# Trouble with creosote dripping



## CD'sCycleShop

I just installed a 1978 Wood Chief wood stove in my house, and I am having trouble with creosote dripping from the stove pipe. I have been reading on here that I would have to keep the stack temp. around 250-275 deg. to eliminate the possibility of creosote build up. Well that is fine and dandy if I wanted to turn my house into a bakery oven.  lol. When my stack temp. is 275 deg the top of my stove is 500 deg. I did read something about doing a chimney/stack burn out every couple days, and I interpreted this as getting the fire as hot as possible for 20-30 min and this will burn up any small amounts of creosote buildup. So all being said for my lack of knowledge, am I interpreting the burn out method correctly? or should I do something different?  How hot does creosote have to get to burn? This is a little off subject, what is the fear I keep reading about chimney fires, how does a fire in a chimney burn down the house if the fire is in the chimney???


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## Hogwildz

CD'sCycleShop said:


> I just installed a 1978 Wood Chief wood stove in my house, and I am having trouble with creosote dripping from the stove pipe. I have been reading on here that I would have to keep the stack temp. around 250-275 deg. to eliminate the possibility of creosote build up. Well that is fine and dandy if I wanted to turn my house into a bakery oven.  lol. When my stack temp. is 275 deg the top of my stove is 500 deg. I did read something about doing a chimney/stack burn out every couple days, and I interpreted this as getting the fire as hot as possible for 20-30 min and this will burn up any small amounts of creosote buildup. So all being said for my lack of knowledge, am I interpreting the burn out method correctly? or should I do something different?  How hot does creosote have to get to burn? This is a little off subject, what is the fear I keep reading about chimney fires, how does a fire in a chimney burn down the house if the fire is in the chimney???



Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I will just say it how it is.
That stove....its a boat anchor and will need to be fed a lot of wood, will throw a ton of heat, and will have more chance of causing creosote build up than modern stoves will, if not run properly. Modern stoves will do the same, but burn less wood and have some type of secondary burn &/or catalyst to burn off more gases prior to exiting the stove, and can be run at a more variety of temps to suite the heating needs during the season.
A stack burn is the old timers way of causing a so called controlled chimney fire to burn off accumulated creosote in the stack. Running the stove hot for 20 mins or so, will reduce build up during that time, but when running lower than needed temps, creosote will resume accumulating.
Creosote can light off from too high a stack temp, embers flowing up the stack etc.
Chimney fires don't always burn down the house. They do weaken the stack each time, can burn through an old rotted out stack, or an old chimney that has gaps, cracks, breaks.
Chimney fires can also burn down a house if there is combustible materials around the chimney.
There are many factors that can cause creosote and chimney fires.

Best way to avoid chimney fire is to:
Clean the stack/chimney as needed. Minimal 1x per year, whether it needs it or not. More if needed. Monitoring the stack once or so a month for the first burning season is a good idea to give you an indicator of your burning habits(good or poor), your wood dryness(good or poor), your stoves performance, etc.
Burn truly dry wood.
Burn hot enough to combat cooling of gases in the stack. Meaning No smoldering fires.
Respect the whole process, and the dangers that could happen, if not cautious and aware of and honing your burning habits, the wood your burning and the way you operate the stove.

It is not rocket science, but is much more than throwing some wood in a box, closing the door and getting warm from it.


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## Seasoned Oak

All sound advice HW
Welcome to the world of Safer wood heat CD.Long story short CDcycle. A series of controlled chimney fires is not a sustainable home heating plan. Aside from upgrading the stove about the only way to run most old stoves safely is short hot fires. Its the hours of smoldering that could be hazardous to your home and life. Even dry wood will creosote(although not as much) when choked down and smoldered overnight.That dripping creosote can run down the outside of the pipe until it gets to a hot section and light off right there in your living space. I dont think id sleep to well with that setup. Regards


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## gzecc

Unfortunately I don't know about your stove, but I can tell you about your wood. What kind is it and how long has it been split and stacked?


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## Nick Mystic

You mention in our OP that you have creosote dripping from the stove pipe. Where are you seeing this creosote residue? If your stove pipe and flue are correctly installed any liquid creosote should be dripping into your stove where it will eventually be burnt up. Of course if it drips onto your insulating blanket on top of the baffle that could be a problem in that it ruins the insulation and/or starts a fire on top of the baffle. If you are seeing the liquid creosote on the outside of a joint where two pieces of pipe come together then your pipe has probably been incorrectly installed with the male end of the your pipes facing up instead of down. Some photos will help us offer better, more accurate information. Welcome to the forum.


