1st Chimney cleaning ...

Could be a lot worse. It's not gooey and doesn't look very thick. Could the stuff on the roof just be where rain water got blown off the cap? From the description I was expecting much worse, like goo running down the outside of your pipe. The cap is going to be the ugliest part because it's the coolest piece of the whole system.

 

Did my first chimney sweep today. I've gone through roughly a cord so far probably. I didn't know what to expect with the new stove and having some wood that may be a bit marginal.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised. The only issue spot was the cap. It had some "shiny" build up but everything else looked to be the light "fluffy" stuff.

Now for the pics....

Chimney before sweeping


Couple pics of the cap


Some stuff that was floating up out of the chimney


A pic of the tee


Here's what fell down to the clean out

 

Lucy I think the build up you are seeing can easily be attributed to a lot of cold starts and a somewhat lazy draft. The good news is that should all go away when it gets cold and you run the stove harder.

Nothing to be afraid of in those pictures...just keep an eye one it and check it again after another month of burning.

 

Marvin and Lucy, it looks like your both burning a smoldering fire. Either burn it hot or don't burn it. Even small fires can be burned hot. The only time my flue has looked like that was when I choked the fire down to smoldering. Just one time can create lots of creosote.

 

just quickly jumping in, do you have a probe or do you know how hot the surface/flue temperature is?

and for more knowledgeable peoples, what would be a good recommended "general" temperature on stove surface and flue temperature?

for me, I'm focusing on the flue temperature and I'm trying to make sure it stay above 500f at 20in above the stove with a Thermocouple k probe, ideally between 550-625f

this is with a non catalytic stove

 

Nothing to worry about here. Keep doing what you are doing.