Cresote & Stove

Conversations 3

Hi,

Stove and flu liner only installed a while and cresote is already building up.

Will try copper sulphate on next few fire's but is there any other solutions?

Will get it swept early next year or should I get it done before Christmas to be safe?

What's rough cost of a sweep?

Calahonda52

what are you burning?

Forest cuttings have a lot of resin which doesn't help, equally wet timber and incomplete combustion

https://priddychimney.com/chimney-creosote/

Conversations 3

I'm burning my own seasoned timber and smokeless stove coal.

I think I need to keep the temperature up in the stove, I'll get a flu thermometer it might help to keep the heat constant

10-10-20

Yes, probable that the wood isn't dry enough or the temperature of the flue isn't high enough, or the stove is being closed off too much. Try burn some kiln-dried wood for a period with more air.

Conversations 3

I have some kiln dried timber, they cut them very small so burn up quick but I'll use them and the thermometer and see how it goes.

I'll also throw in some copper sulphate to burn it up a bit.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121253938#Comment_121253938

Mix the dry stuff in with the seasoned wood while burning too. It can take quite a while for the cresote to burn off if it's up high.

Just bear in mind that if you don't have a cap on the chimney that you may also have some black smelly wash coming down the pipe give then amount of rain recently. That's not too problematic as long as you don't have significant build-ups of sticky creosote in the mid to upper sections of the flue where the smoke vapour is condensing.

kirk.

Is creosote buildup mostly an issue with wood or can you get it with stove coal ecoglow etc

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121445352#Comment_121445352

Kirk, Creosote is the condensate of the volatile vapours off wood which collect in the chimney. Black run off from the chimney of a coal fire is also called creosote, but it's not the same as wood creosote. You can get a buildup of ash, carbon and moisture in a chimney with coal too especially when the coal is burned either in a low-oxygen environment (stove choked off or overloaded) or the coal is damp, or when you have a cold or single-skin chimney.

It's treated the same way as wood creosote and the coal stuff is more pungent.

You might get more creosote off some coal than others as almost all of the coals are now blends, so the coal-tar content does differ.

kirk.

The dangerous creosote buildup , is that mostly an issue with wood ?

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121445569#Comment_121445569

Dangerous in terms of chimney fires? Then it's mainly wood as it tends to be wetter and has more sticky buildup than coal.

Dangerous in terms of health? Then it's probably coal-tar creosote.

Funny you should mention it now, I was just given a 20 year old bottle of original Jeyes Fluid which is coal-tar based, used commonly for winter-washing apple-trees. It's not available now in the same make-up because of its the carcinogenic properties.

kirk.

The first - chimney fire danger

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121445641#Comment_121445641

At the end of the day, any buildup in a chimney is bad. 👍️

The Continental Op

OP can you sweep the chimney yourself? The reason I'm suggesting that is that it will give you a good idea of how much comes down the chimney so you can make a plan for how often it needs doing in the future. Some setup need sweeping more often. If you have a narrow 5inch or less liner than it will need doing more often than a 6inch or larger liner. Bends can also mean you need to sweep more often.

blackbox

If you're getting a build up of creosote, your stove isn't operating properly.

It's not running hot enough. Assuming it's a decent stove, either the wood is not dry enough or you're not giving it enough air. A wood fire needs air from above as opposed to coal which needs air from below. A multi-fuel stove can do either.

Apart from the air pollution, you are wasting fuel. The carbon in that creosote should have been converted to heat.

Conversations 3

Hey,

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I bought a flu thermometer and realized I wasn't burning hot enough, I crank it up now with coal and then top up with wood.

Operating much better and burning off most of the residue that was left previously.

I will get it swept at the end of the season and see how much comes out.

RainInSummer

Burning wood on top of coal can damage your stove and flu liner though.

Even if the wood is super dry it'll still have moisture in it. Mix that with the sulphurous compounds in burning coal and you've got a nice acid mix.

Conversations 3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121460617#Comment_121460617

What's the point in a multi fuel stove then?

People are burning timber and coal for hundreds of years

RainInSummer

It's multi fuel, just not at the same time.

And yep, they sure were, just not via SS flexi liners.