We have a Wood Stove in our basement which we use all the time, we basically heat the whole house with it. It burns fine but the chimney has to be cleaned monthly or it will get blocked. There is a six inch standard black iron pipe from the stove to the chimney which is six inch triple wall. Do we need a larger Chimney pipe? Any ideas?
I only burn seasoned hardwoods in the wood stove, mostly oak. I would never burn pine, even I know better.
This does sound excessive. There are various probable causes, all noted in previous posts. But here’s a general guide to getting your wood burning system into the best of health:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,20164138,00.html?xid=yahoo-answers&partner=yes
Also, the Chimney Safety Institute has a ton of good information about burning wood, including “100 Reasons Your Fireplace Doesn’t Work.” I know you’re using a woodstove but a lot of the tips involve chimneys and should be applicable to your situation.
I think it might be just because of the buildup of smoke inside of it. You know how if you don’t maintain things, they fall apart? Same thing here. So, I’m guessing you’d have to find a way to clean the inside of the chimney. Hope I helped.
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It does appear excessive to have your chimney cleaned every month. The traditional chimney which is 9" square flue, would need cleaning just twice a year. All stoves as you know have a 6" pipe from the stove to the stack, where the iron pipe ends, the stack which is a wider diameter takes over. Has your stove pipe got at least a 221/2 degree bend to the stack.? Another thought is, maybe you need to burn the stove a bit hotter, sooner. I say this because it’s the initial burning that creates the smoke, which in turn creates the soot and the pitch. The less smoke the less soot. The stove pipe size is standard, so how would you change it.
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Perhaps it would help if you vented the wood stove directly outside. My guess is the smoke is cooling too much as it travels from the basement out through the chimney, thereby leaving deposits. (I’m not an expert, just making an educated guess.) Make sure you are using seasoned hardwood. Green wood or soft woods like pine tend to produce a lot of creosote, which would build up faster on the chimney walls.
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http://chesapeakechimneysweeps.com/tips.htm
It’s pretty unusual to have to clean a chimney that often. Once you have cleaned it really well, I would suggest that you pay attention to if you notice any "strange remnants" in the debris you remove. It’s very possible that a "critter" or bird might be occasionally nesting in there. And leaving behind twigs, trash, or other things that are blocking your chimney. If you do notice "unusual debris", make sure that the exhaust area is covered with some sort of chicken wire or mesh that will allow the smoke to exhaust properly, and prevent animal entry at the same time. It’s also possible that over the years of usage, that the soot remnants have built up to the point that they can be difficult to clear by normal cleaning. Should that be the case, you might want to have a professional chimney sweep bore out the pipe.
Good Luck!
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You didn’t say what type of wood you are burning. If your burning a softwood it will cause buildup. Try burning hardwoods such as oak hickory, maple and cherry all are types of hardwood trees.
Soft such as cedar, fir, hemlock, pine, redwood, spruce and cypress do not burn as clean. These have more creasode, and soot buildup.
I cleaned my flue once a year. You can rent the scrubbers and poles.
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Had a wood stove.
This does sound excessive. There are various probable causes, all noted in previous posts. But here’s a general guide to getting your wood burning system into the best of health:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,20164138,00.html?xid=yahoo-answers&partner=yes
Also, the Chimney Safety Institute has a ton of good information about burning wood, including "100 Reasons Your Fireplace Doesn’t Work." I know you’re using a woodstove but a lot of the tips involve chimneys and should be applicable to your situation.
References :
Chimney Safety Institute
http://www.csia.org/
The typical problem is the wood itself that you are burning has too much moisture in it. It should be seasoned for several months before it is burned. Typical time is to cut in the late summer for use in mid to late winter. The fuel for the fall should be from last years cuttings. Also try to use hardwoods, if you do burn softwoods, they have more oils in them and should be burned much hotter than the hardwoods. Cedar should only be used in small amounts for kindling to start the fire. Any wood stove or furnace will generate deposits in the chimney. If it is hot enough it will burn the deposits out of the chimney before the build up can occur. I went 2-3 years at a time without needing to clean the chimney by using dry wood and a hot fire. Do not use the hot fire if you have a build up in the chimney, it is to keep it clean. This is like the carbon build up on spark plugs that are too rich, Need to lean the build up.
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If you’re burning seasoned hardwood, the only thing that comes to
mind is that you might be ‘packing` the stove and running it
‘throttled down’ too far and thus distilling most of the wood volatiles
into the flue rather than burning them.
Try smaller loads and a more open damper.
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Used a wood stove.
to slow the formation of creosote , you need one hot fire a day …then you can damp it down and let it burn slow the rest of the day…an insulated stack would also help your chimney stay warmer and draw better to slow down the deposits…
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I would suggest calling a very good chimney sweep. If you already have a good one, what does he/she say the problem is? We can all guess, but you need a pros opinion. This is not a safe thing to let go.
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