" long) worked well beyond being hard to light and a little smoky. They're not cheap but they are readily available in my case, and they worked well for overnight and through-the-work-day burns.

My Avalon insert vents through about a 25' stainless lined flue in an outside-wall masonry chimney with an apparently good cap.

For 2015/2016 I have a cord of slightly less marginally seasoned wood and plan to use kiln-dried stuff to start it and a compressed wood product to supplement. Haven't tried them yet but homing in on Envi-8s as the right size to mix in. May use one Logik-E for overnights.

How worried should I be?

Thanks,
- Jeff

 

[Smoked]

I said between 1 and 2 quarts but prolly closer to 1 and really not much shiny stuff, mostly dust and only a few stink bugs this year. Insulated liner and old gaskets so the stove was running pretty clean.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

We got 2 gallons after a full year of burning half seasoned wood. This year should be better.
This is with a cook stove.

 

[FPX Dude]

Just voted as less than a quart and I'm a 16/7 (I just made that up, ha) burner.

 

[Elle]

2 cups maybe give or take. not much at all...which I think is a good thing?

 

[Fod01]

BrotherBart once told me,'it's not how much, but what kind...'.

My wood is not always the best since I don't have tons of room for multiple years, but I burn as clean as possible. 1/2 gallon of coffee grounds total for 2 cords, and I sweep twice a season.

 

[Grateful11]

We cleaned ours out Wed. after 2 seasons of use, last season saw some pretty heavy use but had fairly well seasoned wood. Cold weather hit early last season and I didn't clean it. It was our second season using the Century Insert with a 6" stainless liner. I burned a Chimney Sweep log in it at the beginning of last season, I did go on the roof and it had about an 1/16" to 1/8" of build up right at the top where the liner was exposed to the cold air at the beginning of last season. We bought a nylon Rutland brush and rods and cleaned and I have to say we were surprised at how little came out, maybe 2 pints probably less. I wasn't able to remove the liner from the top of the stove so I removed the front secondary air tube and the upper baffles and let it fall into the stove.

Before

After, not much difference.

All that came out.

First burn was today

 

[Bones]

Cleaned mine out last week and it was about a quart at most of fine dust for a season. No creosote caked on cap screen as with the old smoke dragon. Burned 3 1/2 chords...

 

[DougA]

BrotherBart once told me,'it's not how much, but what kind...'.

Would Brother Bart be kind enough to explain?

 

[richmhv]

This year I got maybe a cupful of gray dust, a little darker than normal ash. That was after going through 6-7 cords last winter, much of it burning very hot. I was amazed. With my previous stove , an old Better N Bens 901, I got a pail full of crunchy stuff every year after a similar amount of wood. There was a little crunch creosote on the cap, but not much there either.

 

[edyit]

Would Brother Bart be kind enough to explain?

not to try and answer for him but i would guess that a gallon of fine brown powder is better to get out than a quart of the tar like stuff.

 

[kennyp2339]

1. Brown / grey ash - the best result,
2. black rice coal diamonds - could do better,
3. chunky crunchy rocks - needs improvement,
4. shiny black tar that wont clean from the liner - rethink burning, maybe change to a different heat source,
5. 6" brush will not go down a 6" liner due to blockages - switch to a different heat source, wood heating is not for you.
That's how I judge things -

 

[Isaac Carlson]

We get the dry dusty stuff. Mostly because we run the stove with the oven door open to pull more heat from the flue gasses.
I don't mind cleaning it out once in a while. It is a small price to pay when you can keep the house at 80 degrees for less than $100 a year.
It takes about 10 minutes to clean it out and we can even do it while the stove is going. I like that part because the draft sucks up all the dust.