After burning a week I'm seeing creosote what am I doing wrong?

[rdust]

Yes, another newbie with creosote. :lol:

I had to put a damper cap on my fireplace flue yesterday so I took a look at the cap for the stove since they're next to each other and noticed it had some creosote on it. It wasn't sticky it looks like a thin coat of black paint, my nail easily scratched it, since it's only been a week this concerns me. The wood is ash that was cut and split in the spring and reads around 18-22% mc depending on the piece. The ends don't sizzle or show moisture coming out when I load the stove. I have 12 cords but this is my first year so everything was cut/split in the spring. The ash is my "good" wood so I'll be burning some less then ideal stuff later in the season. The glass is clean but the bricks in the back corner of the stove are slightly black.(pic below)

Stove is an Endeavor, 27'+ chimney with a 5.5 ss liner, poured insulation, double wall pipe going into the chimney, it has two 90's one at the wall one where the liner goes 90. The chimney is inside for about 10' then goes thru the attic and out the roof. The draft seems fine, I don't get any spillage back into the house when loading or starting the fire.

I've always kept an active flame and the stove top is typically 600* give or take 50* during the main part of the burn. Even with the air down I can't keep it below 600* with anything more then three/four splits.(pic below with 4 splits) I have an IR gun and a magnet on the top that I take the temps with. My only thought is I'm turning down the air too soon in the burn. I get the top to about 400* and start dialing down the primary air, when I do this I get a big jump in the stove top temp due to the secondary burn and then another jump when I turn it down again. How long should I leave the primary air wide open? Should I wait till all the wood is charred before turning the air down? When the stove top is hitting 400* the wood usually burning nice but not fully charred.

 

[Pagey]

What is actually in the liner, though? I can pull my cap any given day and knock some junk out of it. It's going to collect there, nothing you can do about it. It sounds like your stove is running the same as mine - 600F or better in "cruise" mode and active secondary flames. If all you have is some dust on the cap, I wouldn't be concerned.

 

[rdust]

If all you have is some dust on the cap, I wouldn't be concerned.

It wasn't dust, it was shinny, there wasn't any thickness to it but I don't figure it would after a week even if the wood was soaking wet. It's not currently a problem but if I'm doing something wrong I'd like to catch it before I create a problem. Who knows maybe it came from my first fires when I was burning low. I guess I'll keep an eye on it, I plan to run a brush down it monthly since I'm a newbie so hopefully I'll avoid any problems that way.

 

[Pagey]

Well, the cap is the last stop on the way out, so it's going to catch anything and everything. My cap has some junk in it now, but it has never once been anywhere near clogged. When you have smoke on cold start and reloads, it will undoubtedly allow more buildup on the cap than elsewhere. But the proof will be in what comes down that liner once you sweep, I believe.

 

[quads]

Doesn't sound like anything to worry about to me. That little bit of darkening in the corner of your bricks is nothing. Check your chimney once a month and sweep it if has some buildup. It will burn cleaner as the weather gets colder and your wood gets older anyway.

 

[Patapsco Mike]

No matter what you do a bit of black stuff is going to end up on some firebricks and on your cap/cap screen. Totally normal.

 

[rdust]

OK, it sounds like I may be overeating(not the first time in my life :lol I'll keep an eye on it and we'll go from there.

Time to get back outside(beautiful fall day). I need to finish moving a cord into my shed and shorten some pieces(2/3 or a cord) that were cut for my fireplace so they're long.

Thanks guys!

 

[argus66]

ya sounds fine to me as well i get build up on top of my pipe as well if i doubt burn heavy for a month or so and then clean pipe fully and see how much stuff comes out.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hey rdust, it sounds like you have the new wood burners jitters. Stay calm and look at your PM's. I'll send you one.

 

[fossil]

The inside of your stove looks clean as a whistle. Black soot will always tend to collect at the cap. My clean chimney caps begin showing some black after the second or third fire of the season. Black soot will cling to and collect on the inside of your liner. When it reaches the point of being ~1/4" thickness all around the inside, it's time for a sweep. Yes, you should wait for the load to be fully engaged before throttling back the air. Rick

 

[pen]

sounds like you are doing a good job.

pen

 

[DBoon]

I can't usually get away with turning my Lopi Answer primary air down until about 500 degrees, but I have a smaller firebox than your Lopi. But if the stove top stays 600 degrees during cruise mode with the primary air as restricted as possible, then you are doing all right. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[woodjack]

I'm wondering why you're burning your good wood now, and saving your not-so-good wood for later. I try to save my best wood for colder the colder months. . . but then again, you're a newbie with twelve cords. Go crazy.

 

[rdust]

Yes, you should wait for the load to be fully engaged before throttling back the air. Rick

Ok, I was thinking that would be a good practice to follow. I find myself watching the stove top temp. thinking if I don't start backing the air down the temp is going to get out of control when I do end up dialing the air down. I'll get over these fears.

I'm wondering why you're burning your good wood now, and saving your not-so-good wood for later. I try to save my best wood for colder the colder months. . . but then again, you're a newbie with twelve cords. Go crazy.

I figured I'd burn some of the good wood to learn how the stove likes to burn before I start fighting/messing with some of the not well seasoned wood. I'm not sure if I'm going to start mixing the good and bad together at this point or not. I have access to pallets at work so I may use the pallet wood mixed in with the bad wood to get it up to temp.