What's this Creo soot ad I keep seeing?

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ohlongarm

Minister of Fire
Mar 18, 2011
1,606
Northeastern Ohio
Anybody ever use this stuff,sounds bogus to me, but, never used anything like it. Don't get more than a quart of creosote in a years burning with the BK.And that's only in the last eight feet of chimney to the cap.
 
I've heard if you have a thin layer of glaze up the stack you spray this on your fire after start up and it makes it break down to be swept. Takes several uses to be effective I believe but I have heard it works pretty well actually for what it is intended.
 
Anybody ever use this stuff,sounds bogus to me, but, never used anything like it. Don't get more than a quart of creosote in a years burning with the BK.And that's only in the last eight feet of chimney to the cap.
We've used the spray since we started burning, our stove (Lopi Liberty) was put in April and I was cutting a chit load of Cherry mother nature knocked down so our wood was coming in around 25 -28 percent M/C. I resplit most of the Cherry and after being inside for a good week, it was 22 percent M/C.

The Anti Creo Soot spray works, we still use it.
 
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It does help to make glazed creosote easier to clean. But it shouldn't be used with a cat and you shouldn't use any of the salt based stuff with a stainless liner or chimney. And for the record I get atleast twice the creosote with the bk princess than I did with the regency 3100. And most bk chimneys I work on are fairly dirty. They are not the cleanest burners.
 
i used the spray and it did nothing for me. i now use the csl log the last fire of the year. it works way better. burn it in may brush the chimney in october and thats it. i have a very thin layer of shiny. and it dries it up so if it doesn't fall off on it's own when i brush it it comes off
 
i used the spray and it did nothing for me. i now use the csl log the last fire of the year. it works way better. burn it in may brush the chimney in october and thats it. i have a very thin layer of shiny. and it dries it up so if it doesn't fall off on it's own when i brush it it comes off
Yeah I am sure different projects have different effectiveness. I don't know enough about them all to know which is best
 
It does help to make glazed creosote easier to clean. But it shouldn't be used with a cat and you shouldn't use any of the salt based stuff with a stainless liner or chimney. And for the record I get atleast twice the creosote with the bk princess than I did with the regency 3100. And most bk chimneys I work on are fairly dirty. They are not the cleanest burners.
Sounds good however in the heaviest burning season ,at seasons end the most I ever got was a quart of what appears to be black fine sand. The liner stays shiny, never any build up, however my wood is never over 18% when burned ,all situations are unique.My chimney won't get cleaned till April,and for it's coating then dust only. My BK is a clean burner.
 
Sounds good however in the heaviest burning season ,at seasons end the most I ever got was a quart of what appears to be black fine sand. The liner stays shiny, never any build up, however my wood is never over 18% when burned ,all situations are unique.My chimney won't get cleaned till April,and for it's coating then dust only. My BK is a clean burner.
Mine is always sub 20% usually under 18. It does elbow into a chimney though not straight up which I am sure hurts be some. But I work on 2 princess inserts that have similar buildup. I would say most BK's I clean average about a gallon of pretty dry creosote only one typically has glaze and that is going into an exterior clay liner chimney so not the stoves fault.

My regency on the other hand was just a handful of grey powder.

What I see on them isn't by any means an extreme ammout of buildup or anything. Just more than I was used to.
 
It does help to make glazed creosote easier to clean. But it shouldn't be used with a cat and you shouldn't use any of the salt based stuff with a stainless liner or chimney. And for the record I get atleast twice the creosote with the bk princess than I did with the regency 3100. And most bk chimneys I work on are fairly dirty. They are not the cleanest burners.
I burned some wet wood by mistake and glazed up my stove and chimney over a half a day this a few years ago. The wood was far wetter than I’d thought and when I checked on it was nearly out. Glazed the stove bad. It was horrible. I bought some Cre-Away powder made by Saver Systems. Says in the bottle not to use with Catalytic stoves and this stove was not a cat or tube stove. However they make an ACS...Anti-Creosote Spray that can supposedly be used with catalytic stoves. Are you familiar with this and does it work?

Also, several years of research brought me to the same conclusion that I wasn’t liking what I was seeing with BK and chimneys getting creosote. Of course, every situation is different and it’s hard to know how wet the wood being burned is unless some notes it, but for the claims of being so clean burning I was skeptical. Not saying they are that way by any means. Interesting to note about the Regency. They never really were on my radar until recently when these newer 2020 stoves came out. They seem well built like Lopi stoves.
 
I burned some wet wood by mistake and glazed up my stove and chimney over a half a day this a few years ago. The wood was far wetter than I’d thought and when I checked on it was nearly out. Glazed the stove bad. It was horrible. I bought some Cre-Away powder made by Saver Systems. Says in the bottle not to use with Catalytic stoves and this stove was not a cat or tube stove. However they make an ACS...Anti-Creosote Spray that can supposedly be used with catalytic stoves. Are you familiar with this and does it work?