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## Hogwildz

Good point Nick. Does sound like the pipe is run the wrong direction.


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## Seasoned Oak

Nick Mystic said:


> Of course if it drips onto your insulating blanket on top of the baffle that could be a problem in that it ruins the insulation and/or starts a fire on top of the baffle.


I dont think this particular stove has an insulating blanket.


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## Hogwildz

That stove may not even have a baffle at all.


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## Jags

Gonna drop this in the classics section with a link (for exposure).


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## Jags

One thing is for certain.  There is something wrong with the overall burn procedure.  Wet fuel, smoldering fire, generating dripping creosote... This is not the way to intentionally run a stove.  If the stove is too big that you can't run an efficient fire, then I would suggest "right" sizing the stove.  You are creating a potential dangerous situation.


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## tsquini

Nick Mystic said:


> If you are seeing the liquid creosote on the outside of a joint where two pieces of pipe come together then your pipe has probably been incorrectly installed with the male end of the your pipes facing up instead of down. Some photos will help us offer better, more accurate information. Welcome to the forum.


+1 for the stove pipe going up and not down.


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## red oak

Welcome to the forum.  I have a Fisher Papa Bear built around that same time period.  I agree with others who have said to adjust your stove pipe so that it goes up, and I also think that the wood your burning may not be dry enough.  It should be cut, split, and stacked for at least a couple of years.  I also would suggest that if your stove does not have a baffle you install one, I installed one on my Fisher and it has made it quite a bit more efficient.


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## rwhite

I can say until I came on this forum I didn't realize how many stove pipes are installed upside down. The idea is not to keep the rain out but keep the creosote in. I see pipe constantly now that are installed upside down.


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## oldspark

With creosote dripping out of the stove pipe there is no way I would use that stove in the way you are now, you are lucky you saw the creosote with the pipe installed wrong.


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## Adabiviak

CD'sCycleShop, I'm a little concerned for your safety. It may be serendipitous that your stovepipe was installed upside down - much better to find out that you're burning in such a way that you're producing lots of creosote by seeing it leak out of the stovepipe than by having a chimney/house fire.


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## CD'sCycleShop

WOW! Thank you everyone for your advise and concern about my old stove, and stack installation. I am learning more and more that burning wood is an art, I have been using a big front loading stove in my shop for the last 3 winters, and I have come a long way since that first fire, and I realize I have a long way to go. As my confidence has grown in the last 3 years using my shop stove, my wife and I agreed we would try a stove in the house(stove was free) this winter. Most of the wood I am burning is standing locust that has been dead for many years, as the bark is missing on most of the tree. I am also using some red oak that had fallen 2 summers ago. Next winter I will be more prepared.  Just last weekend I dropped (2) 30" / 40' oak trees that have been dead for the last 4 years that I know of(no bark at all on (1) of them, and about (1/2) the bark on the other. So is the moisture content usually within range on a tree that was dead for many years, and has just recently been c/s/s. What is the baffle used for, and where does it install?


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## red oak

CD'sCycleShop said:


> WOW! Thank you everyone for your advise and concern about my old stove, and stack installation. I am learning more and more that burning wood is an art, I have been using a big front loading stove in my shop for the last 3 winters, and I have come a long way since that first fire, and I realize I have a long way to go. As my confidence has grown in the last 3 years using my shop stove, my wife and I agreed we would try a stove in the house(stove was free) this winter. Most of the wood I am burning is standing locust that has been dead for many years, as the bark is missing on most of the tree. I am also using some red oak that had fallen 2 summers ago. Next winter I will be more prepared.  Just last weekend I dropped (2) 30" / 40' oak trees that have been dead for the last 4 years that I know of(no bark at all on (1) of them, and about (1/2) the bark on the other. So is the moisture content usually within range on a tree that was dead for many years, and has just recently been c/s/s. What is the baffle used for, and where does it install?



Hey fellow Virginian!  You ready for this snow and ice we're supposed to get tomorrow?

