if i'm getting good secondaries, am i burning hot enough to prevent creosote buildup?

[iron]

background: woodburning is new for us this year, so we don't have much seasoned wood. we bought some NIELs (northern idaho energy logs) to supplement in with the small batch of seasoned wood and not-so-seasoned wood.

i'm able to get good secondaries that last for a hour or so before coaling down. my concern is with burning >20% MC wood and whether the fireplace is burning hot enough under secondary-flame condition to prevent creosote buildup. i will mix 1 piece of >20% MC wood in with a few pieces of seasoned or NIELs.

thoughts?

 

[toddnic]

Iron, you are always going to get some level of creosote build up no matter what the moisture content of the wood is. My understanding is that most of the creosote builds up while getting the woodstove up to the correct operating temperature. The higher the moisture content along with the type of wood being burned is definitely going to contribute to a higher level of creosote being formed. Getting ahead two to three years on your wood will significantly help.

 

[Corey]

1hr before coaling is an easy time to get secondaries...you've baked the moisture out of the wood, heated up the stove and secondary pipes and everything is going smoothly. It's "start-up to that hour before coaling" where it's harder to get secondaries and a lot of your creosote would come from.

So in short, you'll always have some creosote, even with secondaries and you'll have a lot more without them, also a lot more in the early stages of start-up, so periodic mechanical cleaning is always recommended.

 

[begreen]

Check the chimney after every cord burned until you get used to the wood and stove. Now would be a good time to build the wood stash for next year and the following one.

 

[iron]

thanks for all the advice so far.

i start the fires using only dry cordwood or construction scraps. once it's a reasonably hot fire, that's when i'll add in a piece or two of the crap wood.

since my inlaws are in town, i'll try to keep the fire going all week long to prevent that pesky startup period

i think i've CSS about 3 cords or so of wood this fall, scrounging craigslist. mostly cedar. some fir. and 1/3 cord of cherry that was delightful to split and smell the aroma. can't wait to burn that one.

if i were to load up the fireplace every now and again to get a hot, full fire, will that abate some of the creosote buildup or just bake it in better?

also, is there a good way to measure fireplace temperatures? i read all of the other threads and most of you guys have stoves, not fireplaces, so you're always talking temps (600-800 is what i see most often). is there a correlation to a fireplace, or is it not as critical for whatever reason?

this hobby is slightly addicting....

 

[brad wilton]

It just stopped being a hobby for you