I'm a novice at using fire for heating our home, and my newish PE Summit is the primary heating source during cold weather. I burn everyday from mid October until sometime in March with two cut down ash trees in 2016. However, I don't burn overnight. This soot was from my 2nd year with the insert, and the installer's sweep told me it had to be professionally cleaned to keep up with the warranty (that was the last time he will ever get money from me). Just recently, I bought a sooteater and cleaned it myself yesterday. Approximatley 2 quarts of dried soot came down my 20 foot chimney liner So is 2 quarts too much and safe for all the wood I am burning, or should I clean more often? By looking at the characteristics of the soot, my wood is dried enough correct? Thank you
How much soot is too much?
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So this is for 2 yrs of burning? If so, it's not bad. Looks like it's just soot and ash. How many cords were burned during that period?
For our Alderlea, that would be a lot, but there may be several different factors involved. Our chimney is straight up through the house and roof. We burn mostly doug fir, about 2.5-3 cords/yr. You're definitely burning a different species of wood and may be burning more wood or have an exterior chimney. And you may be experiencing some colder weather at times. With the sooteater I have been getting less than a cup of soot a year. Most of this comes from the top 7' of the chimney which is what is exposed outdoors.
For our Alderlea, that would be a lot, but there may be several different factors involved. Our chimney is straight up through the house and roof. We burn mostly doug fir, about 2.5-3 cords/yr. You're definitely burning a different species of wood and may be burning more wood or have an exterior chimney. And you may be experiencing some colder weather at times. With the sooteater I have been getting less than a cup of soot a year. Most of this comes from the top 7' of the chimney which is what is exposed outdoors.
Sorry if I rambled. It is for one year burning probably 5 months straight. The first year, I had the installer's sweep clean it. Chimney is not external. As far as quantity of wood goes, I just cut and split those two ash trees and stacked in my barn and didn't calculate, but if I was to guess, I burned maybe 2 cords or a little less.
In our stove that would be a lot of soot for 2 cords burned, but again, different stove, different wood, different area and different operator. If you have a moisture meter it would be interesting to resplit a few thicker pieces of wood and see what the moisture content is.
Lots of cold starts increase the amount of debris in the chimney
A flexible chimney liner increases the amount of debris due to all of the nooks and crannies plus surface area.
Cold exterior chimneys also increase the amount of debris
The color looks good so I would not be worried about 2 quarts per year.
A flexible chimney liner increases the amount of debris due to all of the nooks and crannies plus surface area.
Cold exterior chimneys also increase the amount of debris
The color looks good so I would not be worried about 2 quarts per year.
Cold starts may explain it, though a quart a cord seems high with a rigid interior flue system. Our climate is not all that different.
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