So all I have is an indoor fireplace and not a wood burner. I only burn wood that I've split and season so I know exactly how old and what kind of wood it is, mostly being seasoned about two years and I burn about 2-3 cords a season. I try to get the bark off whenever possible. The only softwood I burn is silver maple and the occasional popple, mostly burning white and red oak, ash, birch and ironwood. Not being a wood snob, just lucky enough to have this type of wood available. I clean my chimney once a year after the burning season is over, usually from the end of October to the 1st or 2nd week in May here in Minnesota. When I sweep my chimney, I get about an inch or two of debris in a five gallon bucket. How do the rest of you fair with creosote and do you clean your chimney's more or is this about right for you?
After burning 3-4cord during the heating season, I'd say there's no more than 2 cups of black dust. Any intention of getting an insert? And.....Welcome to the club!
I do are chimney right before heating season starts. Usually end up with about a half a coffee can of fly ash. 30 year old VC resolute acclaim. Will be getting a new stove for next year hoping to cut wood use by about half.
Thank you, very glad to be here. So you think that that is quite of bit of dust for the amount of wood I burn? I may have overstated the amount. Might be closer to an inch than to two. I do know [obviously] that I lose A LOT of heat up the chimney. My main floor of the house is only about 1,200 sq. feet and I can keep the house at 70-72 with the fire and blower on it going when the temp hover's around zero [basement is a different story but the kids live down there and I'm trying to toughen them up like their old man!]
3 to 3.5 cords with my Woodstock fireview. Stove pipe is 25 feet. I use a soot eater and it cleans much better than a traditional chimney brush i used previously.
I don't have any real experience with fireplaces. So I can't offer an opinion on amount of buildup. Sorry. But yeah, lots of heat heading outdoors. You have a blower? Does that imply an insert of some type?
I clean my chimney every year at the end of September before burning season starts. Last year I ended up with about a good handful of creosote. That was after burning about 3.5 cords last winter. I’ve got a modern EPA stove with secondary burn tubes which helps to burn off anything that didn’t combust during the primary burn. My guess is you’re not doing too bad with what you’re finding running an open fireplace. Keep the chimney clean and you shouldn’t run into trouble. Like MikeInMa mentioned, an insert would make a world of difference for you as far as wood consumption, heat output, and creosote build up goes. At the same time, if you like your fireplace there’s nothing wrong with that either. Member LordOfTheFlies runs an open fireplace, has a nice grate setup he swears by, and even rigged up a convection fan to the front to help push the heat outwards into the room better.
Hallo and welcome here too! Pics of wood piles, saws, tools, pets, wood burning units: yup always good to see. I wonder of creosote volume is rather hard to pin: length of flue, diameter, moisture content of the wood, volume of wood, temperature for the winter (affects the chimney, and amount of wood burned), type of stove/heating appliance....I reckon the amount pulled out each year would tell you more. I've cleaned mine out once, after our first heating season last summer. I think I'll clean it every spring after burning is done.....that way I have the summer to affect repairs, paint stove, reseal doors and air leaks. Finding an issue in the fall isnt on my list of things to do. Sca
I have a Heat-N-Glo Em42 woodburning fireplace. It does have heat tubes in it with a fan, glass doors. It was added to my living room so that does not make it an “insert” because it wasn’t added to an existing fireplace, correct? Don’t know the efficiency of it. Probably not very. Better than watching a gas fireplace for me though!
As I understand it, an insert is a woodstove-like appliance that fits in a fireplace. At least you have something a step up from the open fireplace
I do swear by it! Heh heh. After 3 years of telling me he was going to order it my neighbor finally did and he loves it too. He got his in-laws to get the same setup as well and they are really enjoying the fireback + grate. It's 29F outside currently but look at the inside!!! About to order an evaporative humidifier. The ones I have are utter trash and as you can see unable to keep up with the fireplace!
And when I spoke to my new chimney sweep at the end of last season, I told him over the phone I had over 40 cords stacked. Judging by the tone in his voice I think he thought I was full of manure. When he arrived he was stunned I was telling the truth....but the real stunnage came when he cleaned the chimney and literally found a few crumbs of creosote. There was a nice ash can full of soot but he couldn't believe that I burned over 16 cord (8+ of my stacks) and had that little creosote buildup. I told him I make sure I spot check my wood before I bring it indoors just to make sure it's well under 20%. Burn dry wood = very little creosote.
Here she is all a-glowin’. 7 degrees out, nice fire night. I know, I know, it’s a cat. But my hunting days are over and the wife got tired of sweeping up black lab hair so dogs are out. We all have our crosses to bear.
Screwed up. Show photos of your fires and temps. Forget about Ukraine and the stock market for the night. Let’s all be Pa Ingalls. You saw my fire. Here’s the weather report.
Sweet. Indeed burning dry wood is the big key to keeping creosote at bay. You might do even better by giving that oak another year or even more does no harm so long as you keep the woodpiles top covered. (4) Primer on Woodburning by Backwoods Savage | Firewood Hoarders Club
You are right Backwoods. I think some of the red oak I scavenged has almost 3 years on it now. I couldn't store it in the greatest of place but now I have all my racks in direct sun and the wind. It was a live oak when it went down. Crazy how long some wood takes to truly season.