As for the wood, it generally should be cut, split, and stacked before considering drying time.  There are some exceptions though, I recently cut a black locust that had been dead standing for a couple of years and it was ready to burn when I split it.  For oak, the ready to burn wood would generally be smaller wood toward the top of the tree and on the limbs and branches.  Oak generally gives up its moisture very slowly so it can take at least 2 years to season.  That's 2 years cut, split, and stacked.

The baffle is a piece of metal that diverts the smoke and heat from going straight up your stovepipe.  You want to direct the smoke through the flame so a few more gases get burned, and the heat you want to go into your house rather than up the chimney.  To install one, simply measure the width of your stove and find a piece of metal to match.  I made mine 1/4" thick steel.


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## CD'sCycleShop

Hello neighbor, I guess I am ready as I can be for the storm moving in tonight, hope you are. I do wish I had a lil' more wood split and ready to burn. Thanks for the insight on the dry time and going for the tops on dead standing timber. It seems I can barley keep up with the demand of my stove, and that all I do on the weekends is cut and split wood. My big Wood Chuck stove in my shop has a baffle that is adjustable built into the stove, I was wondering what the official name of that flapper was. So what is my best bet for dry wood being how I did not stock pile any wood during the spring? should I concentrate on dead standing locusts to finish out the winter or just burn 1/2 seasoned oak??? I also got my pipe turned around today, Im hoping that will help some.... looks like I need to start fabricating a baffle.


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## Seasoned Oak

CD'sCycleShop said:


> . So what is my best bet for dry wood being how I did not stock pile any wood during the spring? should I concentrate on dead standing locusts to finish out the winter or just burn 1/2 seasoned oak???


 If you are going to burn less than seasoned wood (not recommended)at least add some dry pine to it if possible.


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## red oak

CD'sCycleShop said:


> Hello neighbor, I guess I am ready as I can be for the storm moving in tonight, hope you are. I do wish I had a lil' more wood split and ready to burn. Thanks for the insight on the dry time and going for the tops on dead standing timber. It seems I can barley keep up with the demand of my stove, and that all I do on the weekends is cut and split wood. My big Wood Chuck stove in my shop has a baffle that is adjustable built into the stove, I was wondering what the official name of that flapper was. So what is my best bet for dry wood being how I did not stock pile any wood during the spring? should I concentrate on dead standing locusts to finish out the winter or just burn 1/2 seasoned oak??? I also got my pipe turned around today, Im hoping that will help some.... looks like I need to start fabricating a baffle.



CD it's going to be hard this winter.  You're burning an older, inefficient stove while burning unseasoned wood.  These two factors could more than double the wood you use.  I would concentrate on dead standing wherever I could find it, and concentrate on the top half or so of the tree as well as limbs and branches.  Split a good bit of it as small as you can.  Use the small stuff to get the fire going good and hot before adding larger wood.  As Seasoned Oak mentioned pine is ok to burn if it's been dead standing for awhile as it will dry a lot quicker.  Also you'll want to check your chimney every couple of weeks to make sure no creosote gets built up.  Plan on cleaning it a few times this winter if necessary.


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## oldspark

Keeping track of flue temps is very important when burning wood that is not totally dry.


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## gzecc

We can guess all day long what the best choice for you to burn or you could buy a $20 moisture meter.  In your situation it will be very handy. I would suspect the locust will be your best option. Its a dame shame burning unseasoned locust though. Locust is one of the premier woods out there, when its seasoned.
When working to increase your wood stores, look for locust, ash, and maples. Stay away from oak for now unless its extremely dry (very rare).


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## CD'sCycleShop

Great advise again guys, thank you!  As a HVAC Technician for 22yrs  I never thought I would be asking how to run the heater that keeps my house warm. LOL. I can maintaine flue temps around 200 - 225 deg.(temp taken where the hard pipe goes into the thimble) by cracking the damper 10% open, mixing the seasoned and unseasoned wood together, and leaving the 6" flue damper 100% open, I can get away with packing the stove full twice in a 24hr period. Things are starting to come together. Has anyone ever heard of using a chain to clean a chimney? And shoot I didn't know I could burn pine on a regular basis, I have access to plenty of seasoned pine.


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## Seasoned Oak

I plan on burning my seasoned oak as soon as i run out of pine. After 5 years i still haven't run out of pine.


