# Creosote build up in pellet stove



## Jake86 (Feb 3, 2017)

For the first  time I have a creosote build up in the interior of my Castle Serenity Pellet Stove. Have to scrape the glass with a razor blade to get the build up off.  Stove glass was a solid black. Stove interior is black instead of  the usual brown easy to remove ash. Is it my pellets or a stove adjustment?  Could it be burning to long in stand by more (number 1) overnight? Anyone out there have any ideas?
Thanks


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## pageyjim (Feb 3, 2017)

May be too rich of a burn and needs more air. Is stove and flue clean? Check seals with a dollar bill test. Close the door or lid etc on a dollar bill and if it seals correctly it will take some effort to pull the bill out.
I think a lot of people think their stove is clean but may have considerable amount of ash collecting in and around the draft motor and or flue.


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## fmsm (Feb 3, 2017)

Jake86 said:


> For the first  time I have a creosote build up in the interior of my Castle Serenity Pellet Stove. Have to scrape the glass with a razor blade to get the build up off.  Stove glass was a solid black. Stove interior is black instead of  the usual brown easy to remove ash. Is it my pellets or a stove adjustment?  Could it be burning to long in stand by more (number 1) overnight? Anyone out there have any ideas?
> Thanks


What are using for pellets? Let me guess, Green Supreme or New England Wood Pellets?


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## Jake86 (Feb 3, 2017)

fmsm said:


> What are using for pellets? Let me guess, Green Supreme or New England Wood Pellets?


Using Fireside ultra. Burned 2 tons since October with no problems.  Picked up another dozen bags @ home depot last week. Using these. Maybe a bad run? Seem to crumble more than the other ones I burned through.


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## Jake86 (Feb 3, 2017)

pageyjim said:


> May be too rich of a burn and needs more air. Is stove and flue clean? Check seals with a dollar bill test. Close the door or lid etc on a dollar bill and if it seals correctly it will take some effort to pull the bill out.
> I think a lot of people think their stove is clean but may have considerable amount of ash collecting in and around the draft motor and or flue.


Thinking I may not have closed the stove door tight enough.
Thanks


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## Jake86 (Feb 4, 2017)

Jake86 said:


> Using Fireside ultra. Burned 2 tons since October with no problems.  Picked up another dozen bags @ home depot last week. Using these. Maybe a bad run? Seem to crumble more than the other ones I burned through.



Turns out it was a bad run of pellets: FIRESIDE ULTRAS .  Picked up a dozen bags at Home Depot a couple of weeks ago. Turns out most of them are NG. They appear fine, but burn with ton of creosote. Also noticed smoke from the outside chimney that I never saw before.  Kind of concerned about my piping now. Looking at another cleaning, I guess.
Had really good luck with FUs up until now.  Two tons worth anyways this season.  Time to switch pellets. I'll try burning the suspect ones on high to see if I can stop the creosote or if not, just dump them.


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## stmar (Feb 4, 2017)

Clean your pipe sooner than later. We had a long cold winter and burned more than usual so I thought I should run the brush through but the weather was cappy so I out it off = chimney fire. This has happened to me only twice in 30 years of burning pellets and it always happens in the dark with wind and usually snow, lol. Luckily we have very sesitive smoke detectors and they let us know before disaster strikes.


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## DDJR (Feb 4, 2017)

Same here! Fireside ultras, western ma


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## Jake86 (Feb 5, 2017)

stmar said:


> Clean your pipe sooner than later. We had a long cold winter and burned more than usual so I thought I should run the brush through but the weather was cappy so I out it off = chimney fire. This has happened to me only twice in 30 years of burning pellets and it always happens in the dark with wind and usually snow, lol. Luckily we have very sesitive smoke detectors and they let us know before disaster strikes.



So you had chimney fires while using a pellet stove?  Smoke filled the house? Just wondering, what exactly happens during a steel lined chimney catches fire?  Did burn itself out?  Did you call the fire department?  Any sparks flame near the roof? Noise? Lasting damage? Piping had to be replaced? What would have happened if the smoke detectors didn't work?


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## Tails1 (Feb 5, 2017)

Jake86 said:


> So you had chimney fires while using a pellet stove?  Smoke filled the house? Just wondering, what exactly happens during a steel lined chimney catches fire?  Did burn itself out?  Did you call the fire department?  Any sparks flame near the roof? Noise? Lasting damage? Piping had to be replaced? What would have happened if the smoke detectors didn't work?



^^^THIS x2


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## stmar (Feb 5, 2017)

Smoke detector went off, very hot pipe 7' - 8' up, sparks coming out of chimney. Did not call fire dept. Put snow and ice down chimney then ran brush down then up from inside. I think we caught it early both times ( they were at least 10 years apart so no ongoing problem). Pellet stove pipe goes all the way to cap through a triple wall wood stove pipe that was existing and from what we can see there was no damage. What would happen without smoke detectors, your guess is as good as mine. Hopefully the stove would shut down and the fire would burn out, our setup minimizes combustible materials in proximity of stove and pipe. Sparks from chimney? Metal roof and everything was snow and ice covered but if it had been dry it would gave been a longer night. Metal roofs are fun below zero and icy, lol.


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## stmar (Feb 5, 2017)

No smoke in the house, detector went off from the heat given off from the pipe.


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## TStark (Feb 6, 2017)

I've had a chimney fire as well

Pipe get s quite hot, rumble, smells.  Could have been worse,  and not sure what it looked like outside, likely quite concerning. The seal of the stove/vent interface was compromised by the heat.


Learned that if anytime in your stoves feed/pause cycle, if the flame is absent and reduced to embers, there is unburned smoke, that WILL condense on (relatively)  cooler downstream surfaces, and  it is an eventuality,  it will light up, if not next week, next month, or season.

Suggest disassembly, of the pipes, and combustion fan, and if you see gummy deposits, then you intercepted an event.

I replaced my affected segments of PV, and corrected the airflow issue with the stove that had creeped in over the decades.

You can often just wash out the gummy residue and save the pipe. then correct the firing of the stove to ALWAYS have flame.

Dry, light brown/tan ash is best to see. When it blackens and is gummy, its just waiting to pop.


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## stmar (Feb 6, 2017)

Probably a good idea to take the pipe apart and inspect this summer. I thoroughly clean combustion fan every year, along with the other components. My brush has never come back with gum or black, just brown/tan. I did notice a lot of sawdust in this batch of pellets, Heartland, which is the local brand that I have used for years. More than normal burning and the sawdust may have combined to cause the issue. I usually run the brush down the pipe a few times a winter when the weather permits.


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## Dobish (Feb 26, 2018)

my neighbors just had a chimney fire in their pellet stove. It was scary!  I haven't gotten all of the details on it yet though...


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## stmar (Feb 26, 2018)

I make a point to run the brush through the pipe a few times a season, when we get a break in the weather. This seems to help and it makes me feel better.


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