# Salt kills creosote?



## Vanskills (Jan 3, 2012)

So my buddy whos been burning forever said a handful of table salt thrown on a hot fire once a week turns creosote into harmless flakes, anyone have experience with this?

Or is it a old wives tale..


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## kjayhawk (Jan 3, 2012)

This question comes up several times each winter. The members here will tell you that salt will likely accomplish nothing but corroding your chimney.

In short, it's a wives' tale!


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## Adabiviak (Jan 3, 2012)

Yeah, I'd avoid that. You're probably not getting temperatures hot enough to actually burn/melt the salt (or you'd have other issues), but very hot salt being drafted through your (metal) chimney will slowly corrode it.

I would like to see this demonstrated, however, the same way they simulate a creosote fire out in a parking lot somewhere with a basic chimney and some godawful fire under it... how bad is the corrosion?


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## spirilis (Jan 3, 2012)

IIRC the active ingredient in those "creosote logs" is Trisodium Phosphate (TSP)?  That has sodium in it, but is clearly NOT salt... could be a source of confusion especially among the folksy kind


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## EJL923 (Jan 3, 2012)

One thing we all know that does work is dry wood.  If you have that, its a moot point.


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## EatenByLimestone (Jan 3, 2012)

Hang on guys, I think there may be something to this...  without a chimney, you can't have a chimney fire....     


Matt


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## LLigetfa (Jan 3, 2012)

Legend has it that salt was used to glaze a new masonry flue and that may be were this myth got its start.  I think it needs temps in excess of 2000 degrees though, so the notion of glazing a SS flue are flawed.  We have a few pottery kiln operators on this forum that could share their wisdom on this.


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## gerry100 (Jan 3, 2012)

May also kill steel.


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## kettensÃ¤ge (Jan 3, 2012)

It does work, we did it as I grew up with an old Fisher grandma bear and a 30' or masonry chimney. The creosote turned to brown flakes and fell to the bottom cleanout.
Never harmed the pipes or flue, firebricks, certainly didn't hurt the stove, as all are still intact to this day (min. 30 yrs old), birds did not fall from the sky due to toxic gas poisoning.

I suggested this in an earlier thread, you can search to find the discussion. Some seemingly valid points against it were made, I just never saw real life evidence of any of them happening.

Nearly everyone on here is against it, but I can only share my experience. It is your decision in the end.



Best thing is to not have creosote build up in the first place.


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## firefighterjake (Jan 3, 2012)

Besides everyone knows the best thing to throw on the fire to remove creosote are old potato peelings . . . or was it beer cans . . . or maybe it was eye of newt . . . darn it . . . I always forget . . . guess I'll just keep burning well seasoned wood and inspect and sweep it when needed.


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## Backwoods Savage (Jan 3, 2012)

EJL923 said:
			
		

> One thing we all know that does work is dry wood.  If you have that, its a moot point.



So much better than salt or any of the old-time remedies. Just don't get creosote and they you won't have to look for these type of things.


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## Ken45 (Jan 3, 2012)

kettensÃ¤ge said:
			
		

> It does work, we did it as I grew up with an old Fisher grandma bear and a 30' or masonry chimney. The creosote turned to brown flakes and fell to the bottom cleanout.



How do you know that it was the salt that _caused_ this to happen and not just a good hot fire?

Ken


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## kettensÃ¤ge (Jan 4, 2012)

Ken45 said:
			
		

> kettensÃ¤ge said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Because, good hot fires were few and far between with 3 month old oak firewood. 
We would put the salt in on a Friday Night on a bed of coals, load for the night about an hour later and Saturday morning we were shoveling creosote out of the outside clean out door. 

I have eye witnessed it. How many opponents here have actually done it?
I do not do this now. My techniques versus the way I had to do things growing up are vastly different. I have rounds stored today that won't see the insert until the 14/15 season.
My chimney is lined and never has more than minor ash buildup. Only thing that is the same is that my insert is non-epa just like the old Grandma bear.





I totally agree with having dry firewood, a correct chimney liner, skills and experience to correctly control a woodburning appliance, and regular chimney inspections and proper cleaning techniques. Using salt or anything else should not be required, but that does not mean it doesn't work or that it should be used as a substitute for the things I listed here.  


The original question was does it work? Yes it does.


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