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## red oak

CD'sCycleShop said:


> Great advise again guys, thank you!  As a HVAC Technician for 22yrs  I never thought I would be asking how to run the heater that keeps my house warm. LOL. I can maintaine flue temps around 200 - 225 deg.(temp taken where the hard pipe goes into the thimble) by cracking the damper 10% open, mixing the seasoned and unseasoned wood together, and leaving the 6" flue damper 100% open, I can get away with packing the stove full twice in a 24hr period. Things are starting to come together. Has anyone ever heard of using a chain to clean a chimney? And shoot I didn't know I could burn pine on a regular basis, I have access to plenty of seasoned pine.



Yes pine would be a good choice for you right now I think, to at least mix with some other hardwoods.  Your flue temp can and should be higher.  On the stovepipe thermometer that I have that's still in the creosote range.  I like to run mine at about 400-500.


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## oldspark

red oak said:


> Your flue temp can and should be higher


 
I agree 200 to 225 is a little on the low side.


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## CD'sCycleShop

400 - 500 shew wee, man Dang, WOW!  Shew  Man, this stove is in my living room, and about 6ft away from my lazyboy.LOL. If it were in the basement I could see maintaining those temps. I have a 2000sq ft home, and as I type the top of my stove is 325 deg, and the top of the pipe is 200deg(entering the chimney) it is 74 deg in the master bedroom, the furthest room from the stove.I guess I am going to check the chimney for build up more than normal. So am I using this stove for the rite application? How do you calculate the BTHU for a wood stove? Here are the dimensions of my stove H22" X W16" X L26"
:


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## BrotherBart

Crank that thing up and move the chair.


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## red oak

CD'sCycleShop said:


> 400 - 500 shew wee, man Dang, WOW!  Shew  Man, this stove is in my living room, and about 6ft away from my lazyboy.LOL. If it were in the basement I could see maintaining those temps. I have a 2000sq ft home, and as I type the top of my stove is 325 deg, and the top of the pipe is 200deg(entering the chimney) it is 74 deg in the master bedroom, the furthest room from the stove.I guess I am going to check the chimney for build up more than normal. So am I using this stove for the rite application? How do you calculate the BTHU for a wood stove? Here are the dimensions of my stove H22" X W16" X L26"
> :



Those dimensions are comparable to my Papa Bear, and I heat 2000 square ft plus basement very comfortably.  My stove is in the basement and we spend most of our time upstairs so we don't get the full force of the heat in the way that you are.  My thermometer says 250-550 is the burn range, anything over and your fire is too hot, anything under and you could be producing creosote.  Of course other factors determine creosote buildup such as dryness of the wood and height of your chimney.  If your room gets too hot you may want to consider building smaller quicker fires to keep the flue temps up but not run you out of the house.  Or you can just be mindful to check for creosote buildup every week or two.


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## Caveman

I moved into a house where I had this problem, reversed the pipes and it was never an issue after that.


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## oldspark

Caveman said:


> I moved into a house where I had this problem, reversed the pipes and it was never an issue after that.


 
The real point is you should NEVER have creosote dripping!


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## maple1

I wouldn't take those magnetic temp guages at face value, nor rely on them for safety. They are inaccurate and read quite low. My internal probe temp reads 100°c more than the magnetic one beside it. So whatever a magnetic one reads, it is a LOT hotter inside the pipe.


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## oldspark

I check mine with a IR testor and would suggest everyone to do the same, mine are actually pretty good until it gets over 500 and then its 100 to 150 degrees high.


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## Caveman

oldspark said:


> The real point is you should NEVER have creosote dripping!



Yes, but one poor burn with the way my stove was set up and it would leak out, the pipe fit poorly to boot.


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## oldspark

Caveman said:


> Yes, but one poor burn with the way my stove was set up and it would leak out, the pipe fit poorly to boot.


 
One poor burn=creosote dripping out?
Thats a very very bad burn if you can do it wth one burn, never heard of that happening.


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## begreen

Can we see pictures of this setup? You need some actual eyeballs looking at the situation and installation in order to provide a more accurate assessment of the problem and fix.


