I have a 18' long 6" DIA. Flexible SS liner for my jotul#3 wood stove. My first cleaning was a few weeks back. When I removed the cap I found a 1/16" coating on most of the liner,and a 1/8" coating on a 2 foot section witch was at the mid way point of the liner. The coating was very dry and looked like millions of pencil leads. The stove and new liner had about 50 12 hour long fires on them at the time of the cleaning. I was burning several types of wood,,everything from pine to oak,,semi-green to very dry,,whatever I could get. How thick do you let the dry build-up get?
how much creosote is too much??
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Really just depends on what the coating is. If is is dusty soot no problem. If it is black flaky stuff it is closer to a problem. I don't get anything but soot anymore but still brush the pipe twice a year. The best advice is, if you wonder about it then clean it.
1/8" is getting pretty thick, none is good, some gray dusty looking coating is OK.
semi green wood & slow burns = creosote. Flue gasses not hot enough to keep it in gas form & it condenses on the wall of the pipe.
Hotter fires & drier wood will help prevent the build up. Type of wood not the issue, not dry wood is.
If you have to burn the greener, wetter wood, burn hotter fires but still inspect frequently.
Good catch, it can build up pretty quick as the weather gets colder.
Brushing every 50 fires may not be enough, maybe every 30. Monthly inspect & clean if you see build up.
I had a chimney fire many years ago, not a good thing.
semi green wood & slow burns = creosote. Flue gasses not hot enough to keep it in gas form & it condenses on the wall of the pipe.
Hotter fires & drier wood will help prevent the build up. Type of wood not the issue, not dry wood is.
If you have to burn the greener, wetter wood, burn hotter fires but still inspect frequently.
Good catch, it can build up pretty quick as the weather gets colder.
Brushing every 50 fires may not be enough, maybe every 30. Monthly inspect & clean if you see build up.
I had a chimney fire many years ago, not a good thing.
ok thanks. I cleaned it again today and got about one full cup of what I would describe as little black crystals, It is not quit a powder more like black beach sand. Is that good or bad stuff? It was NOT sticky. Dry little cubes/crystals/grains. This was about 30 fires of mixed wood.
spam said:
That's not bad, more typical of mine. When/if you get some bigger flakey stuff, time to clean.
I clean about twice a year, don't get much but best thing I get is peace of mind
My cap has some creo flakes on it, not allot. I can see it from my deck, it tells me, time to go inspect & clean.
Black beach sand . . . sounds good . . . that's what I end up with . . . I like to think of it as black coffee though.
That thicker coating mid way in the liner raises some flags in my head. If anything the thickest part should be at the top where the coolest part of the liner is.
Not trying to worry you, but make sure you try and get a good look at the area it was thickest at(mid liner) and make sure you don't have a hole there.
Makes no sense to me that mid liner is where you have the thickest accumulation of soot/creosote.
Not trying to worry you, but make sure you try and get a good look at the area it was thickest at(mid liner) and make sure you don't have a hole there.
Makes no sense to me that mid liner is where you have the thickest accumulation of soot/creosote.
Hogwildz said:
My sweep always finds the most creosote in my flue about 12-15' up inside my 25' tall flue. That's the point in my uninsulated masonry chimney where the temps first drop below the condensation point of the flue gases, so that's the first place where it will condense. I'll bet if I had the stove up on the main floor instead of the basement I wouldn't see any at all, or maybe some at the very top of the stack.
Ok, you have an uninsulated masonry chimney, he has a liner installed. Different situations. And if he is uninsulated, may be the perfect example for him to insulate the liner.
My insulated double wall only sees some slight build up at the top 2' outside the chimney. Then gets less the further I go down towards the insert.
As with everything else, I suppose each set up has it's own characteristics.
My insulated double wall only sees some slight build up at the top 2' outside the chimney. Then gets less the further I go down towards the insert.
As with everything else, I suppose each set up has it's own characteristics.
Yup, I was just making the point that the creosote will begin at the point where the flue walls first drop below the condensation point of the gases. Even with an insulated liner, some of the extremely low flue gas temps I sometimes read on here might lead to accumulation a bit lower down the pipe than you might suspect. And, yes... every setup, every operator, even every load is different.
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