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Creosote in a stovepipe
I have a outside wood furnace the kind that sets in the yard away from the house. It has not been working properly. It would not get hot and when I opened the door the smoke would pour out in my face. I knew what was wrong so yesterday I took the stovepipe off the top and wow. It was almost completely pluged with creosote.
The wood was dried for two years in a shed it was a good hardwood. The problem was I used it when it was too warm and the burning was too incomplete because of the air shut down too much. This stovepipe was new in October. Anyway I thought I would put it on here so firefighters who may have never seen creosote can see it. It is sticky like tar and even looks like it. If you get it on your hands it will not wash off, Your hands will stay stained. (Alot worse that paint) This is the unburnt stuff not ash that you sometimes see.
I hope this helps someone gain some knowledge . Oh this is 6 inch stovepipe by the way and its a full two feet in the pipe. It weights around 20 or 30 pounds.
If you know of anyway to preserve this I would like to keep it as a training prop for new firefighters. Ideas would be welcome by me.
Will it dry out?
Do you think i could cut it down into slices with a sawzall without destroying it?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by george greene on
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all you have to do is clean it. we clean ours before we need it and check it every 30 days while we use it. ( might be a little excessive but the wife wants it that way soooo ) we got lucky and found the cleaning brush and a bunch of the rods at a garage sale for 6 bucks.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Paschal on
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You need a pet squirl to run through there every now and again to keep it cleaned out.
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Permalink Reply by Greenman on
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John,
Thank for posting. Not all creosote is sticky, in fact it is usually dry and crumbly feeling. The creosote you have in that connector pipe is new and has not really pyrolyzed yet. As creosote is exposed to the heat of the fire it drys and crystallizes and may even glaze over, but usually doesn't fell sticky; the stickiness you feel is actually tar which is smoke solids mixed with water which condensed from the smoke. Even 2-year old seasoned wood will have anywhere from 5-25% moisture content which is why it is important for people to have their chimneys swept annually.
It is important we get that message out there: Have your chimney inspected and swept by a certified Chimney Sweep Annually. You would be amazed at how many chimney have breeches and voids which would allowed smoke and fire into the house in the event of a chimney fire. Also is people have a fireplace insert, it is important that it be connected to the flue, or better yet have a new liner all the way to the top of the flue, to prevent creosote form building up on top of the insert and in the smoke chamber and creating a very hot , dense fire in those areas.
If you have any questions about chimneys or fireplaces please drop me a message!
Greenman
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Tim,
The tar-like stage is actually the first stage, when it still has the most moisture in it from the condensation in the pipe. As it drys it becomes crumbly and/or flaky, then it will often glaze-over. the glazed creosote is the most ready to burn and the hardest form of creosote.
when creosote is exposed to high temperatures just prior to it's ignition point it "puffs up" like Rice Crispies and has many air pockets.
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Permalink Reply by John Dobson on
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I thought it might be easier to show and to share with other fire depts.
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Good idea.
A good band saw with a metal blade would work well to cut it lengthwise or a reciprocating saw with a metal blade for a cross section.
Once you get it done, post a pic on here, would like to see how it turned out. Maybe post it on a board as a permanent type display, similar to a knot board?
I like the Plexiglas idea to seal it. The creosote should stay a bit like it is for a long time, but will eventually dry out.
Greenman
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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on
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Could you cut 2 pcs of plexi and insert it in both ends to seal it...?
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Once you insert them, seal the edges with clear 100% silicon caulking.
Greenman
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I'm sure they don't mind, as long as the "English" are the ones using the modern fire engines to save their homes.
Greenman
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Greenman,
I was burning mulberry I am sure you know how pitchy that stuff is, Do you think that helped cause it? I like mulberry it seems to be a close cousin to hedge. I don't go out of my way to cut it because it is so brushy. I prefer Ash, Hackberry, yellow and black locust, hickory and Black cherry. I love the smell of the last twos smoke. But sometimes I have to take whats in the way first. I try not to cut standing trees unless it's cherry in a cow pasture. ( It will kill a calf or cow if the wind blows a branch out in a storm and they eat the leaves which happens about once a year at least).
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