Say you burned nothing but pine......would getting the chimney swept once a year be enough? (Right before burning season started.)
This is for a wood stove by the way. (And a brick chimney) Also, this is for a 4 month burning season.
Sorry if this has been addressed before.
I'd sweep it a couple times during the season if it's only 4 months, but I personally sweep mine once a month when steady burning even though there is not much in the flu. 40 feet. I only burn well seasoned wood, nothing green. Then in spring I go March or April-May before a final sweep. Depends on how cold the spring is. I haven't burnt enough wood for a few days to even bring the humidity down below 50%, so I cleaned/packed up the humidifier today until next winter. I burn my fires hot, not closed down so all I get is powder soot. I inspect every fall for dead birds or honey bees. Yes!!, them dang honey bees like flues. :D
It's a myth that burning Pine causes creosote buildup. What causes creosote buildup is burning wood that is not properly seasoned, or choking down the air supply which causes a cold smoldery fire. People tend to see this more with Pine because seasoned pine burns fast and hot, so they choke down the air supply trying to make it last as long as the prime hardwood firewoods do.
Your particular stove/flue set-up, whether you burn appropriately dry wood, and how you operate your stove has far more bearing on how often you need to clean yur chimney than whether you burn Pine or not.
Clean your chimney after a month of burning and see how much soot and ash you get. That will tell you a lot about how much buildup you're getting in the chimney. Then you can decide on how often you need to clean your chimney.
I use to clean my parents once a month. A very easy job. Than I got busy doing something and got behind and I did not get to it for 2 months. That was a job!!! :o Never missed the 30 days cleaning after that.
Quote from: John Mc on April 10, 2021, 07:53:03 PM
It's a myth that burning Pine causes creosote buildup.
I've always wondered about that. I've never burned pine in a wood stove but when I used to make maple syrup I only burned white pine in the evaporator. I never had any buildup in the stove pipe. Of course it was always a hot fire.
I burn mostly softwood and aspen, never any troubles, no creosote at all. Never cold either. ;D
Definitely pay attention to the amount of soot you produce. For years I burnt cedar (hot and quick). Next to nothing in the chimney. Switched over to more hardwood and changed into air- tight shop stove and whoa - every two months is not enough in parts of the season. I have taken a five gallon pail of soot from the chimney. I had a chimney fire that scared me straight. When it is choked down at night the creosote production is high. I need to convert to a clean out at the base to simplify the task. It is 1/month just to be safe for me.
jmur1
Thanks for the replies everyone. We always burn stuff that is well seasoned. (I.e. it's been dead for at least a year and under a shelter for months.) So perhaps that helps.
I've been doing mine once a year, and the amount that comes out of it is almost nothing, a couple handfuls of soot. Burn mostly birch.
+ 1 on all the burn hot, dry wood, species doesn't matter comments! In my experience hardwoods can be as bad or worse than pine/softwoods. I burn my stove wide open with dry wood (it's an airtight model) and I went several years between cleanings. When I did - 1/2 qt of soot!
Quote from: rasawing on April 10, 2021, 02:25:21 PM
Say you burned nothing but pine......would getting the chimney swept once a year be enough? (Right before burning season started.)
This is for a wood stove by the way. (And a brick chimney) Also, this is for a 4 month burning season.
Sorry if this has been addressed before.
I just swept my chimney after burning 5 cords of pine this winter,had about a coffee can of creosote,