# Yikes, chimney problems: Burn crystals 2 soften creosote?



## sage_morgan (Dec 18, 2005)

Yesterday afternoon when we started a fire, suddenly the room was filling with smoke, coming out of the seams of the woodburner; Very Unusual. So I ran and got my welding gloves, pulled the wood out and threw it into the yard, opened doors and windows and lit candles for the smoke. The man did something at the chimney on the roof.

Using what unseasoned wood we did had, had caused enough creosote to build up that we had either a blockage or enough blockage that we couldn't draw the smoke up our chimney.

Way too exciting, lemme tellya.

So today, before the snow hit, the man got on the roof, removed the cap, and cleaned the 2nd story of the chimney. Then we got into the 2nd floor spare room, and I opened up the one 90-degree elbow of two 90s we have, and we shopvacced out the crap that had fallen from his earlier cleaning. He also scraped the stovepipe down to the damper, knocking that stuff into the woodburner. 

Some of that buildup was 1/2-inch thick, both on the chimney cap and inside the elbows, when we took that apart. Reminded me of clogged artery graphics. Same effect: Everything stops.

We've heard of some crystals (I think) that you burn with your wood that softens the creosote or perhaps slows build-up. Does anyone know what that stuff is? I can't find it where I thought it was: Lehmans and I'm having a brain fart.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Forget the "miracle cures." What you need to do is burn seasoned firewood in a hot fire. Most creosote is formed by using unseasoned wood and/or by buring "cool" fires in an air-tight (ie, damped down, all-night, slow burns). A good way of keeping creosote to a minimum is by having a daily super, hot fire that lasts an hour or so...people typically do this in the morning after having an all-night, slow burn. The hot fire will burn much of the creosote that was produced the night before. 

Secondly regularly inspect your chimney and sweep when needed.


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## Al. Countryboy (Oct 2, 2004)

Here in Alabama we do not have very many cold days at a time and for the most part we have cold fires. I usally have to clean my chimney out about 4 times a winter depending on the types of wood I am burning. The chimney usaully needs cleaning mostly in the fall and spring when the draft on the wood heater is turned down to keep from heating the house up too much. I use a piece of pipe that I keep on the roof top to try to get as much of this build up out as possible. I have found that it is a little easier to clean out after we have have a number of really cold days and the heater has been allow to get really hot. The heat going up the chimney seems to turn the rather sticky build up into an ash which is alot easier to clean out. I usually get about a half a 5 gallon of this chard crud out each time. Like you, I found out pretty quick that chimeys have to be cleaned out.


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## halfpint (Jan 24, 2005)

I think what you're looking for is this, called kwik shot. I'm not sure if it works, but I saw some at either Lowes or Wal-mart on Friday on clearance for about 80 cents a stick, so you might want to check in your area.
http://www.lehmans.com/shopping/pro...=6851&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=kwik+shot

We burn seasoned wood and try to have a hot fire once a day. When we have it cleaned they usually comment that for the amount of wood we burn, it's not bad. However we live in Alabama and primarily heat with wood, while most Alabamians only have fires occasionally for ambience.
Dawn


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

What Cabin Fever said.

Growing up, we always had stove melting fires... after hunting all day, coming in wet and half froze, we'd start the fire with a big ol chunk of lighter pine, then throw on whatever wood we had (usually unseasoned) It'd finally all catch fire, the stove would turn cherry, and we'd all start to steam out our clothes... We never had problems with chimney fires...


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## tamsam (May 12, 2006)

We also burn some green wood at times but when we have a rainy day we build a really hot fire and burn the chimney out. No danger of a fire as it is 3 ft from the house and is a 6in heavy wall pipe. Also it blows the soot from the coal out as well. Sam


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## greg273 (Aug 5, 2003)

Yep, daily hot fires are the way to go. Get a Chimney thermometer, so you know what the temp of the flue pipe is at a glance.


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