Sticky creosote after 2 break-in burns—a problem

[dreezon]

I've done two break-in burns on my Fireview now, and I went up top to raise the liner a bit. (The pipe going to my tee was angled down slightly toward the back, so I had to correct it.)

Anyway, the inside of my stainless flex pipe had visible, sticky, blackish resin. Not opaque by any means, but there. Now, of course, the break-in burns aren't supposed to get very, and I did make the mistake of using too much wood on the first burn, so even after I shut the air control down, the remaining two splits continued to smolder for hours.

Is it normal to get some creosote from the low-level break-in fires? Did I cause more creosote because of the extended smoldering? Is this anything to worry about, or will the normal burning to follow clean the pipe out pretty well?

I'm pretty confident that the wood is well seasoned. It's hickory that's been cut and stacked for over a year.

 

[Jfk4th]

Sticky black resin is not a good situation in my book. This is exact;y how I got a chimney fire last year, it was out in about 2 minutes but still not a good feeling. That sticky black stuff will shoot that fire right up to the top of the cap...again not a good situation.

I would clean the pipe thoroughly before doing another burn just to be safe. You could just do another fire but why take the risk if you don't have to. Then for your next fire use smaller splits and make sure the fire does not smolder, smolder means smoke, smoke/moisture means creosote. What temps are you burning at, don't burn too low just use less wood initially, get to around 300-350F. 2 or 3 smaller splits with some kindling will heat it up nicely if the wood is seasoned for a second or third burn.

Check your wood too, does it knock when you hit 2 splits together or does it make a thud( if it thuds the wood is probably not seasoned enough. You could even buy a cheap moisture meter for around 20-25 bucks, those work OK. Did you have your wood uncovered for a year or was it covered entirely or covered on the top only? Plus was it seasoned in a nice sunny spot where wind can get at it too or was it in a semi sunny, shady area. These things make a difference on how long it will take to be seasoned.

Good luck and no risks OK

 

[ROBERT F]

I havent burnt hicory much in the past 3 years, but did for 4 years before that. And 1 year was never enough seasoning time. 1 year was good for smoking in the bbq, but that thing was covered in thick goey tar. And smoldering fires leave heavy deposits. Clean the flue and burn known good wood, your house might just thank you for it!

 

[littlesmokey]

By shutting her down you created your creosote factory. You will need to eventually have a few real hot burns to dry the goo and turn it to powder. You should avoid too low temp for this very reason.

 

[dreezon]

By shutting her down you created your creosote factory. You will need to eventually have a few real hot burns to dry the goo and turn it to powder. You should avoid too low temp for this very reason.

Yeah, I think you're right. In my inexperience, I thought it would kill the fire completely when I shut the air down to zero, but I guess even with a tight modern stove, you can't do that as long as there's fuel inside.

 

[dreezon]

As far as the seasoning of the hickory, I don't know. Most of it was cut quite thin, and when I knock the pieces together, they sound off pretty nicely. It's certainly not a dull thud. The stuff seems to burn pretty well too, but then I don't have a lot to compare it to. Maybe I should try some of the 4-year old elm I have.

 

[Corners]

I just had the same thing as you. My first few break-in fires left my refractories dark brown. There was even a couple creosote spots on them. But, I made my first real fire tonight, and the bricks are all clean. It was a hot mutha...

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I've done two break-in burns on my Fireview now, and I went up top to raise the liner a bit. (The pipe going to my tee was angled down slightly toward the back, so I had to correct it.)

Anyway, the inside of my stainless flex pipe had visible, sticky, blackish resin. Not opaque by any means, but there. Now, of course, the break-in burns aren't supposed to get very, and I did make the mistake of using too much wood on the first burn, so even after I shut the air control down, the remaining two splits continued to smolder for hours.

Is it normal to get some creosote from the low-level break-in fires? Did I cause more creosote because of the extended smoldering? Is this anything to worry about, or will the normal burning to follow clean the pipe out pretty well?

I'm pretty confident that the wood is well seasoned. It's hickory that's been cut and stacked for over a year.

There are two possibilities

1) you are burning wet/green wood

2) you are shutting the air down too soon

 

[dreezon]

I've done two break-in burns on my Fireview now, and I went up top to raise the liner a bit. (The pipe going to my tee was angled down slightly toward the back, so I had to correct it.)

Anyway, the inside of my stainless flex pipe had visible, sticky, blackish resin. Not opaque by any means, but there. Now, of course, the break-in burns aren't supposed to get very, and I did make the mistake of using too much wood on the first burn, so even after I shut the air control down, the remaining two splits continued to smolder for hours.

Is it normal to get some creosote from the low-level break-in fires? Did I cause more creosote because of the extended smoldering? Is this anything to worry about, or will the normal burning to follow clean the pipe out pretty well?

I'm pretty confident that the wood is well seasoned. It's hickory that's been cut and stacked for over a year.

There are two possibilities

1) you are burning wet/green wood

2) you are shutting the air down too soon

I'm going with with Option 2, since the two logs continued to smolder for about 9 hours.

I had no trouble keeping the fire going when I wanted it going. The trouble came when I tried to shut it down. Actually the trouble came when I put in too much wood for the first fire at the outset. Anyway, now I know better. And since I'm past the break-in stage, I should start seeing things clear up soon.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

In my book I would not put too much worry into just a couple of break-in fires. I recall that our glass got so black you could barely make out the fire behind it. Yet, it cleaned right off once we got the break-in done.

Throw another log on the fire now dreezon and enjoy that stove.

 

[dreezon]

Thanks for the reassurance. I do have a way of obsessing.