Since I moved into this house, I haven't swept the chimney. After two years of burning Lodgepole and Ponderosa mostly (guessing 14 cords), I bought a chimney sweeping kit on Amazon and did the job. Like some of you, I'm pretty careful when it comes to dust. Removed the baffles and ceramic boards from the stove. Then cut cardboard slightly larger than the opening. Sealed it with sticky painters tape, this brand is highly tacky (DUCK brand I believe). Cut a hole with a Forstner bit and plugged in my Festool HEPA vacuum (perks of the woodworking business). Put on my dust respirator, turned on the vacuum to create a draft and climbed the roof. This Vogelzang Ponderosa stove is in a barndominium and has a 25 foot length of pipe I'm cleaning. Cleaned from the top down. About 2 gallons of chimney dust/creosote collected and vacuumed. Next up, new door seal on the stove and new chimney cap. Our wind and frequent hail has taken a toll on the current one.
First, I will apologize for being a "numbers" person and for any math errors in my calculation, BUT... Your numbers indicate your average soot level is 0.08 inches at cleaning while the maximum recommended thickness is 0.12" (1/8"). 0.08" is an even spread across the entire chimney but my soot is thicker in the cooler spots and so you are most likely over specification on soot in spots. "Glaze" is easier to ignite but even black soot can cause a chimney fire. The numbers for better or worse: 2 gallons is 462 cubic inches 462/25'/12"/6" diameter (guess)/3.14 (pi) = 0.082"
No snow right now. Snow disappears quick out here on the roofs, usually within a day or two. Next week, due for more snow.
Fascinating data! I had never thought about it in those terms. I can definitely say it looked like an 1/8" thickness towards the top. Now that I have the tools, I'll take precaution and chimney sweep each year. For those that think Pine is terrible, I think these results show it isn't anything crazy. The 2 gallons was an estimate (not factual data). Thank you for taking the time to calculate
I burnt Ponderosa Pine quite exclusively when living in Eastern Wyoming and never had any trouble or excessive buildup. They key with any type of wood is that it be dry.
Could you explain more? I'm unfamiliar with flyash. I burn to heat my home all winter. Last year was 100% my wood. The first year I got 6 cords from a supplier in town and don't think it was dry like it should have been. I have a temp gauge 3 feet up the stove pipe and most times I'm in the 500-600 range. Curious on your advice. Is that too much soot?
Nothing wrong with knowing the numbers iowahiker … people lie numbers don’t!! never thought of it like that.. After achieving the 3 year plan I am at cups.. quart on high side
Sorry Zack, I'm no expert, but have burned a long time, other's here have excellent advice like Ronaldo and Mag Craft might chime in, and see iowahiker's take on numbers. Flyash is light fluffy ash, mine is white and black, light grey. The darker flakes/chunks in your picture could be from wood that is not seasoned enough or all low slow burns. I can't say on the volume but I'd make changes if that was my sweep.
Personally we let the smaller logs dry a year or 2 or more, the bigger ones dry bucked the same. By the time he splits it, they're so dry they almost crack apart, the sound is unmistakable.
The majority of this soot could be from the first year burning or previous owner. The wood for this winter is is 6-10% moisture content from wood I've checked. What I didn't know about the 6 cords I was buying locally is that the logs were cut two years prior but they sat on the ground in a pile since then. My first year, I was bringing it in and burning it, I was uneducated. My other question would be, with a 25 foot length of pipe, is there more build up compared to the same stove with a 15 foot stove pipe?
I found the first year with a new EPA tube stove I had quite a bit of soot from trying to burn too low/slow. Now the only place I get a little buildup is the second section of stove pipe out of the stove which is horizontal just before the chimney. That horizontal pipe is really the only section I have to clean out once a year. The chimney itself only gets this very thin layer of grey 'dust' which barely accumulates anything if/when I run a brush down it. I'm also burning a lot more eastern white pine. This time of year that I only need a short burn to take the chill out pine burning characteristics is a bonus. It's a lot of fire starting but the chimney stays "clean".
Sure...the taller it is the cooler the gas temps at the top (so soot/creosote tends to build up there) more reason the make sure the wood is good n dry, and clean chimney every year. Looks like you have things trending in the right direction to me...I would bet with the wood you have now, and cleaning every year, you'll be good next time.
Looks like it was time. I bought my own brush too. Once a year and dry wood with good burning techniques should keep you in the safe zone.
