Wood Burners - Chimney Sweeping - just did my pellet stove chimney

[Troublesbrewin]

Do yourselves a favor and run a brush down your chimney before the really cold weather hits. It’s a good general maintenance item in preparation for the winter.

This weekend is great for these quickie projects that just might save you big problems. My pellet stove is relatively new only a few years, but the build up can be significant specially if you burn softer woods.

 

[XCheckR]

I was Uber paranoid with my old pellet stove. The run wasn't long, out the back, thru the wall and out a foot or two. I cleaned mine 3-4 times a year. I had a dryer vent cleaner with add on lengths.

 

[SKIP]

Back in 1984 I purchased a brush with extensions and paid it for itself on the first use. After 38 years of use and a recent scare I will leave this task to younger person.

 

[Troublesbrewin]

My stove is not my primary heat but I use it daily once the chill sets in. I generally don’t run it when I’m not home so it’s likely on maybe 6 - 16 hours cycling on/off any given day. With the blower the chimney is a short run so not a lot of build up, but there are a lot of people who forget about the long term build up of soot. Most of the people I’ve met on this forum aren’t the type to neglect their cars, systems, and many are downright anal about maintenance - that’s why I like the general population here.

 

[normbal]

Do yourselves a favor and run a brush down your chimney before the really cold weather hits. It’s a good general maintenance item in preparation for the winter.

This weekend is great for these quickie projects that just might save you big problems. My pellet stove is relatively new only a few years, but the build up can be significant specially if you burn soft woods.

after having a firebox and stainless chimney liner installed lo these 23 years ago, I paid ONCE to have the chimney brushed/swept. Paid $129. That was in Y2K. They recommended twice a year. Uh-huh.

Asked my neighbor how much he was paying- $90. Yep (tell me you didn’t see this coming) same company I used - or used me.

I went to the big box store for a bag of threaded fiberglass rods and a 6” brush and do it myself after every cord of hardwood.

Figure it’s a risk up on the ladders and roof twice a year, but who wants to live forever?

($129x2) x 23 more than paid for the Ortofon Cadenza Black cartridge and Musical Surroundings Nova 3 soundstage and power supply this year.

I all works out.

 

[Archeryrob]

I did the same and installed a triple lined stainless chimney for a wood stove and clean it myself. Got the 6" brush from tractor supply and the fiberglass rods. I built a sided box around it to make it look part of the house and it goes through the side deck. I can clean mine from a 24' extension not open on the deck or use an 8' ladder to get on the roof and standing on the roof. The extension give me more height and is easier on my shoulders.

I pop the clean out in January to keep that from building up and clean the chimney once a year. Not much collects in the upper chimney. I use an inside damper and more can collect in the stove pipe than the chimney. Some times on a warm day in January I pop that and give just that a light cleaning in the front yard.

Using a professional or yourself, you need to be sure of doing it every year. Most chimney fires are from occasional users that have fire places and don't think they use them enough to bother cleaning and light a dirty chimney on fire that is never cleaned.

 

[Jimgoespewpew]

Don't you guys know about the leaf blower trick?

 

[lazarus]

I was Uber paranoid with my old pellet stove. The run wasn't long, out the back, thru the wall and out a foot or two. I cleaned mine 3-4 times a year. I had a dryer vent cleaner with add on lengths.

That is overkill. My last house I had a pellet stove. I swept it one time, shortly before we sold it. Zero creosote and only a small amount of ash after 7.5 tons of pellets through it over 7 years. You have to be burning a pretty softwood mix of pellets to generate much of any creosote with a pellet stove.

Now my wood boiler builds up a lot. It doesn't help that I do burn some cypress, though not a lot. I got laptop sized chunk of creosote out of that chimney at the first bend. I've been waiting to fire it up as I am dropping a liner in to reduce build up and make it more efficient. Because of the thermostatic damper, it tends to run at a low burn most of the time (out of 16-18hrs of operation a day, it is probably running with the damper at medium or fairly open all of 1, 1.5hrs a day depending on how cold it is). So having a more constricted pipe the hole way will help with that significantly, as well as allow the chimney pipe to stay hotter. And lastly SS corrugated metal has the perk that as it expands and contracts, it helps break off creosote from the walls of the chimney. It doesn't mean I won't have to clean it, but it should keep build up down a lot.

It should be a lot better than dumping from the 7" flue, in to the 9x13 terracotta chimney pipe. It isn't too bad when the boiler is roaring at 100+k BTU when it is first starting up with a really hot fire. Another thing when it has been idling along for an hour or two and maybe putting out 5-8k BTU.