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## CD'sCycleShop

I can't thank everyone enough for the great advise, and concern. As I am getting a much better grip on this wood burning thing, and I am seeing how hot one has to keep there flue. I do some basic math in my head, and correct me if I am wrong, but it seems to me that the hotter you keep your stove(higher BTHU) the more wood you are going to burn. So at what point does it become more efficient to buy a $40.00 chimney brush and pole, and possibly a $200.00 24' ext. ladder, and just clean your chimney twice a month. When the space being heated only requires 300 deg to maintain a comfortable temp., then why keep the stove at 400 - 500 deg just to achieve the flue temps that are required. I may just be over thinking the whole thing, but it seems to me that in the long run it would be cheaper and less time consuming to just clean the chimney, save the wood by cutting dampers way way back,and save the old back from the saw and splitter. I am burning 30% more wood by keeping the flue temps in the required range, and I am also having to open the front door at times and let out some of the 500 deg heat.  I am not trying to say creosote is not dangerous, but if one stayed on top of chimney maintenance, is my theory even practicable?


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## gzecc

CD'sCycleShop said:


> I can't thank everyone enough for the great advise, and concern. As I am getting a much better grip on this wood burning thing, and I am seeing how hot one has to keep there flue. I do some basic math in my head, and correct me if I am wrong, but it seems to me that the hotter you keep your stove(higher BTHU) the more wood you are going to burn. So at what point does it become more efficient to buy a $40.00 chimney brush and pole, and possibly a $200.00 24' ext. ladder, and just clean your chimney twice a month. When the space being heated only requires 300 deg to maintain a comfortable temp., then why keep the stove at 400 - 500 deg just to achieve the flue temps that are required. I may just be over thinking the whole thing, but it seems to me that in the long run it would be cheaper and less time consuming to just clean the chimney, save the wood by cutting dampers way way back,and save the old back from the saw and splitter. I am burning 30% more wood by keeping the flue temps in the required range, and I am also having to open the front door at times and let out some of the 500 deg heat.  I am not trying to say creosote is not dangerous, but if one stayed on top of chimney maintenance, is my theory even practicable?


Are you asking what is cost of unseasoned wood?


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## CD'sCycleShop

Gzecc, I am asking, why keep the flue temps at 400 - 500 deg? If the flue temp is 400 - 500 deg then the stove top must be in the 600 deg. range. Example: Method #1- Set the auto damper to maintain 300 deg (top of stove), Flue(stack) temp. of 200 deg, thus saving wood( 8 truck loads per season), but having to clean creosote from chimney once or twice a month.   VS   Method #2- Set the auto damper to maintain 600 deg (stove top), Flue(stack) temp. of 400 deg, thus burning more wood(10.5 truck loads per season), but not having to clean creosote from chimney once a year. There has got to be a point where saving wood (by buning at low temp.) is more efficient than burning more wood to keep the 250+ deg required flue temp. after 6yrs the low temp burning method is a 15 truck loads savings, almost 2yrs worth of wood. That is a lot of sweat, gas, time, oil, time that can be saved


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## red oak

CD'sCycleShop said:


> I can't thank everyone enough for the great advise, and concern. As I am getting a much better grip on this wood burning thing, and I am seeing how hot one has to keep there flue. I do some basic math in my head, and correct me if I am wrong, but it seems to me that the hotter you keep your stove(higher BTHU) the more wood you are going to burn. So at what point does it become more efficient to buy a $40.00 chimney brush and pole, and possibly a $200.00 24' ext. ladder, and just clean your chimney twice a month. When the space being heated only requires 300 deg to maintain a comfortable temp., then why keep the stove at 400 - 500 deg just to achieve the flue temps that are required. I may just be over thinking the whole thing, but it seems to me that in the long run it would be cheaper and less time consuming to just clean the chimney, save the wood by cutting dampers way way back,and save the old back from the saw and splitter. I am burning 30% more wood by keeping the flue temps in the required range, and I am also having to open the front door at times and let out some of the 500 deg heat.  I am not trying to say creosote is not dangerous, but if one stayed on top of chimney maintenance, is my theory even practicable?