Also, several years of research brought me to the same conclusion that I wasn’t liking what I was seeing with BK and chimneys getting creosote. Of course, every situation is different and it’s hard to know how wet the wood being burned is unless some notes it, but for the claims of being so clean burning I was skeptical. Not saying they are that way by any means. Interesting to note about the Regency. They never really were on my radar until recently when these newer 2020 stoves came out. They seem well built like Lopi stoves.
Bk makes great stoves without a doubt. They have some very strong points and some where they are weaker. For some situations they are without a doubt the best stove. Others not so much. You need to figure out what it is you need and what your most important performance characteristics are. From there you can narrow down your search. We sell regency stoves and overall they perform well and are pretty durable. As are lopi quadrafire pacific energy and many others.
 
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As far as the saver systems stuff goes I haven't used it. I am not s big fan of the company do I typically don't buy their stuff. But I have heard it works fairly well
 
Mine is always sub 20% usually under 18. It does elbow into a chimney though not straight up which I am sure hurts be some. But I work on 2 princess inserts that have similar buildup. I would say most BK's I clean average about a gallon of pretty dry creosote only one typically has glaze and that is going into an exterior clay liner chimney so not the stoves fault.

My regency on the other hand was just a handful of grey powder.

What I see on them isn't by any means an extreme ammout of buildup or anything. Just more than I was used to.
Is that after burning a full season,if so a gallon after 6 months burning is liveable.
 
Is that after burning a full season,if so a gallon after 6 months burning is liveable.
Yeah it absolutely is liveable. Just more than I see from most other modern stoves. But not anything extreme
 
Yeah it absolutely is liveable. Just more than I see from most other modern stoves. But not anything extreme

What’s the worst system you clean every year?

As a kid our giant smoke dragon in the basement was cleaned a couple times a season and always made at least a 5 gallon buckets worth on a 2 story masonry chimney.
 
What’s the worst system you clean every year?

As a kid our giant smoke dragon in the basement was cleaned a couple times a season and always made at least a 5 gallon buckets worth on a 2 story masonry chimney.
A boiler that we typically get about 20 gals out of. 5 gals is not that uncommon
 
Yeah it absolutely is liveable. Just more than I see from most other modern stoves. But not anything extreme
What in your opinion is the absolutely cleanest burning stove, in your opinion.
 
What in your opinion is the absolutely cleanest burning stove, in your opinion.
I have no clue. Especially with the new stuff on the market. And the testing numbers are not real world situations so they don't help much. I can tell you on average good tube stoves burnt correctly put just about the least amount of deposits in the chimney. But that doesn't mean their emissions are the cleanest
 
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What in your opinion is the absolutely cleanest burning stove, in your opinion.

I have an opinion on this from much narrower experience than bholler's. We live in the city so clean was real important to us when we got a stove in 2009. I don't remember my research/thought process but we bought a Lopi Freedom (It was like a Lopi Liberty, but an insert. I think their models have changed a lot, even if the names haven't).

Wood and how hot the fire is are of course key factors. Burning hot fires with well seasoned wood, you cannot tell when you get to our house whether the stove is going or not (it normally isn't, so no smell is the default experience). There seems to be basically no buildup when I clean the chimney yearly. So my narrow experience says the 2009 Lopis were very clean, which they pushed in their advertising (or I read in consumer reviews).

Whether other brands are comparable or better I can't say, but I don't see how I'd improve on no smoke/no smell.

I think it's fun for my wife, because as she walks from the bus stop to our house there's no smell, any day. But occasionally if I'm already home she'll walk in to see and feel the stove fire, no clue she'd see that.
 
What in your opinion is the absolutely cleanest burning stove, in your opinion.
What other stoves have you run full time out of curiosity?
 
My house was built in 1988 with myself as general contractor. Its a two story salt box in NH, The flues and stove (boiler later) was installed to exit immediately adjacent to the peak. I have cleaned the wood stove flue twice in 32 years mostly out of curiosity. I do inspect it yearly for cracks and build up and shovel a bit of fly ash out of the cleanout. I started out running about 4 cords a year through a succession of stoves while still burning oil. Once I put my ancient inefficient second hand Burnham wood boiler with storage on line I stopped buying oil about 8 years ago except for very cold weather when I was gone for few days. None of my woodburners have been super efficient but I burn them hot and rarely idle them, if I need less heat I put in less wood and feed it more often. I dont go for the overnight burn. Thus no creosote. I am no way advocating that my installation or operation is typical or someone should assume they will have the same experience but with dry wood and proper operation, creosote does not need to be part of the equation for a well installed wood burner. Sure I would love a new high tech boiler but hard to justify the price as long as the Burnham keeps going.

BTW, my neighbor has a 10 year newer home. he burned relatively green wood in an indoor Tarm boiler with no storage for a several years. He had constant chimney fires despite slowly increasing his cleaning to monthly. He chained his ladder to the chimney where it remains today. He finally cracked the tile after a particularly bad chimney fire and replaced it with an insulated liner which melted in a chimney fire less than year later. He has a OWB now with a 25 plus foot high stack and burns mostly green rounds. I have not seen a fire truck there yet on the OWB. Not sure why. It looks like he goes through about 8 cords a year of wood that get delivered in late spring and is burned in the fall. His wood storage spot is partially shaded and doesnt get a lot of air so what little drying time he has is not maximized. My guess is any creosote that forms runs back into the firebox during the initial light off and the stack stays hot enough that the creosote does not condense.
 