 

[lazarus]

I did the same and installed a triple lined stainless chimney for a wood stove and clean it myself. Got the 6" brush from tractor supply and the fiberglass rods. I built a sided box around it to make it look part of the house and it goes through the side deck. I can clean mine from a 24' extension not open on the deck or use an 8' ladder to get on the roof and standing on the roof. The extension give me more height and is easier on my shoulders.

I pop the clean out in January to keep that from building up and clean the chimney once a year. Not much collects in the upper chimney. I use an inside damper and more can collect in the stove pipe than the chimney. Some times on a warm day in January I pop that and give just that a light cleaning in the front yard.

Using a professional or yourself, you need to be sure of doing it every year. Most chimney fires are from occasional users that have fire places and don't think they use them enough to bother cleaning and light a dirty chimney on fire that is never cleaned.

I actually had fun getting the last of the creosote out of my chimney in preparation for my liner. My wife and I went to town with breaker bars to chip it off (some of it is build up from me, some from the former owner. But 90% of it is at the start of the terracotta pipe, not higher up. Which is why the former owner claimed he never ran a brush because he never saw build up...)

And yeah, I ran a brush. Pretty aggressively. I just never really attacked the buildup and chiseled it off right at the bottom of the flue. Anyway, after we got the large pieces out (the chimney was maybe only 10-15% constricted at most, but that still means some ~1" thick, 8-12" wide pieces 6-15" long came off) I took my propane weed torch to it and melted/burned off all the rest of the creosote for the first about 4 feet of chimney pipe (well, the 3' in it runs before it takes a 90 degree turn, and probably managed to burn off 1-2' above that).

A lot of fun actually.

 

[govwontletmebuycoolguns]

I burn 2-3 cords a year, and in all the years of cleaning the chimney have never had any buildup over maybe 1/8", which easily flaked off and fell down into the fire box to be scooped and vacuumed out. Couple cups total.

I clean only once or twice a year. Pipe is a straight shot through the roof, no bends. Normally take the upper double-wall section apart down to the storm collar so I can see down to the fire box with a flashlight.

If you are getting a real heavy buildup then something is not right with your setup/operating procedure, or you're burning a ton of green wood. If you have a cat, make sure you check it's condition yearly. I replace mine every 3 years regardless (~$120), as soaking/cleaning them tends to remove the catalyst from the honeycomb regardless of how careful you are or what method you employ.

 

[lazarus]

I burn 2-3 cords a year, and in all the years of cleaning the chimney have never had any buildup over maybe 1/8", which easily flaked off and fell down into the fire box to be scooped and vacuumed out. Couple cups total.

I clean only once or twice a year. Pipe is a straight shot through the roof, no bends. Normally take the upper double-wall section apart down to the storm collar so I can see down to the fire box with a flashlight.

If you are getting a real heavy buildup then something is not right with your setup/operating procedure, or you're burning a ton of green wood. If you have a cat, make sure you check it's condition yearly. I replace mine every 3 years regardless (~$120), as soaking/cleaning them tends to remove the catalyst from the honeycomb regardless of how careful you are or what method you employ.

No cat. See where I mentioned that the bad build up there is likely because of the former owner, and then me never breaking it off. The boiler was installed in the mid 90s...

Running a brush was never going to get that can of build up off.

 

[jollymon]

I clean my chimney at the start of the wood burning season and if it's a very cold winter were I'm burning up a lot of wood I'll do it about 3/4's thru the season , I have 2 chimney's one at each end of the house , One fireplace living room /Den gets the most use the other is in our bedroom and gets fired up for those really cold nights ,

 

[Archeryrob]

Lazarus, sounds like your place was ripe for a chimney fire before you bought it. All the stuff in the chimney is water soluble. I know that from cleaning my chimney cap. That stainless is awful to start. Soak it in the tub 4 hours and it about falls off with slight scrubbing action.

I don't think I would have went at terracotta pipe with anything steel. You can wing a stick at terracotta and smash if unsupported. You're probably lucky what you were scraping had solid mortar behind it. That clay pipe breaks very easily.

 

[slsc98]

… After 38 years of use and a recent scare I will leave this task to younger person.

Uh, heck yeah, sounds like you earned that!

 

[lazarus]

Lazarus, sounds like your place was ripe for a chimney fire before you bought it. All the stuff in the chimney is water soluble. I know that from cleaning my chimney cap. That stainless is awful to start. Soak it in the tub 4 hours and it about falls off with slight scrubbing action.

I don't think I would have went at terracotta pipe with anything steel. You can wing a stick at terracotta and smash if unsupported. You're probably lucky what you were scraping had solid mortar behind it. That clay pipe breaks very easily.

No whacking. Scrapping and light chiseling. I’ve worked with terracotta including flue pipes a lot before.