As for the flue temps, I don't think you NEED to keep it at 400-500.  Mine says 250 would be the minimum to be in the proper burning range, and you're not far off from that.  Also, if you are burning truly seasoned wood I would think it could be slightly lower.  What has really lowered my wood usage, in fact cut it almost in half, was burning seasoned wood.  I started off burning oak weeks or months after it was split, and used over 6 cords my first couple of winters.  Now that the wood I am burning has been split and stacked for a couple of years I'm burning between 3 and 4 cords per winter.  So if I were you I would concentrate on burning truly seasoned wood.  I would NOT burn it that much hotter than I have to and then have to open windows or run outside!  That is just wasting energy and you are right, you'll burn a lot more wood that way.  But if you are burning unseasoned wood, you're increasing your wood usage also, because a fair amount of that heat is going to burn off water inside the wood.  So, try to get ahead on your wood, or find a seller that sells seasoned wood, and check your chimney often.  You'll find out soon enough what practices produce a lot of creosote and I bet you'll figure out a way to stay comfortable, reduce your wood usage, AND keep the creosote from forming.


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## CD'sCycleShop

red oak, I follow what you are saying, and you have been more than helpful, thanks!  I am always up for something new to try and master.  By this time next year I will be giving advise on this forum. LOL. I hope!  By the way, what exactly is a cord of wood? 1/2 pickup load? 1 pickup load? 1 1/4, 1 1/2, ect.  Dang rednecks and there pickups.lol


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## pen

CD'sCycleShop said:


> red oak, I follow what you are saying, and you have been more than helpful, thanks!  I am always up for something new to try and master.  By this time next year I will be giving advise on this forum. LOL. I hope!  By the way, what exactly is a cord of wood? 1/2 pickup load? 1 pickup load? 1 1/4, 1 1/2, ect.  Dang rednecks and there pickups.lol



A cord is 4ft x 4ft x 8 ft of stacked wood (128 cubic feet no matter what)

With a full sized truck and an 8 foot box, a good load is approximately a 1/2 cord.

pen


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## gzecc

CD'sCycleShop said:


> red oak, I follow what you are saying, and you have been more than helpful, thanks!  I am always up for something new to try and master.  By this time next year I will be giving advise on this forum. LOL. I hope!  By the way, what exactly is a cord of wood? 1/2 pickup load? 1 pickup load? 1 1/4, 1 1/2, ect.  Dang rednecks and there pickups.lol


 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cord_(unit)


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## begreen

CD'sCycleShop said:


> Gzecc, I am asking, why keep the flue temps at 400 - 500 deg? If the flue temp is 400 - 500 deg then the stove top must be in the 600 deg. range. Example: Method #1- Set the auto damper to maintain 300 deg (top of stove), Flue(stack) temp. of 200 deg, thus saving wood( 8 truck loads per season), but having to clean creosote from chimney once or twice a month.   VS   Method #2- Set the auto damper to maintain 600 deg (stove top), Flue(stack) temp. of 400 deg, thus burning more wood(10.5 truck loads per season), but not having to clean creosote from chimney once a year. There has got to be a point where saving wood (by buning at low temp.) is more efficient than burning more wood to keep the 250+ deg required flue temp. after 6yrs the low temp burning method is a 15 truck loads savings, almost 2yrs worth of wood. That is a lot of sweat, gas, time, oil, time that can be saved



That is a guarantee for creosote production. The reason for keeping the flue hotter is so that it stays above the condensation temperature for creosote which is about 250. If the flue is consistently run below that temp it is a chimney fire in the making. Change your habits and don't run smoldering cool fires. After the chimney is cleaned, burn hotter shorter fires and let the fire go out if the place is warm enough.


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## maple1

CD'sCycleShop said:


> Gzecc, I am asking, why keep the flue temps at 400 - 500 deg? If the flue temp is 400 - 500 deg then the stove top must be in the 600 deg. range. Example: Method #1- Set the auto damper to maintain 300 deg (top of stove), Flue(stack) temp. of 200 deg, thus saving wood( 8 truck loads per season), but having to clean creosote from chimney once or twice a month.   VS   Method #2- Set the auto damper to maintain 600 deg (stove top), Flue(stack) temp. of 400 deg, thus burning more wood(10.5 truck loads per season), but not having to clean creosote from chimney once a year. There has got to be a point where saving wood (by buning at low temp.) is more efficient than burning more wood to keep the 250+ deg required flue temp. after 6yrs the low temp burning method is a 15 truck loads savings, almost 2yrs worth of wood. That is a lot of sweat, gas, time, oil, time that can be saved


 
How are you measuring your pipe temps? Before you go basing anything off of pipe temps, you need to know you're measuring them right.