What other stoves have you run full time out of curiosity?
Buck,= garbage,
What other stoves have you run full time out of curiosity?
Morso first stove,decent to a point ate wood like crazy ,not enough heat output,Buck their biggest ,an absolute piece of you know what ,lost my rear end and sold it at a great loss in one month.Then two Quadrafires,first one sides cracked and was replaced under warranty,second one sides cracked from heat also ,got a cash credit,then got a BK,King pedastal,it made a believer out of me,sold it and got another King ,this one the Parlor liked its looks more than the pedastal,no complaints on either love BK,probably will never switch.
 
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Buck,= garbage,

Morso first stove,decent to a point ate wood like crazy ,not enough heat output,Buck their biggest ,an absolute piece of you know what ,lost my rear end and sold it at a great loss in one month.Then two Quadrafires,first one sides cracked and was replaced under warranty,second one sides cracked from heat also ,got a cash credit,then got a BK,King pedastal,it made a believer out of me,sold it and got another King ,this one the Parlor liked its looks more than the pedastal,no complaints on either love BK,probably will never switch.
I never liked the buck cat stoves but their noncats seemed to be decent from what I have seen.

Moroso has had a wide range of stuff depending upon the age. I had one for a while. It was ok. I typically switch out my stoves every 5 years or so depending upon what I find a deal on. I ran a quad and really liked it. By dad had one he bought used and ran it for atleast 20 years until the side cracked.

I like some things about the princess that is currently on loan to me. But it just doesn't put out enough BTUs when it gets cold. I would never buy one. It will probably need a cat either this season or just after it.

And honestly I bought the last 4 stoves I have used for about the cost of a new cat. And sold them when I was done for a profit. So when it needs a new cat I will buy one and return the stove. If I don't have anything else by then the regency will go back in.

The regency 3100 is really the only one I can give a really accurate comparison to the princess on though because they were both in the same house on the same chimney
 
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Which model Buck did you not like? How old?
Our family owned an old one for years that my uncle copied and made his own changes to the design. Still, they were both good stoves, great for heat, but not good by today’s standards.

I’ve looked at the build quality of newer Buck stoves as recent as 2019 stoves. As far as being heavily built and quality of build they are as impressive to me as the Drolet stoves I’ve looked at that so many people rave about, same heavy construction as the Osborn stoves I’ve looked at, though maybe not as easy on the eyes, and as heavy made as the Lopi Liberty that I own...at least looking from and comparing the outside of the two stoves even though there are differences. All these brands have 5/16” top plates, some of the heaviest in the industry. Regency may rank with them as well as far as heavy construction and top plate thickness. Love them or hate them, Buck’s name has stood the test of time...at least as long as some of these others, and maybe longer than some. Are they the best? Not by a long shot, neither are they the worst. Speaking strictly from a build perspective. I will say that in the last Bucks EPA numbers were not impressive by any means compared to these other brands, but they’ve had to come around some in order to meet new 2020 regulations. A few models have passed, which puts them as another option for people.
 
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Which model Buck did you not like? How old?
Our family owned an old one for years that my uncle copied and made his own changes to the design. Still, they were both good stoves, great for heat, but not good by today’s standards.

I’ve looked at the build quality of newer Buck stoves as recent as 2019 stoves. As far as being heavily built and quality of build they are as impressive to me as the Drolet stoves I’ve looked at that so many people rave about, same heavy construction as the Osborn stoves I’ve looked at, though maybe not as easy on the eyes, and as heavy made as the Lopi Liberty that I own...at least looking from and comparing the outside of the two stoves even though there are differences. All these brands have 5/16” top plates, some of the heaviest in the industry. Regency may rank with them as well as far as heavy construction and top plate thickness. Love them or hate them, Buck’s name has stood the test of time...at least as long as some of these others, and maybe longer than some. Are they the best? Not by a long shot, neither are they the worst. Speaking strictly from a build perspective. I will say that in the last Bucks EPA numbers were not impressive by any means compared to these other brands, but they’ve had to come around some in order to meet new 2020 regulations. A few models have passed, which puts them as another option for people.
Yeah I never took issue with their build quality at all. And have never heard many complaints about their function. I just don't like the way they designed the internals for their cat stoves. They are not easy to service at all.

As far as looks go I think they are fine. Not good looking but not bad either. Really the only mass market stoves I think look bad are the king and princess. And the ideal steel.
 
The BK and IS...completely agree with regard to looks. Not impressed with the build of BK as much either. Then again, I’ve seen thinner stoves and ken one that is just fine...and throws tremendous heat. So, not sure heavy build is all that important with regard to heat output. Peace of mind, maybe.
Have yet to see any WS stoves in person.