In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Creosote ?

Discussion in 'The Wood Pile' started by Duvekot, Nov 20, 2017.

  1. Duvekot

    Duvekot

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    AF705EEF-DB48-4A1C-B4D7-5AAAB1A29FA1.jpeg 75633248-2288-4F7D-9CEE-8540259A55AD.jpeg hej hej all,
    Today it is cleaning time again, i try to clean the pipes 4times a year. Now i got a total of 6 pipes in my house and i got 5 wood stoves (one pipe is vetilation) and it is always a nice job to get everything cleaned out again.
    Now i got a question about creosote, is there a way to clean this hard stuff out the easy way? Say for instance i burn my woodstove the night before so the flu is warm, do u get the creosote out more easy? I use a metal scraper with a heavy ball on the end. But i have seen these systems with a brush u can hook up to a drill and go at it from inside the house.
    What are the best brushes to hook up on these systems , metal ( wont it damage the pipe from inside) or just a softer plastic brush?
    Please give me some feedback on the systems u guys think is best.

    Have a nice day all!
     
  2. Backwoods Savage

    Backwoods Savage Moderator

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    The best way to get creosote out it to not put it in! Very dry wood should take care of that problem but sometimes it also can be the fault of the stove. I remember those days of cleaning 4 times every year and don't like it. Now it is a quick brush maybe every other year and then it is mostly fly ash we get.
     
  3. Unhdsm

    Unhdsm

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    Any appropriately sized chimney brush and rods will take care of that. The Sooteater (drill thing) will too. Pretty much anything other that that system you have now :)
     
  4. billb3

    billb3

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    I have a 6" poly brush with rods of appropriate size which works well for my nice straight pipes .

    For offsets a sooteater probably is best.

    I have a square metal brush around here someplace that was used for the previous square masonry chimney. I have a round metal brush for 8" pipe that I don't know the history of.


    +1 with not creating creosote in the first place. Well seasoned wood and don't choke the fire temp down too far. A thermometer with clean burning zones on it goes a long way to a cleaner chimney at the end of the year.
     
  5. Backwoods Savage

    Backwoods Savage Moderator

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    With one exception Bill. You can choke the fire down if you have a cat stove. But it burns cleaner.
     
  6. oldspark

    oldspark

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    Not sure I understand how it could be the stove's fault, keeping the flue temp above 250 degrees should keep creosote to a minimum.
     
  7. wildwest

    wildwest Moderator

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    Note, it was on a masonry chimney not pipe, but we borrowed an attachment that had chains on it instead of bristles that attached to rods and drill. A couple decades ago a man told me to hang a towing chain down our pipe and shake the heck out of it. I didn't understand at the time because I had only seen flyash, but I wonder if something like that only different might work?

    [​IMG]
     
  8. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    I brush my chimney once a month, but I also make my chimneys easy to do so. But I burn green softwood too.
     
  9. Ronaldo

    Ronaldo

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    I like the poly brushes with pipe lengths that screw together. I'm not cleaning but once a year. Did you say you are burning in 5 stoves???

    Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk
     
  10. Duvekot

    Duvekot

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    Hej hej all,

    I live in house with 3 wood stoves, one inthe kitchen (husqvarna), one in my sleeping room (jotul), one in the living room(kaklugn)
    And attached to my house is an old school (my work shop) there also 2 stoves a jotul and also an kaklugn.
    I only burn the kaklugn in the living room witch pretty much warms the whole house, and when i need to cook my kitchen stove is lith, the ones in the old school i only light when i need to be working there.

    Have a nice day all
     
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  11. NH mountain man

    NH mountain man

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    I have a metal 6"round chimney, that I clean once a year with a 6" poly brush. I never get any creosote. Just some powder ash.
     
  12. oldspark

    oldspark

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    That's good because you are running a lot of water through your stove, do you monitor the flue temps also.
    One chimney fire will change the way you do things in a hurry.
     
  13. FatBoy85

    FatBoy85

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    Would that mean the temp is all the way through the stack or just the part that is in the interior of the house? Half the stack in my house is in but its insulated. Different for a non insulated pipe correct?
     
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  14. FatBoy85

    FatBoy85

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    I remember when Duvekot shared his home and hearth set ups that were really interesting to see. Operating them all sounds like a fun chore like a janitor would do when they lived at the school to make sure it stayed warm during functions and throughout the day. get paid to light stoves and keep them running? You betcha!
     
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  15. Unhdsm

    Unhdsm

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    That round tile stove is AWESOME.
     
  16. Ronaldo

    Ronaldo

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    The Husqvarna cook stove is neat as well.....never knew they made anything like that.
     
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  17. Suburban wood snob

    Suburban wood snob

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    6 in round poly brush here, that thing with the chaines on it looks like a great way to wreck a chimney.
     
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  18. LodgedTree

    LodgedTree

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    Years ago my father used to use a chain to knock the soot out, but now we all have brushes and it works better I think.

    I brushed out my stove yesterday and it was pretty bad; far worse then what I expected, but it has also been a month since I swabbed the old girl out. I got about another month of cedar burning then we should be into the cold weather and the coal will start going into the stove, no swabbing the old girl then.
     
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  19. oldspark

    oldspark

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    Thats the standard low temperature (surface) for a flue pipe 18 inches or so above the stove.
    Recommended max length of single wall pipe is 5 or 6 feet.
    Any variance from standard practices will effect the outcome.
     
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  20. oldspark

    oldspark

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    Do you monitor flue temps?
    The whole key to preventing creosote hinges on flue temps.
     
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