Is 2 tons to much to burn before I clean my Chimney?

[glenc0322]

I had my stove installed last year it is a Haman insert with a zero clearance box the chimney has 2 45 degree pipes then goes straight up through my garage roof and extends past the roof 3 feet. roughly about 9 feet of pipe. i was planning on cleaning the pipe after my 1st ton but broke my leg and cant get on the roof for another month. i do clean the stove every week and vacuum everything out except the chimney. everything was new when it was installed. but dont want to have a problem was thinking of having someone come to clean it. i was on the roof at the start of this year and looked down the pipe and it was clean visually. just looking for opinions i think i can wait but just checking thanks

 

[imacman]

IMO, yes. I clean mine after each ton.

 

[fmsm]

Pull the stove and run a few rods through if you can. With the few turns in it I would clean it at least once per ton. My days of physically doing it myself are done but I gladly pay for the service.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

It really depends upon the ash load you are getting from the pellets and the venting itself.

If that unit is on rails pull it out and run a brush up the flue. No need to get on the roof if you can get to everything.

 

[glenc0322]

ok thanks ill brush from the inside

 

[Eatonpcat]

Had a chimney sweep do mine after my first year of burning (4 ton I think)...Maybe he wasn't telling the truth, but he said it was not very dirty! I will burn six ton this year before it gets cleaned,

 

[glenc0322]

Had a chimney sweep do mine after my first year of burning (4 ton I think)...Maybe he wasn't telling the truth, but he said it was not very dirty! I will burn six ton this year before it gets cleaned,

thanks i keep my stove pretty clean and only 2 tons through it i know some people burn 3-4 tons a year that would mean they clean there chimney 4 times a year. i think its fine but i have an insert and can pull it out Harman sells a rail system for the stove but it is around 500 ouch i made one out of kindorf (unistrutt) for free and it works great i think ill pull it this weekend and give it a brushing just to be on the safe side.

 

[DexterDay]

Smoke Show also has a Long vertical rise like Eaton and he does 3-4 ton a year.

I cleaned a Santa Fe last year that ran for 3 years with a 15' tall 3" liner. 3 tons per year (9 Ton total!!).

All depends on total ash build up. I used to do monthly or per ton. But the little build up has made me push it back. I will prob wait till the end of season. But if I burn 3 or 4 ton, that's between 2 stoves. And it's normally split (1.5 ton Quad/Shoulder -- 1.5 ton Fahrenheit/Winter).

If my leg was broken, I would inspect it the best I could. If it looked like it needed it, I would hire someone (Maybe??) or get a friend or family member to go up for me. Unless you can do bottom up cleaning from inside ??

 

[glenc0322]

I can do a bottom up cleaning and I purchased a new brush I inspected it in November before I injured my leg and it looked fine it was still shinny on the inside I pulled the cap and shined a flash light down just add it onto the regular cleaning this week end

 

[Boondoggie]

How on earth does someone having it done by a chimneysweep 4 times a year (at say $100/pop?) still see any savings?

 

[Eatonpcat]

How on earth does someone having it done by a chimneysweep 4 times a year (at say $100/pop?) still see any savings?

Did someone say they have a sweep do it 4 times a year??

 

[gbreda]

All good advise. I just did a deep clean including venting on Monday night. About 1.5 ton and had quite a bit of ash in the venting, probably the most I have seen after that amount; so it does vary with pellets being burned as well as type of burns.

 

[Boondoggie]

Did someone say they have a sweep do it 4 times a year??

Yeah, This guy:

thanks i keep my stove pretty clean and only 2 tons through it i know some people burn 3-4 tons a year that would mean they clean there chimney 4 times a year.

 

[robert65]

Every 2 Tons, some ash but not overly heavy....

 

[Eatonpcat]

Did it say he pays to have it done??

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

How on earth does someone having it done by a chimneysweep 4 times a year (at say $100/pop?) still see any savings?

Well let's see twice a year at $100 a pop just about equals what it cost to clean and prepare a hot water heating system for the year, 4 tons of pellets is roughly 484 gallons of oil.

4 tons of pellets at $310/ton = $1240 + $400 in cleanings equals $1640 vs 484 gallons of oil at $3.30 = $1597 + $200 in cleanings or $1797

Now if you subscribe to the cheap pellet method and clean it yourself or the price of oil is higher than what I just used (likely it is, since I wanted to make the pellet side look bad to keep folks from claiming I'm biased)

It merely lengthens the payback period.

I don't have to pay anyone to clean mine and it doesn't take long to do and I'm not burning expensive pellets how would your costs stack up?

 

[Eatonpcat]

6 Ton of pellets + gas to get them = $1200.00
Chimney Sweep = $125.00
Not having to argue with the Propane Company = Pricless

Plus I get to goof around with you guys...Who wouldn't want that!!

 

[MCPO]

I run the brush thru once a year and I get about a gallon bucket of ash out of 22 ft of 7" SS insulated chimney pipe. (approx 4 tons) I guess it`s all dependant on size , length, amount of draft,and of course the pellets.

 

[TLHinCanada]

Is 2 tons to much to burn before I clean my Chimney?

Experience has taught me that when I ask myself a question like that the answer is invariably yes.

 

[minnow]

I have the Accentra Insert and only run a brush down the chimney once a year and have done so for the past six years that I have owned the stove. My chimney height is about 32'. I do pull the stove out of the fireplace twice each burning season for a good cleaning and will bang on the stainless steel flue liner to loosen some of the ash.

 

[Boondoggie]

6 Ton of pellets + gas to get them = $1200.00
Chimney Sweep = $125.00
Not having to argue with the Propane Company = Pricless

Plus I get to goof around with you guys...Who wouldn't want that!!

So you're saying you have the chimney swept once every 6 tons?

Funny how the answers range from every 1 ton to every 6 ton, and everyone thinks everyone else is ridiculous.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

to early for me to work those figures Smokey but if i was only saving 100 bucks i would def be using oil even take away the 400 in cleaning 500 saving for the season i would burn oil

Ya, but those are someone else's consumption figures and my top of the line pellet price and last fall's heating oil price.

And without the paid cleanings it is a $500/year savings

If you downgrade the pellets it is a $900/year savings and if the oil price is market it is well over a grand/year. Which makes the pay back period on the stove and venting about 3 years give or take.

Like everything your mileage will be different than another's.

I'll put it another way, my current pellet stash is the equivalent of paying $1.75/gallon for oil.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I run the brush thru once a year and I get about a gallon bucket of ash out of 22 ft of 7" SS insulated chimney pipe. (approx 4 tons) I guess it`s all dependant on size , length, amount of draft,and of course the pellets.

One of these days they will figure it out.

All pellet stove cleaning is ash level driven and there is no way to tell what kind of a mess you have until you clean it out and see. Every single installation will be different. Clean and see, then adjust.

You ain't burning an nice uniform fuel folks them thar pellets ain't all the same regardless of what the big box folks tell you.

 

[Eatonpcat]

So you're saying you have the chimney swept once every 6 tons?

Funny how the answers range from every 1 ton to every 6 ton, and everyone thinks everyone else is ridiculous.

Yes, Only in my second year of burning and this year I will burn close to six ton and have my chimney swept after I am done burning for the year. The sweep will let me know if I should have done it sooner!

 

[briansol]

I generally clean out the pipe once a month. Nothing extensive... just a quick open of the trap door, and a quick shake and most of it comes flying down and I race to get it sucked into the vacuum. lol Having semi-fleible pipe is nice in this regard. you can get a good shake on it without really moving much or breaking joints.

I'm probably going to hire a guy to do a real sweep on it this spring.