And, no matter how or what someone burns, they'd better count on cleaning their chimney more than once a year. Don't think that if they can get by with once a year they can avoid spending money on a flue brush - totally wrong approach. Flue brush should be standard equipment - unless a sweep pays a monthly visit.


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## PapaDave

Get yourself a cat stove sized properly and you can run much lower temps for extended burns. You'll burn a whole bunch less wood (as long as it's dry), and won't need to babysit the stove while doing it.
Bonus.......bonus.
They (most) require dry wood, so there's that.
Get a moisture meter and check one of those "dead standing" trees on a fresh split. You'll probably be surprised at how wet it is. I don't care if you're running a brandy new spankin' stove or an old one, dry wood is key. I have an older stove and trust me, I've burned both. Unless I'm totally incapacitated, I'll never go back to burning wet wood. Ever tried burning water?
If you don't need all that heat, either the house is very well insulated, or the stove is way oversized...or both. 
Has Dennis been in on this one yet?
Change is tough.


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## PapaDave

Hogwildz said:


> Sorry if this sounds harsh, but I will just say it how it is.


Which is why I like Hog.
Some of us (myself included) need a brick upside the head at times.


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## Frank625

CD, I have the same stove but mine is marked 1985 or 86. They are very good stoves because they hold a lot of wood and heat up pretty quick. It also has a very convenient big ash pan. I think your problem is that you are burning unseasoned wood. Cut yourself as much oak as you can and split it then stack it. After about a year it will get greyish and dingy looking. At that point it should burn pretty good and be much easier to maintain a fire with, much less creosote buildup at any setting. I burned for 1.5 seasons before cleaning my chimney and it had very little creosote and soot built up. During that time I was forced to burn some unseasoned wood and cut down as much dead trees (oaks) as I could find. Seasoned poplar makes awesome kindling. I got by, but the wood burning experience is much less problematic with seasoned wood. If that stove and firebrick is in good shape it should serve you well. It is capable of some long burn times. Also on the little air inlet flapper there is a sliding air adjuster. I found mine works best with the little hole opened completely so if the flapper shuts, due to the stove temp increasing, it will get enough air to keep burning and not smoulder as much. For any changes you make, monitor for a while before leaving unattended. Good luck with your Wood Chief.


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## maple1

I don't think there's much doubt that there's a wet wood problem with creosote dripping. Then the more moisture in the wood, the more creosote that will condense out at any given stack temp.


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## begreen

I think if you can keep the flue gases hot enough and you have a relatively warm flue, that is less of an issue.


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## maple1

We don't know much about the flue situation either.

This Internet Advise stuff is hard work - raises all 'round, hoy!


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## red oak

CD'sCycleShop said:


> red oak, I follow what you are saying, and you have been more than helpful, thanks!  I am always up for something new to try and master.  By this time next year I will be giving advise on this forum. LOL. I hope!  By the way, what exactly is a cord of wood? 1/2 pickup load? 1 pickup load? 1 1/4, 1 1/2, ect.  Dang rednecks and there pickups.lol



I tell ya, until I joined this forum I didn't know all that I didn't know.  You gotta find what works best for you, just check that chimney and keep track of your burning habits and you'll find out what works.  As for the truck loads, a full size 8 foot bed if loaded up pretty good can hold 1/2 a cord.  I have a 6 foot bed so I figure 1/4 cord, unless I load it up really good, then maybe 1/3.  Don't count it as a cord unless it comes in a dump truck, and even then you should measure!


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## Hogwildz

Unless you split oak into 2" x 2" pcs, which is useless except to start fires and top off a full load, I have yet to see any oak I ever had dry and ready to burn in 1 yr. Soso in 2 years, primo in 3.


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## oldspark

Hogwildz said:


> Unless you split oak into 2" x 2" pcs, which is useless except to start fires and top off a full load, I have yet to see any oak I ever had dry and ready to burn in 1 yr. Soso in 2 years, primo in 3.


 
Actually 2X2 Oak pieces aint all bad for a really hot fire.
I have some 18 month (two full summers) Oak and some 5 year old stuff and they are the same moisture content, not sure I gain much drying after two full summers.
At that point in time the last few % take forever so maybe one more year does help a little.


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