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 | Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee 
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2003-12-25 72183
Seems like there are quite a few woodstove users here on the board. How many of you have had a chimmney fire? I clean & imspect my chimmney each season and sometimes twice a season. Every once in awhile I get a fire in the chimmney if I leave the woodstove doors open too long while refueling it. I just shut the doors and turn off the vents and the fire gradually smothers. I try to burn the stove as hot as possible within its limits for temp. to minimize the creosote build up. Any of you have any tips or secrets that keeps the chimmney clean and problems to a minimum?
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 | BillMullens
Join Date: Jun 2000 Posts: 649 Central West Virginia 
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2003-12-25 72186
Merry Christmas, Chief.
We heat exclusively with wood stoves. The only factor I've found that works consistently to minimize creosote is to burn dry wood. Like you, I try to leave the stove opened up as much as possible, but sometimes it doesn't help. This years wood supply came from the ice storm of last year, so most of it is quite dry; I haven't had to clean the chimney yet this year.
Bill ....
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| Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2003-12-25 72188
I dry the wood out around the woodstove for about 2 or 3 days. I bring in about a face cord of wood and let it dry around the woodstove so it is bone dry when I burn it. I had a lot of poplar and junk wood this year so maybe that is contributing to the creosote. In anycase I just smoked out half the county when the chimmney tried to catch. ....
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 | Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3034 Northern AL
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2003-12-25 72191
I periodically would build a hot fire and try and burn out the creosote. In KY and the south I found you need to cut wood at least 2 winters ahead to dry the wood properly. Even when stacked under cover.
I now have a SS outside burner and pellet stove so really don't worry about creosote. ....
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 | loghouse95
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 87 missouri 
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2003-12-25 72196
Chief I heat my shop and house with wood and have done so for 40 years.. Knock on wood but I have never had a chimney fire...I clean both chimneys twice a year, I try and burn a hot fire (around 500-600 degrees at least one a day, I usually cut my winters supply of wood in the fall for the following winter but sometimes do not have the time I then cut in the summer, after the trees are completely leafed out, fall the tress but "DO NOT" trim them, the leaves will draw most of the moisture out. Cover only the top of your stacked wood, not the sides.There is a product out called Creosote remover I do not if it is any good or not... Good luck and Merry Christmas ....
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| Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2003-12-25 72197
I have about burned up most of the poplar and sycamore. I am getting into the rest of which is oak. I dry the wood about 4 or 5 feet away from the woodstove for at least 2 or 3 days. The wood is so dry is full of cracks and immediately starts to burn. You would think that would be dry enough. I have a big house and maybe I am burning more wood than most folks and I need to clean the chimmney more often. ....
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 | harvey
Join Date: Sep 2000 Posts: 1550 Moravia, NY 
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2003-12-25 72207
We mananaged to burn the top floor off the house because of an improperly installed wooden shield around a steel chimney. No Insurance to speak of. Still paying for that. But I still get a tax credit for the loss accountant says for 9 more years.
Family has burned wood all of my life. I now use a barametric damper that opens as the flue heats essentially it keeps the flue gases moving, reduces draw and get a more even burn.
Chimney is still checked/cleaned 1-2 times a season. Most of the time there is no build up because of the damper system.
We burn wood that is seasoned a year and kept under a shed most of the winter. We do burn green wet wood when it is warm out to hold the heat down and still have flue gases moving. ....
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| Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 3034 Northern AL
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2003-12-25 72209
In KY I could bring in nearly a face cord and place in a rack near the furnace. The surface of the wood will dry and crack but the interior moisture is not removed.
The problem with burning unseasoned wood is the energy required to remove the water. There are a number of BTU's required to boil each lb of water. It is nearly impossible to get a hot fire with green wood.
I always cut in the fall or winter after the leaves have left. I have ringed trees I wanted to cut later but found the water still flowed up.
I try to cut and split the wood immediately. Actually I split the wood where it fell and then load in the trailer for the tractor. I like to leave as much of the waste as possible in the woods and get it drying as soon as possible.
There is little heat value in gum sycamore or popular. The few gum I cut here I just threw on the brush pile. There seem to be so much water in them that they had trouble burning even with a pile of pine. ....
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| Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2003-12-25 72212
I have a brick chimmney with a ceramic block liner. I check it each time I clean the chimmney. They can crack or break. ....
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| Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2003-12-25 72214
You definitely have the part right about the little heat value in gum & sycamore. I have to add wood every hour or two. I figured I would try burning it just to get rid of it. I wish the oak, hickory, and ashe would slit as easy as the poplar! ;o) ....
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| kubotaguy
Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 360 Shepherdstown, WV
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2003-12-26 72289
My parents had a woodstove (Timberline) when I was little (they still use wood now. My mom was very cold natured so she kept the stove burning extremely hot!!! She had an old rocking chair setting about 4 feet away from the stove and the varnish started to bubble on the chair. She got it so hot once, that she had the stove pipe cherry red and ended up melting the heat sheild in the stove which started a fire in the chimney and cracked the flu liner. Needless to say, dad had to draw the line on hot fires. Now they just burn it hot for about an hour and you can hear the creosote flaking off and falling into the clean out. They tried the stuff you buy off the TV but it didn't work for nothing. ....
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 | grinder
Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 677 central Maine
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2003-12-31 72755
Chief
Have got to run them hot with dry HARDWOOD.
My house is 4 yrs old, burn 4-5 cords a yr. with an allnighter woodstove. Have never had to clean the stack
just the clean-out. The creosote will drop down when the
chimmney expands from the hot fire.
I buy year old cut and split,(getting lazy)and put it right in the cellar.If you try to make it last buy slowing down the fire you will plug up.
....
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 | Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2003-12-31 72775
I agree with the point about seasoning the wood, it is the MOST critical part of the process.
I burn about 3 full cords a year and have for a long time, I've never (touch wood) had a chimney fire yet. The wood I burn is all hardwood and is a minimum of 1 full year old, usually close to 2 years old. I have the chimney inpected every spring and there is never more than a dusting of creosote in it. Twice a year I burn a 'chimney sweeping log' for good measure, they're cheap insurance. I don't know how widely they are available, but they are a man-made compressed sawdust log impregnated with a chemeical which causes the creosote to dry out flake off and fall down the chimney to be burnt up.
A good check for your firewood is to buy an inexpensive moisture meter from a wood-working supply shop and measure the wood. It should never be more than 10% relative humidity.
Best of luck. ....
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| grinder
Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 677 central Maine
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2004-01-01 72824
Chief
another consideration is the draft,is your chimmney top
above your highest point in your roof?18-36" is a good
rule of thumb.
Is your woodstove on it's own flue?
just some thoughts. ....
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| wallac
Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 70 Pennsylvannia
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2004-01-02 72916
Next time you have a chimmney fire take a road flare and throw it in the fire place and by by chimmney fire! ....
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| getrdun
Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 15 Central Missouri
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2004-01-02 72918
Rock salt thrown in the fire box will also loosen creosote in stove pipe or flue. Don't recomend useing this method in fire place as it pops an flies around quite a bit. This seems to work as perodic maintance. I still climb up on the roof with the old log chain at least once a year. Makes me sleep better Good luck . Getrdun ....
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